"The #COVID19 pandemic & the measures taken in many countries to contain it have taken a heavy toll on lives, livelihoods & economies. But there have also been some unexpected benefits. In many places, we have seen a significant drop in #AirPollution"-@DrTedros on #CleanAirDay
"We are reminded of how starved our lungs have been of clean, uncontaminated air.
This respite in our normally bustling cities & towns has resulted in cleaner air, fewer cars, less noise, & communities that are safer for 🚶♀️ & 🚴"-@DrTedros#CleanAirDay
"In the face of global challenges posed by #AirPollution, #ClimateChange, social & economic inequalities, & the ongoing pandemic, we have a chance to build back better.
Building back better must mean building back greener & cleaner"-@DrTedros#CleanAirDay
"The WHO Manifesto for a healthy and green recovery to #COVID19 provides a prescription for a “better normal” with improved social and environmental health and well-being for all"-@DrTedros#cleanairday
"It includes 80+ specific actions for governments at all levels. Among those relevant to fighting #AirPollution are:
🌀Establishing & enforcing air quality standards
🌀Developing coherent multi-sectoral policies & actions for preventing air pollution"-@DrTedros#CleanAirDay
"...
🌀Developing & implementing policies to ensure clean fuels & technologies for 🥘, heating & 💡 in 🏠
🌀Ensuring cleaner air through implementing interventions in polluting sectors & through access to cleaner fuels & technologies for 🥘, heating & 💡"-@DrTedros#CleanAirDay
"...
🌀Stopping subsidies on fossil fuels, such as for power generation & transport
🌀Subsidizing or exempting tax of clean energy & fuels such as solar-, hydro- & wind-based electricity
🌀Embedding environmental & health benchmarks in the financial recovery packages"-@DrTedros
"We stand at a pivotal moment in history. We are not just fighting a virus.
We’re fighting for a healthier, safer & cleaner future; for clean air & blue skies.
We cannot expect a future generation to do it. We must do it – and we can only do it together"-@DrTedros#CleanAirDay
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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