WHO Director-General to deliver keynote address at IOC Session tomorrow
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will give the keynote address at the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo tomorrow. This was announced today by IOC President Thomas Bach during his opening speech.
The IOC President said: “We are delighted that, tomorrow morning, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will be addressing us in this IOC Session with a keynote speech.”
Last year, the IOC and WHO signed a new Cooperation Agreement, which is a common commitment to the importance of sport and physical activity for physical and mental health.
The IOC and WHO have enjoyed a longstanding partnership since 1984, when the first MoU was signed. This partnership has led to numerous joint initiatives and collaboration projects aiming to promote healthy lifestyles and grassroots sports activities worldwide and fight physical inactivity, as a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. More recently, WHO was instrumental in sharing technical advice with the IOC during the discussions that led to the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and continues to give advice as it gathers additional knowledge and understanding of COVID-19. As part of the latest Cooperation Agreement between the two organisations, the IOC and WHO will continue to find synergies and act in concert to promote healthy lifestyles and grassroots sports activities worldwide, as well as fight physical inactivity.