# Today five years ago, the World Health Organisation announced Covid-19 had become a pandemic and the world finally woke up to the unfolding disaster. At a news conference on 11 March 2020, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the worsening outbreak could be characterised as a pandemic. Only then did many countries grasp the severity of the situation and jolt into action. The pandemic, the likes of which had not been seen in a century, killed millions, shredded economies and crippled health systems.
Today, 5 years ago, the WHO announced Covid-19 as a pandemic