W.H.O. Long COVID Exclusive

From Long COVID the Answers by Kojala Medical

March 26, 2026 · 44 min · Season 2 · Episode 29

About this episode

Dr Funmi Okunola MD interviews representatives from the World Health Organization about their support for Long COVID.

Dr Funmi Okunola MD conducts three interviews with 4 representatives of the World Health Organization - Dr Maria Van Kerkhove PhD -Director of the Department of Epidemic & Pandemic Threat Management; Dr Jamie Rylance MD - Clinical Lead for Long COVID and part of the Clinical Management Team of the Health Emergencies Program; Cristiana Salvi - Regional Advisor for Community Resilience & Protection in the Health Security Division of WHO Europe; Leonardo Palumbo - Technical Officer in Community Engagement in the Health Security Division of WHO Europe. We talk about the WHO's support of Long COVID through advocacy, education research and community engagement and the steps the organization is taking to ensure Worldwide equity with regard to access to health resources for those living with Long COVID. REFERENCES: The World Health Organization Website The WHO declares COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th Jan 2020 The WHO declares COVID-19 a Pandemic on the 11th March 2020 Dr Maria Van Kerkhove's Speech at the UBC Centre of Disease Control Global Health Security Summit in Vancouver Canada on 5th Nov 2025 WHO Mythbusters - 30th Jan 2026-31st March 2026

People in this episode

Host: Dr Funmi Okunola MD

Guests: Dr Maria Van Kerkhove PhD, Dr Jamie Rylance MD, Cristiana Salvi, Leonardo Palumbo

Topics covered

Long COVID
World Health Organization
health equity
community engagement
pandemic management

Keywords

Long COVID
WHO
health resources
pandemic
community resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Health Organization