World Health Organization (WHO) Profile picture
Aug 25, 2020 32 tweets 27 min read Read on X
"Our continent is facing a health crisis unlike any we have faced before.
Yesterday, we crossed 1 million reported #COVID19 cases in the region, with more than 20,000 deaths.
The number of cases in the region has doubled just in the past 6 weeks"-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO Image
"With the challenges we face obtaining #COVID19 testing kits, it’s likely that the real numbers are significantly higher.
But of course, numbers don’t even begin to tell the real story."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO
"The impact of the #COVID19 pandemic goes far beyond the suffering caused by the virus itself.
Essential services have been suspended or disrupted, putting countless lives at risk."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO Image
"The #COVID19 pandemic threatens to undo the gains we have made in recent years towards health equity and the @GlobalGoalsUN. But this is far more than a health crisis."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO
"According to the @WorldBank, the region is now in its first recession for 25 years, and in June the @IMFNews predicted that the sub-Saharan economy will contract by 3.2% this year."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO #COVID19
"Every country faces its own unique challenges. There is no one-size fits all solution.
Every country – and every individual, family & community – must take a comprehensive, risk-based approach, tailored to their own context, using the tools available."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO
"Everyone has a role to play, from cleaning hands to maintaining physical distance, staying at home if sick and wearing masks where distancing is not possible"-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO #COVID19
"Governments must ensure measures are in place for surveillance, testing and contact tracing, to engage and empower communities, and to focus on the most vulnerable groups, including older persons."-@DrTedros at #RC70AFRO #COVID19 Image
"As we learn more about the virus, we are learning the importance of focusing on amplifying events.
All over the 🌎, countries have experienced significant outbreaks linked to events with large numbers of people, incl. at stadiums, nightclubs, churches & protests."-@DrTedros
"Since the earliest days of the pandemic, @WHO has been working round the clock at all three levels to support you, our African Member States.
All countries in Africa now have a preparedness and response plan in place."-@DrTedros #AFRORC70
"All countries on the continent now have lab testing capacity for #COVID19, compared with just 2 at the beginning of the pandemic."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"Over the past few months, WHO has shipped millions of #COVID19 test kits and tons of protective equipment to many countries in Africa.
We’ve trained thousands of #healthworkers."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"And through the Access to #COVID19 Tools Accelerator and the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility, we’re working to ensure that if and when a vaccine is proven to be safe and effective, it will be accessible equitably for all countries."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"Of course, #COVID19 is not the only emergency to which we are responding.
More than 100 people have now been infected and 43 people have died in a new outbreak of #Ebola in the Equateur province of the #DRC."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"We urgently need more human resources and logistics capacity to support the response in an ever-expanding geographic area."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"We all saw w/ the outbreak in North Kivu & Ituri, that w/
-strong leadership
-close partnership
-new tools incl. vaccines & therapeutics
-incredible dedication of #healthworkers
the ppl & govt of #DRC have the ability to stop #Ebola in the most difficult circumstances"-@DrTedros
"Today we are also celebrating another public health triumph: the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
This is an incredible achievement, and a much-needed cause for celebration."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70 Image
"And I fully agree with @MoetiTshidi, how difficult these times are, but how our colleagues are working day and night, starting from Tshidi and the whole @WHOAFRO team.
This is an incredible achievement, and a much-needed cause for celebration."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"The infrastructure built up & the lessons learned through the #polio eradication effort are vital tools that countries must apply to the many other health challenges they face & to strengthening health systems to progress towards #HealthForAll"-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"As we work together to confront this pandemic, I give you my assurance that WHO will continue to support you in every way possible to suppress transmission and save lives."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"Even as we respond to the #COVID19 pandemic, we are continuing to transform WHO to serve you better."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70 Image
"Through our special programme on #PrimaryHealthCare, we will work with you to strengthen the foundations of #HealthSystems."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"Through our new division of emergency preparedness, we will support you to prevent and mitigate the impact of emergencies, as well as responding to them."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"Through the Office of the Chief Scientist and our division for Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact, we will provide the evidence and tools you need to strengthen your information systems to make the best decisions for the biggest impact."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"And through the new #WHOAcademy, we will provide in-person and online training, to empower health workers to accelerate advancements in medical care and practices to patients and communities."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"All these changes of transformation have been done in collaboration with our regions, and on many issues the @WHOAFRO region has lead."-@DrTedros #RCAFRO70
"We’re also working w/ the @_AfricanUnion to strengthen the @AfricaCDC, as my sister @AmiraDSA said & also to est. the Africa Medicines Agency.
I would like to use this opportunity to appreciate the leadership of His Excellency @AUC_MoussaFaki & also Commissioner Amira"-@DrTedros
"#COVID19 has taken so much from us. But it has also reminded us that health is not a luxury item; it the foundation of social, economic & political stability.
We’re all in this together. With national unity & global solidarity, we will overcome this pandemic together."-@DrTedros
"I have just one reminder. I would remind all Member States to join, to ratify the Africa Medicines Agency. This will be an excellent institution for Africa, and much-needed."-@DrTedros #AFRORC70
"From our side we will support you in any way possible, but I remind you and urge you to join, to ratify, and have the Africa Medicines Agency up and running."-@DrTedros #AFRORC70
"I know how the European Medicines Agency @EMA_News is helping the European Union, and we need to have that kind of continental institution. You have all the commitment from @AUC_MoussaFaki and also from @AmiraDSA, and from my sister @MoetiTshidi and myself."-@DrTedros #AFRORC70
Full text: Director-General @DrTedros opening remark at the @WHOAFRO #AFRORC70
bit.ly/2FX1h9N

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More from @WHO

Aug 14
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
Read 9 tweets
Jun 1
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
Read 6 tweets
Jun 1
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
Image
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
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Read 5 tweets
Nov 10, 2023
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
Read 25 tweets
Nov 2, 2023
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
Read 18 tweets
Aug 10, 2023
#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
After testing – unsuccessfully -- over 240 000 compounds for use in antimalarials, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou, head of the Project 523 to discover a cure for chloroquine-resistant malaria, turned to traditional Chinese medical literature for clues.  There, she and her team found a reference to sweet wormwood to treat intermittent fevers. In 1971, Tu Youyou’s team isolated artemisinin, an active compound in sweet wormwood that was particularly effective in treating malaria. Artemisinin is now recommended by the World Health Organization as the first and second line of treatment for malaria....
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
Norethindrone, derived from the wild Mexican yam, is one of the first active ingredients in contraceptive pills.
Read 11 tweets

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