WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Photo: EPA)

Speaking via video link at a G20 meeting of finance leaders, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was responding to the idea of a separate global health fund tasked with delivering emergency funds, vaccines and other medical needs.

It's clear that at the center of this architecture, the world needs a strong and sustainably financed WHO with its unique mandate, technical expertise, and global legitimacy, Tedros told a panel in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. He added that any efforts to enhance the governance, systems, and financing of global health security can only succeed if they also enhance the WHO's role.

During the discussion, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the WHO must remain at the center of the global health architecture, adding that the world needs a stronger architecture for health policies.

India urged the G20 to make a joint effort to increase multi-lateral funding by global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, to prepare for future pandemics.