Thread by @WHO

Live with @DrTedros from the #UNGASS on #COVID19 pscp.tv/w/cpjrWTI2MTAy…

"75 years ago, as the 🌍 lay smouldering from the 2nd global conflict in 30 years, a new project was conceived – a project born of suffering, death & loss, but also of hope, & the blinding realization that there is no future but a common future"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #UN75

"That project, of course, was the United Nations 🇺🇳"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #UN75

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1334865585243648000?s=20

"In the past 75 years, the @UN has had many successes, and many challenges. But none more than the #COVID19 pandemic, which has strained the very fabric of multilateralism"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #UN75

"There have been challenges and lessons to learn for all us, but the #COVID19 pandemic has demonstrated what the @UN at its best can do"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1334866028757651457?s=20

"Although #COVID19 is a health crisis, it has had implications for every area of the @UN’s work. In the earliest days of the pandemic, the Secretary-General @antonioguterres & I agreed to trigger the UN Crisis Management Team, which has been led by @DrMikeRyan"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"We’ve worked with colleagues across the @UN family in multiple areas including supply chains, travel, communications, mass gatherings, the animal-human interface, joint work in countries and much more"-@DrTedros

"For example, we worked closely with the @WFP, @UNICEF and other partners to establish the @UN Supply Chain Platform, delivering millions of tests and items of personal protective equipment to 179 countries and territories"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #COVID19

"#COVID19 has shown what humanity is capable of at its best & worst:
Inspiring acts of compassion & self-sacrifice
Breathtaking feats of science & innovation
♥️-warming demonstrations of solidarity
But also disturbing signs of self-interest, blame-shifting & division"-@DrTedros

"More than 60M #COVID19 cases have now been reported to WHO, & 1.5M people have lost their lives.
Although this is a global health crisis, it’s important to remember that not all countries have responded equally, & not all countries have been affected equally"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Many countries have succeeded in preventing or containing widespread transmission of #COVID19 with proven public health tools. This is not a fluke of geography or demography. These countries have proven that with science, solidarity & sacrifice this virus can be tamed"-@DrTedros

"But where science is drowned out by conspiracy theories;

Where solidarity is undermined by division;

Where sacrifice is substituted with self-interest;

The virus thrives"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Today I would like to outline 4⃣ key areas in which we need the leadership of nations – as @UN – to end the #COVID19 pandemic and build the post-pandemic world"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"1⃣ invest in vaccines to end the pandemic.
With positive results in recent weeks from vaccine trials, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing steadily brighter. Although the path ahead remains treacherous, we can begin to glimpse the end of #COVID19 "-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"But let me be clear: we simply cannot accept a world in which the poor and marginalized are trampled by the rich and powerful in the stampede for #COVID19 vaccines"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

"#COVID19 is a global crisis, and the solutions must be shared equitably as global public goods, not as private commodities that widen inequalities and become yet another reason some people are left behind.
This is true between countries, and within countries"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The task of narrowing inequalities does not start after the #COVID19 pandemic. It must be part and parcel of the response.

If the world fails this test, what hope is there of living up to the scope and scale of the @GlobalGoalsUN?"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

"In April, with support from many partners, WHO established the @ACTAccelerator.

This is a completely unprecedented partnership with two aims: to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics fast; and allocate and deliver them fairly"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

"Already the @ACTAccelerator has delivered real results.

We have reached agreement for the purchase of 120 million low-cost, rapid diagnostic tests for low- and middle-income countries"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

"We've secured supplies of #dexamethasone – the only 💊 shown to reduce the risk of death from #COVID19 – for up to 4.5M patients in lower-income countries.

As part of the @ACTAccelerator, 189 countries & economies are participating in the COVAX facility"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

"Unless the @ACTAccelerator is fully funded, it's in danger of becoming no more than a noble gesture. It faces an immediate funding gap of $4.3B to lay the groundwork for the mass procurement & delivery of vaccines, diagnostics & therapeutics"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

"A further 23.9 billion dollars will be needed next year"-@DrTedros #UNGASS #ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1334881089131843586?s=20

"That’s less than half of 1% of the $11 trillion of stimulus packages announced by #G20 countries so far.
Vaccines are an investment that will be repaid rapidly & many times over. Sharing the fruits of science is not charity, it’s in the best interests of every nation"-@DrTedros

"2⃣ invest in preparedness to prevent the next pandemic.

Despite years of warnings, many countries were simply not ready for #COVID19.

Many mistakenly assumed their strong health systems would protect them"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Many of the countries that have done best are those with recent experience of responding to SARS, MERS & other disease outbreaks.
Now all countries must develop the same “muscle memory”, invest in the measures that will predict, prevent, control & mitigate next crisis"-@DrTedros

"It’s also clear that the global system for preparedness needs attention.

