"Two years ago, the @WorldBank & WHO founded @TheGPMB out of concern that the 🌍 was stuck in a cycle of panic & neglect.
In recent years we have seen a recurring pattern. The world throws money at an outbreak, then does little to prevent the next one"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"We've had many reviews, reports & recommendations. Some have been heeded; many haven't. It’s as if we wait:
-for the ✈️ to crash, then call for more safety inspections
-until the 🏙️ burns down, then decide we need a 🧯dept
-until the 🌩️ comes, then try to fix the roof"-@DrTedros
"Let me say it as clearly as I can:
we have to work together, plan for the long term & realize that spending on health & preparedness is not charity, it’s an investment in our future.
Govts & intl agencies must be accountable to the populations we have pledged to serve"-@DrTedros
"The #COVID19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on lives & livelihoods, disrupting health systems, economies & societies. Even countries with advanced health systems & powerful economies have been overwhelmed"-@DrTedros #AWorldInDisorder
"But many of the countries that have done well are those that have learned from previous outbreaks like SARS, MERS, H1N1, Ebola & others. That “muscle memory” has prepared them for this pandemic.
Now the whole world must develop the same muscle memory"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"We can no longer wring our hands and say something must be done.
It’s time for countries to get their hands dirty and build the public health systems to ensure a pandemic of this magnitude and severity never happens again"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"#COVID19 will not be the last pandemic, nor the last global health emergency.
But with the right political and financial investments now, we can prevent and mitigate future pandemics and protect our future and the future of generations to come"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"Every day that we stand by and do nothing is a day that brings us closer to the next global health emergency, whether from a disease outbreak, #climatechange, or a natural or self-inflicted disaster"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"We do not know what the next health emergency will be, but we know it will come. And we must be prepared.
It is the same reason we mandate seatbelts, invest in fire departments, and vaccinate our children"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
"When it comes to preparedness, our biggest obstacle is ourselves. Short-term self-interest is simply not sufficient. It is a basic principle of public health: no individual alone can protect themselves from an outbreak, & no nation can act alone in a pandemic"-@DrTedros
"2020 has been a wake-up call. The #COVID19 pandemic has levied a terrible cost on humanity. These have been hard-won lessons. We must learn from them. And we must build back better"-@DrTedros#AWorldInDisorder
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
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