Staff Reporter 

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly virtually from Thimphu on September 25, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said the pandemic underlined the importance of investing in public health.

Lyonchhen said that the focus on reducing the risk to the people and communities in the wake of future disasters and shocks could never be easy if countries don’t emphasise health and quality of health care. He said that affordable health care should be easily accessible to all.

“The nomenclature of SARS COVID 2 and Covid-19 clearly indicates that there will be successive outbreaks of infectious diseases. It is a matter of when. I mean nobody knows where SARS COVID 3 is getting incubated,” Lyonchhen said.

He said that the country’s resilience and hope of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic rested on His Majesty The Druk Gyalpo’s leadership.

Lyonchhen said that Bhutan sailed through the Covid-19 swiftly under the leadership of His Majesty The King through various initiatives even though many countries around the world juggled between survival and livelihood amid the pandemic.

“When Covid-19 crisis unfolded, for Bhutan we uncovered the true essence of our King’s leadership. In him, we saw a son who assured that the old and the vulnerable people were protected from the infection,” he said.

He said that the His Majesty travelled tirelessly throughout the country uplifting the spirits of the front liners and working alongside to protect the people.

Lyonchhen said that His Majesty ensured the livelihoods of all the people affected by the Covid-19. The Druk Gyalpo provided both emotional and material support.

“We must also be mindful that immediate disease outbreak could be potentially from the pandemic induced starvation and poverty,” Dr Lotay Tshering said.

He described climate change as one of the biggest challenges besides the pandemic and that it had tested the resilience of the food grown and the patience of the growers. He urged global leaders to come together and take urgent action to combat climate change.

Edited by Tshering Palden