World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus has urged Member States to finalise the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex, warning that global preparedness for future pandemics remained inadequate without immediate agreement.

‎Speaking at the weekend during closing remarks at the 79th World Health Assembly, Ghebreyesus said, “Without the PABS annex, the world is not truly ready for the next pandemic,” citing Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks.

‎He said the week-long assembly adopted resolutions on diagnostic imaging, emergency care, haemophilia, neglected tropical diseases, precision medicine, radiation, stroke, transplantation and tuberculosis, alongside reforms targeting the global health architecture system.

‎Ghebreyesus thanked Assembly President Dr. Victor Atallah and committee chairs Dr. Timur Sultangaziyev and Ghana’s Health Minister Mintah Akandoh for guiding deliberations covering technical, political and administrative matters throughout the gathering.

‎He said the Assembly demonstrated progress in spite of outbreaks, conflict, uncertainty and limited resources, emphasising that resolutions only mattered when they improved clinics, protected communities, strengthened households, and enabled detection of outbreaks.

Describing the 2025 pandemic agreement as a “monumental achievement,” Ghebreyesus urged Member States to approve increased assessed contributions, saying predictable funding would ensure WHO remained “able, stable and sustainable” during emergencies.

‎Rejecting suggestions of institutional decline, Ghebreyesus declared, “This is not an organisation in crisis,” adding that WHO was instead moving forward confidently, with purpose, and improving its ability to respond worldwide.

A Psychology Counselor, Wael AI Awabdah, has underscored the need for parents and educators to be more compassionate and intentional in managing children with autism and neurodevelopmental disorder.

Awabdah, also a Behaviour Analyst, gave the advice at a webinar titled: ‘Beyond the Cane and Command: Modern Mastery For Neurodiverse Learners’, organised by SOULution Nest Education Initiative on Saturday in Lagos.

He explains that Autism or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the brain’s executive functioning and how individuals process information, communicate, interact with others, and experience the world around them.

According to him, many autistic individuals possess unique strengths, including high attention to detail, excellent memory retention, and innovative problem-solving skills.

The analyst said the fact that no two autistic individuals have the exact same strengths and challenges underscored the need for parents and educators to be more intentional in managing them using real teaching practical techniques.

Citing the real practical techniques to include teaching using warning and visual cues (pictures), positive reinforcement and brain breaks among others, Awabdah noted that help and support systems were key.

He emphasised the need for the parents/educator to first connect with the child before correction.

“It is imperative to recognise that connection comes first before correction when managing a child with autism or ADHD.

“Transformation begins when we choose support over shame, understanding over punishment and compassion over hatred.

“Children adapt and learn best when they feel safe: be more compassionate with them and apply all the positive home and classroom techniques.

“Use pictures to demonstrate, help them to develop skills; being self -advocate, self-defense and self-regulation without being rude,” he said.

According to him, a parent/teacher needs to be regulated to teach a child self- regulation.

Awabdah, who noted that most behaviours/signs displayed by autistic individuals, were calls for focus and attention, urged educators to try and understand the reasons behind every behaviour/action they make.

He stressed that punishment should be used as the last resort and for dangerous behaviours and with the consent of the parents and the school administrator.

He said that minor behavioral displays might not need punishment to be corrected, but other positive home and classroom strategies.

He said, “Punishment does not teach anything, rather it stops behaviour at the moment.

“Use punishment as a last resort when other positive techniques failed, and for serious behaviour/ reason and with a written consent from parents and school administrator.

“As a teacher, have the mindset that you are there to help and support, and not to be provoked”.

Awabdah noted that the society at large should be more accommodating, otherwise learning would be blocked, because sometimes the problems were usually from the environment.

The Convener and Founder, SOULution Nest Education Initiative, Henrietta Ikediashi, said the motive was to create environments where every single learner feels seen, safe and supported.

Ikediashi noted that true academic excellence only begins when that child feels emotionally safe.

