Last Updated on June 9, 2021 by Team THIP
Quick Take
A Facebook message claims that WHO has declared Sri Lanka’s response to Covid-19 as the world’s fifth-best among nations battling the pandemic. We investigated and found that the message is False.
WHO has not released any such ranking.
The Claim
The message on Facebook posted in Sinhala language (one of the official language of Sri Lanka) claims, “The WHO declares Sri Lanka’s response to Covid-19 as the world’s fifth best among nations battling the pandemic,” The message is posted with an image which has a text that reads, “A moment when 6.9 million people rescued 20 million people”. The post is shared on Facebook by a user named Kalum Jayaweera Kalum Jayaweera.
An archived version of the post can be viewed here.
Fact Check
Did WHO release a ranking of countries for their performance in battling the COVID-19 pandemic?
No. WHO has not released any such ranking. In an official statement given to Fact-Checking website Vishvas news, WHO official has clarified ““WHO has not put out any such ranking. Sri Lanka has been adopting the whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach needed to tackle a pandemic like COVID-19. Globally and locally, WHO continues to work and support countries with strategic response measures to control COVID-19 transmission. However, WHO does not rank, rate, or compare countries for their response to COVID-19.”