Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The World Health Organisation, (WHO) unveils its first unified long-term coronavirus strategy, marking a pivotal shift from emergency COVID-19 response to sustainable global disease management.
The 2025–2030 Strategic Plan for Coronavirus Disease Threat Management guides countries to integrate COVID-19, MERS and emerging coronavirus threats into broader infectious-disease systems.
WHO says the framework builds on five years of pandemic lessons while preparing for inevitable new outbreaks. “Coronaviruses remain one of the most consequential infectious disease threats today,” says Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Acting Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Management. She urges governments to strengthen surveillance and embed coronavirus control within national health systems.
The plan highlights persistent uncertainties about SARS-CoV-2 evolution and the long-term burden of post-COVID-19 Condition, which affects an estimated 6 per cent of infected individuals. WHO reports fresh increases in global SARS-CoV-2 activity, reinforcing the need for sustained monitoring.
To boost surveillance, WHO expands its global Coronavirus Network, CoViNet, now comprising 45 national reference laboratories across human, animal and environmental sectors. Eleven new laboratories join in 2025, complementing the long-standing Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.
The strategy, developed through consultations with governments and experts, outlines routine and emergency measures, giving countries flexibility to respond to ongoing circulation and new coronavirus strains with pandemic potential. WHO expects Member States to adopt its strategic directions to build resilient systems for future threats.
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Mirian Gom 
Otamere Gladness 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 