She said, “Science clearly shows us that a brain in survival mode cannot learn.

“When we rely on fear, we lock a child’s brain in a fight or flight response, making education biologically impossible.

“By choosing connection over coercion, educators change the classroom management, transform the institutional culture, and upgrade the school’s brand for tomorrow.”

People living close to the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak which has killed 131 people have expressed their fear, as a World Health Organization (WHO) representative warned cases may be spreading faster than originally thought.

One man in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, said infected people were dying “very fast”, and added: “Ebola has tortured us.

”

Officials said more than 513 cases were suspected in DR Congo as of Tuesday, while one person has died in neighbouring Uganda.

The WHO’s Dr.

Anne Ancia said that the more the agency investigates the outbreak, the clearer it becomes that cases have spread to other areas.

Modelling by the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis released on Monday suggested there had been “substantial” under-detection, and that it could not rule out there had already been more than 1,000 cases.

The study suggested that the current outbreak is “larger than currently ascertained” and that its “true magnitude remains uncertain”.

A man who spoke to journalists and identified himself as Bigboy said people are “really scared” and doing what they can to protect themselves.

He said locals are taking precautions such as washing hands with clean water, but added that he wished they could get access to other protective supplies such as face masks.

Another Ituri local, Alfred Giza, said people in the community are aware of the threat and waiting to receive face masks to protect themselves, but that he would not know what to do if a family member or friend contracted the disease.

The Red Cross warned that Ebola can escalate quickly if cases are not identified early, communities lack information and health systems are overwhelmed, adding that “we are seeing all those conditions” in the current outbreak.

On Tuesday, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi called for “calm” and urged Congolese citizens to remain vigilant, after holding a crisis meeting on Monday evening.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who declared the outbreak an international emergency last week, said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic”.

It is feared the outbreak may have been ongoing for several weeks before it was first detected on 24 April.

There is no vaccine for the strain of Ebola virus fuelling the latest rise in cases, but the WHO is evaluating whether other drugs may provide protection.

Ancia said DR Congo’s Ituri province was a “much unsecured area with lots of movement of population”, making it difficult for the agency to investigate and help control the disease.

She continued: “The more we investigate this outbreak, the more we realise that it has already spread at least a little bit across borders and also in other provinces.”

The outbreak has spread to the province of South Kivu, where the population has been affected by a humanitarian crisis for many years, she added.

There has also been a case in eastern DR Congo’s biggest city, Goma, which has a population of around 850,000 people and is under the control of Rwandan-backed rebels.

High levels of insecurity in several provinces mean people move around often, increasing the risk and spread of the virus, she said.

Several African countries are taking precautions by tightening border screenings and preparing health facilities. Neighbouring Rwanda has also closed its borders with DR Congo. Uganda has told people to avoid hugging and shaking hands.

An American citizen, believed to be missionary group doctor Peter Stafford, is being evacuated from DR Congo after developing symptoms over the weekend.

Germany’s health ministry told the BBC a US citizen was being taken to the country for treatment.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was working to evacuate at least six other Americans who were exposed.

WHO and other agencies are working with governments and communities to try to stop the spread of the virus, urging residents to follow preventative measures and report to the nearest health facility if they experience any symptoms.

Ebola is caused by a virus and initially causes symptoms similar to the flu, with fever, headache and tiredness.

As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhoea develop and it can lead to organ failure. Some, but not all, patients develop internal and external bleeding.

The virus spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

The Bundibugyo strain fuelling this rise in cases is rare, and has previously only caused two outbreaks, when it killed about a third of those infected.

Between 2014 and 2016, more than 28,600 people were infected by Ebola in West Africa, the largest outbreak of the virus since its discovery in 1976.

It was caused by the Zaire strain, for which there is an approved vaccine.

The disease spread to a number of countries in West Africa and beyond, including Guinea, Sierra Leone, the US, UK and Italy, killing 11,325 people.