Thread by @WHO

"There are few greater gifts we can give future generations than to eradicate a disease. We ourselves know what that’s like. #Smallpox was only officially declared eradicated in 1980 – less than 40 years ago. And yet already, it is becoming a distant memory"-@DrTedros #RLMForum

"Every year, over 1 billion people are treated for a neglected tropical disease, & last year 8 countries eliminated at least one NTD.
In the mid-1980s there were almost 3.5M cases of guinea-worm in 20 countries. Last year, there were only 28 cases, in just 3 countries"-@DrTedros

"Onchocerciasis has been eliminated in 4 countries in @pahowho;
Lymphatic filariasis has been eliminated in 16 countries;
Trachoma has been eliminated in 9 countries;
The annual number of sleeping sickness cases has fallen from over 7k in 2012 to less than 1k in 2018"-@DrTedros

"#Algeria and #Argentina have become the latest countries to eliminate #malaria. But although malaria deaths have halved in the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and cases are now increasing, particularly in Africa"-@DrTedros #RLMForum #EndMalaria

https://twitter.com/who/status/1131161220734758912

"We have also made incredible progress against #polio.
In just three decades, the number of polio cases globally has been reduced by 99.9%. 18 million people are alive today because of this historic effort. This is the miracle of vaccines"-@DrTedros #EndPolio

"@pahowho has just celebrated 25 years #polio-free, and with progress towards a polio-free Africa, 2020 could be the year when five out of six WHO Regions will be declared free of wild-polio virus"-@DrTedros #EndPolio #RLMForum

https://twitter.com/pahowho/status/1187458741383262208

"Just a month ago, I had the great honour to announce the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 3.
#Polio has been stopped even in conflict zones such as #Syria, and in countries like #India, once considered the most technically difficult place to #EndPolio"-@DrTedros

"We have come so far. But we have not yet reached our destination. The last mile is the hardest mile. The #polio virus is strong. We need continued political commitment, and continued funding, to finish the job"-@DrTedros #RLMForum

"Crucially, the infrastructure we have built must not die with #polio. The same #healthworkers who deliver polio vaccines have helped fight Ebola, cholera. They have worked to address malnutrition, provide measles vaccinations, deworming tablets & malaria bed nets"-@DrTedros

"We can and will make #polio history. But we know that even when we #EndPolio, even when guinea worm is eradicated, even when malaria is eradicated, people will continue to suffer from many other health threats"-@DrTedros #RLMForum

"Polio, guinea worm & malaria are all symptoms of a deeper sickness. Which is why ultimately, our fight is not against a single disease. Our fight is against inequality"-@DrTedros #RLMForum

"Our fight is against a world in which people get sick and die simply because they are poor, or female, or a refugee.
Our fight is for a fundamental human right – the right to health – for everyone, everywhere"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll #RLMForum

@DrTedros The full speech from @DrTedros at the #RLMForum can be found here 👉 bit.ly/2qrJMqK