Interview: COVID-19 origin tracing should be devoid of partisan interests, says Kenyan expert

NAIROBI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO)'s latest bid to reopen investigations into the origin of COVID-19 should be devoid of geopolitical maneuvers aimed at distorting the outcomes, a Kenyan scholar said Wednesday.

"There appears to be a build-up of political acts by some countries that now threaten the gains made in both pandemic source tracing and response," said Cavince Adhere, an international relations expert, adding that politicizing the probe by some western powers will hamper global efforts to tame its severity.

The WHO should resist pressure from some countries keen on using the coronavirus origin tracing to achieve a narrow and partisan agenda.

The global health body announced in July the establishment of a scientific advisory group to study the origin of COVID-19 through a transparent and fair process. Adhere said the WHO's latest probe should be based on science and the spirit of multilateralism as opposed to unhealthy competition by major powers.

In a report released by the WHO in late March after a field study in China's Wuhan, it was concluded that a lab-leak explanation of the origin of the coronavirus was "extremely unlikely."

Despite advice from its experts that no further studies on lab leaks should be conducted, the WHO recently proposed a second-phase plan into the origin of the coronavirus in China with a focus on the lab-leak theory.

He faulted the new plan to abandon outcomes of the February study on the origin of coronavirus, saying that "Several questions are now being raised regarding the impartiality, integrity and utility of the WHO move."

Adhere said there is no scientific basis for the WHO Secretariat to discount the outcomes of the joint study conducted by its own experts, and the unilateral decision to reopen COVID-19 origin tracing without the required consultation with its member states violated established rules of procedure governing its mandate.

He questioned the capacity of the WHO to conduct auditing in China without the country's cooperation, adding that plans to replace experts in the Wuhan mission could dilute the impartiality of the probe.

The expert noted that concerns over the impartiality of the second phase of COVID-19 origin tracing has compelled nearly 60 countries to write to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warning against politicization of the issue.

"As a coordinating agency, the WHO should be at the forefront of building consensus in tackling global health challenges. It can only be achieved through an unflinching pursuit of professionalism, independence and global good," said Adhere.