The International Health Regulations is a powerful legal tool, but countries must use it more effectively"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"It’s clear that the International Health Regulations can only be successful if it’s based on mutual trust, mutual accountability, mutual transparency and robust political legitimacy"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"In September I established a committee to review the functioning of the IHR during the #COVID19 pandemic, & to provide recommendations on how to strengthen its implementation – incl. the binary mechanism for declaring a public health emergency of international concern"-@DrTedros

"WHO is engaging with several countries on developing & piloting a new mechanism, the Universal Health & Preparedness Review, in which countries agree to a regular & transparent process of peer review, similar to the Universal Periodic Review used by the #HRC"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"In addition, we welcome the initiative proposed by the @eucopresident Charles Michel for an international treaty to provide the political underpinning for strengthening the implementation of the International Health Regulations and global health security"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The #COVID19 pandemic has also shown that there is an urgent need for a globally agreed system for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples, to facilitate the rapid development of medical countermeasures as global public goods"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"#Switzerland has generously offered the use of a high-security laboratory at which WHO would manage a new “biobank”, and we are now developing the framework under which samples would be provided and shared"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"3⃣ invest in health as the foundation of peace & prosperity.

The pandemic has proven that a health crisis is not just a health crisis; it is a social, economic, political and humanitarian crisis"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Millions of people have lost their livelihoods, the global economy has been plunged into its sharpest downturn since the Great Depression, geopolitical fissures have widened, and the multilateral system has been called into question"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The risks of under-investment in health have wide-ranging impacts, and so do the benefits of investing in health.

Health is an investment in successful societies. It enables individuals, families, communities and nations to flourish"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The world spends 7.5 trillion dollars on health every year – almost 10% of global GDP.

But most of this spending is in the richest countries, and is disproportionately directed to treating disease, rather than promoting and protecting health"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"We need a radical rethink of the way we view and value health.

Accordingly, I have established a new Council on the Economics of #HealthForAll, to examine and elucidate the links between health and inclusive, innovation-led economic growth"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The council will be chaired by the distinguished economist Professor @MazzucatoM, and Her Excellency @MarinSanna, the Prime Minister of #Finland, has generously agreed to be its patron"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The good news is that there is already strong political commitment for health.

At last year’s General Assembly, all @UN Member States converged to endorse the high-level political declaration on universal health coverage"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll

"You embraced a vision for a world in which all people have access to essential health services, without facing financial hardship.

The #COVID19 pandemic has only underlined why universal health coverage is so important"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll

"In the face of the pandemic, many countries have offered free testing & treatment for #COVID19, & have promised free vaccination for their populations. They've recognized that the ability to pay should not be the difference between sickness & health, & life & death"-@DrTedros

"Shouldn’t that also be true for a crisis like cancer, heart disease, HIV, TB or malaria? Shouldn’t it also be true for services like routine immunization, maternal care and tobacco control, which can prevent a crisis – and the costs of dealing with it?"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Universal health coverage is built on strong health systems.

Many of the countries hit hardest by #COVID19 are those with highly medicalized health systems, with access to the world’s most advanced drugs, devices and specialists"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Those things have great value, but too many countries have neglected investments in basic public health functions, which are the bedrock of safe and healthy nations"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"In particular, strong #primaryhealthcare is the eyes and ears of every health system, and is essential for preventing and responding to emergencies of all kinds, from the personal crisis of a heart attack to an outbreak of a new and deadly virus"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"If the world is to avoid another crisis on this scale, investments in basic public health functions – and especially #primaryhealthcare – are essential"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"4⃣ invest in multilateralism to safeguard our common future.

A vaccine will help to end the#COVID19 pandemic. But it will not address the vulnerabilities that lie at its root.

There is no vaccine for poverty, hunger, inequality or climate change"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Once the #COVID19 pandemic ends, we will be left with even greater challenges than before it started.

In 2015, the nations of the world adopted the @GlobalGoalsUN, with their sweeping vision for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The same year, nations adopted the Paris Agreement & the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on finance for development, which I had the honour to chair. The 🌍 converged around a common vision for the future. But in the years since, we have witnessed a dangerous divergence"-@DrTedros

"The Paris Agreement has been undermined; the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda have gone largely unfulfilled; and although there has been progress toward the @GlobalGoalsUN, too often our efforts have remained siloed and splintered"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Together, we must once again choose convergence.

Together, we must heed the Secretary-General’s clarion call for a Decade of Action to pursue the @GlobalGoalsUN with even more innovation and determination"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Last year, WHO and 11 other multilateral agencies came together to launch the Global Action Plan on Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, to support countries to accelerate towards the health-related @GlobalGoalsUN targets"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"That type of collaboration – between partners and between countries – must be the hallmark of the post-pandemic era.

Together we have shown that in the face of a global crisis, the world can come together in new ways to solve urgent problems"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"And together, we must harness that same urgency and innovation to address the full range of challenges we face.

No one else will do it, and it cannot wait.

It must be us, and it must be now"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Humanity has overcome many plagues and pandemics before, and we will overcome this one"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"But we cannot – we must not – go back to the same exploitative patterns of production & consumption, the same disregard for the planet that sustains all life, the same cycle of panic & neglect, a& the same divisive politics that fueled this #COVID19 pandemic"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"The pandemic has brought us to a fork in the road.

Behind us lies the path of business as usual – the path that led us to this crisis"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"Before us lies a new path: a path on which nations don't see themselves as rivals in a 0-sum game, but as fellow-travelers with the same aspirations, hopes & dreams"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"A vision that affirms our common history and our common future; that recognizes we are richer for our diversity, and that we are more than the sum of our parts"-@DrTedros #UNGASS

"75 years after its birth, the @UN remains more relevant than ever, and more essential than ever.

WHO is proud to be part of the 🇺🇳 family.

We remain committed to working with all countries to ensure the United Nations lives up to its name and aspirations"-@DrTedros #UNGASS