"More than ever, the pandemic illustrates why investing in health must be at the center of development," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech during the opening ceremony of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday.

In simpler words, the COVID-19 outbreak that swept the world, killing more than 300,000, has taught us a lesson that putting money into health is worth it, Tedros said. "Health is not a luxury; it's a necessity."

Watch a live rebroadcast of his whole speech here.

Tedros' speech was mainly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the dire situation, listing the method countries are using to battle against it and sharing the things learned from such an unprecedented crisis.

"Countries that move too fast, without putting in place the public health architecture to detect and suppress transmission, ran under the risk of handicapping their own recovery," he said, pointing out how hard it is to get the novel coronavirus under control.

The WHA is the decision-making arm of the WHO. The 73rd WHA is being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the agenda has been reduced to fit into two days, Monday and Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also gave a speech at the WHA. You can watch it here.