Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Yesterday, I had the honour of being in Madrid to join King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for Spain’s memorial for those who have lost their lives to COVID-19, and for the health workers fighting the pandemic.
Earlier in the week I was also honoured to be with President Macron in Paris for the Bastille Day celebrations, which were also a celebration of France’s heroic health workers.
Both countries are good examples of the four essential pillars of the response: strong and humble leadership, community engagement, suppressing transmission and saving lives.
And both countries are rightly recognizing the incredible contribution of health workers. WHO welcomes the pay rise for French