By Ayomide Otitoju
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) has released its long-awaited report on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, reaffirming that crucial evidence needed to draw definitive conclusions remains unavailable.
Comprising 27 independent international experts, SAGO stated that while the weight of current evidence points to a likely zoonotic origin—via direct transmission from bats or an intermediate animal host—other possibilities, including a laboratory-related incident, cannot be ruled out due to insufficient data.
“Much of the information needed to fully evaluate all hypotheses has not been provided,” the panel said in its report, published Thursday.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended SAGO for its three-year commitment, urging nations, particularly China, to share all relevant data. “We continue to appeal to China and any other country with information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that data openly, in the interest of global health security,” he said.
The report is based on peer-reviewed and unpublished studies, field investigations, government reports, and intelligence assessments. Since its formation in 2021, SAGO has convened 52 times and engaged with researchers, media, and global stakeholders.
Dr. Marietjie Venter, SAGO Chair and a South African virologist, emphasized the ethical urgency of the investigation: “Understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is not only a scientific pursuit—it is a moral imperative. It’s essential to prevent future pandemics and reduce global suffering.”
In 2020, WHO member states mandated the investigation during a Special Session of the World Health Assembly. A joint China-WHO mission visited Wuhan in early 2021, publishing preliminary findings later that year. In response to the limitations of that mission, WHO launched SAGO in July 2021 with a dual mandate: develop a framework for investigating emerging pathogens and apply it to COVID-19.
Despite years of effort, key data—such as detailed animal trade records, early human case sequences, and lab biosafety protocols in Wuhan—remain undisclosed. WHO reiterated its willingness to consider new evidence as it emerges.
