Photo taken in Brussels of Belgium on June 29, 2020 shows World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (C) attending an online press conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief announced on Thursday to launch an independent panel to review its handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the response by member states.

The panel will be co-chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who will choose the members, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his virtual address to WHO member states.

The panel is supposed to present its interim report in November when the World Health Assembly resumes, and its substantive report in May next year.

"This is not a standard report that ticks a box and is then put on a shelf to gather dust. This is something we take seriously," Tedros said. Through the panel "the world will understand the truth of what happened and also the solutions to build our future better as one humanity."