"Although #COVID19 is giving us many reasons to grieve, today we’re also celebrating a public health victory.
Yesterday, the @wto ruled that #Australia’s laws on plain packaging for tobacco products are justified, and are not unfair restrictions on trade"-@DrTedros
"Tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year, and Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging, without branding, in 2012. Several other countries have since introduced similar laws"-@DrTedrosbit.ly/37pVmnq#NoTobacco#TobaccoExposed
"The tobacco industry has done everything it can to have these laws overturned, including challenging them at the @wto.
Effectively, yesterday’s WTO ruling means the tobacco industry has run out of options to challenge plain packaging internationally"-@DrTedros
"WHO congratulates #Australia for this victory, & we’re proud that legal experts from WHO & the @FCTCofficial supported 🇦🇺 in this case.
We will continue to support other countries to introduce plain packaging, as one of many proven tools to save lives from tobacco"-@DrTedros
"I have talked about humility a number of times over the last few months and I think it’s fair to say that this microscopic virus has humbled all of us"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"By definition, a new virus means that we’re learning as we go.
We have learned a lot, but there’s still a lot we don’t know"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"Every week we speak directly to countries, the media and the public so that we can keep everyone up to date on the latest scientific evidence and the evolution of the #COVID19 pandemic"-@DrTedros
"In Monday’s press briefing, my colleague and friend Dr @mvankerkhove answered a question from a journalist about the extent to which #COVID19 is being spread by people who don’t show symptoms.
We have answered similar questions on this topic before"-@DrTedros
"Yesterday, @mvankerkhove and @DrMikeRyan also held a Facebook Live session to explain what we know and don’t know about asymptomatic transmission, and to answer questions from journalists and the public"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"Since early February, we have said that asymptomatic people can transmit #COVID19, but that we need more research to establish the extent of asymptomatic transmission. That research is ongoing"-@DrTedros
"But here’s what we do know: that finding, isolating and testing people with symptoms, and tracing and quarantining their contacts, is the most critical way to stop #COVID19 transmission"-@DrTedros
"This is a new virus & we are all learning all the time.
Communicating complex science in real time about a new virus is not always easy, but we believe it’s part of our duty to the world. And we can always do better"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"We welcome constructive debate – that’s how science advances.
WHO’s advice will continue to evolve as new information becomes available"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"We continue to work 24/7 to accelerate the science and learn more about how the disease is spread, what best practice contact tracing looks like, as well as the development of new treatments and vaccines"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"We’ll continue to talk to our Member States, the media and the general public about what we know and where there are gaps in evidence and how that is shaping our thinking.
We’ll explain what we know, what we don’t know and what we’re doing to find out more"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"We always aim to be clear about evolving science, and we’re committed to accountability for everything we do and say"-@DrTedros#COVID19
"This morning, I met virtually with 21 of @WHO_HQ_Interns, from 19 countries.
I was not only struck by their creativity, energy and positivity, but also how freely they discussed the lessons they have learned"-@DrTedros
"As part of WHO’s transformation, we have been overhauling our intern programme to increase the diversity of our interns & make it possible for more young people from more countries to take an internship at WHO"-@DrTedros
"We’re also working hard to improve conditions for our interns.
We now provide interns with health insurance, and this year we started paying interns a stipend for the first time"-@DrTedros
"We’re committed to investing in young health leaders, who will build the healthier, safer, fairer world we all want for our children and grandchildren"-@DrTedros
LIVE: Media briefing with @DrTedros on outcome of the #mpox Emergency Committee meeting x.com/i/broadcasts/1…
"#Mpox has been reported in #DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period.
Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths.
As many of you who tune into our regular press conferences know, WHO has been working on the mpox outbreak in Africa and raising the alarm that this is something that should concern us all"-@DrTedros
@DrTedros "Last week I announced that I was convening an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to evaluate the upsurge of #mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in Africa"-@DrTedros
Media briefing on pandemic, preparedness and response and other developments at the #WHA77 with @DrTedros x.com/i/broadcasts/1…
"Today, the nations of the world made history at the World Health Assembly.
After two years of negotiations, they adopted a strong package of amendments to the International Health Regulations, based on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IHR was last updated 19 years ago. The amendments adopted today strengthen global preparedness, surveillance and response to public health emergencies, including pandemics"-@DrTedros #WHA77
"And although the #PandemicAccord has not yet been finalized, the Health Assembly has charted the way forward.
It has agreed to extend the mandate of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, to finalize negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement as soon as possible, and by next year’s World Health Assembly at the latest"-@DrTedros #WHA77
In an historic development, the #WHA77 today agreed a package of critical amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), and made concrete commitments to completing negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year.
⬇️ bit.ly/4bElM55
These critical actions have been taken in order to ensure comprehensive, robust systems are in place in all countries to protect the health and safety of all people everywhere from the risk of future outbreaks and pandemics.
⬇️ bit.ly/4bElM55
These decisions represent two important steps by countries, taken in tandem with one another on the final day of #WHA77, to build on lessons learned from several global health emergencies, including the #COVID19 pandemic.
⬇️ bit.ly/4bElM55
LIVE: @DrTedros' briefing on the health situation in #Gaza to the @UN Security Council twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
"Let me be clear from the outset that I fully understand the anger, grief and fear of the Israeli people following the horrific, barbaric and unjustifiable attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on Israeli civilians on the 7th of October.
The killing of 1,400 people, and injuries to more than 7,200 others, is bad enough. For the survivors and families of victims, the mental health consequences will endure for a long time to come.
WHO is gravely concerned for the health and well-being of Israeli hostages in Gaza, many of whom are older people, children and those with urgent medical needs"-@DrTedros
@DrTedros @UN "Two weeks ago, I spoke with families of hostages, and I will meet them in Geneva next week. I feel their heartache and fear"-@DrTedros
Media briefing on the health situation in Gaza and Israel, and other global health issues with @DrTedros twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
"We are running out of words to describe the horror unfolding in Gaza.
Since Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel on the 7th of October, more than 10,000 people have been killed, including over 8,500 in Gaza and 1400 in Israel. In both Israel and Gaza, 70% of those killed are women and children"-@DrTedros
"More than 21,000 are injured and more than 1.4 million people in Gaza have been displaced.
The situation on the ground, in Gaza, is indescribable.
Hospitals crammed with the injured, lying in corridors;
Morgues overflowing;
Doctors performing surgery without anaesthesia;
Thousands of people seeking shelter from the bombardment;
Families crammed into overcrowded schools, desperate for food and water;
Toilets overflowing and the risk of disease outbreaks spreading;
And everywhere, fear, death, destruction, loss"-@DrTedros
#TraditionalMedicine has been at the frontiers of medicine & science laying the foundation for conventional medical texts.
#DYK: Nearly 40% of pharmaceutical products have a natural product base, incl.:
💊aspirin
💊artemisinin
💊contraceptive pills
💊childhood cancer treatments
In 1969, Tu Youyou was tasked to search for antimalarial drugs. She turned to ancient Chinese #TraditionalMedicine books & discovered artemisinin. In 2015, Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work on #malaria, which has saved millions of lives.
https://t.co/hqqn1D2idWbit.ly/47s1wlj
Derived from wild Mexican yam, norethindrone is one of the first active ingredients in birth control pills.
When Dr Luis Miramontes stabilised the synthetic hormone, norethindrone, he was unaware of his major contribution to women’s health and history.
📌 https://t.co/MbSbU8fHnfbit.ly/47s1wlj