Thread by @WHO

Closing of the #WHA74 with @DrTedros pscp.tv/w/c4N4nzI2MTAy…

"First of all, I would like to thank Your Excellency Dasho Dechen Wangmo for your leadership this week as President of the #WHA74"-@DrTedros

"I would also like to thank the Chair of Committee A, Dr Adriana Amarilla of #Paraguay, and the Chair of Committee B, Dr Iferemi Waqainabete of #Fiji. Thank you both for your leadership this week"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"And I would like to thank all Member States for the constructive and collaborative way that you have worked this week to address a full agenda of pressing health challenges"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"I know that the past week is the culmination of months of work for many colleagues – Member States and Secretariat alike – who have engaged in long hours of consultations, negotiations and preparations that have resulted in a smooth and successful Assembly"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"You've adopted 30+ resolutions & decisions on diabetes
disabilities
ending violence against 👶
👁 care
HIV
hepatitis & STIs
local production of 💊
malaria
#BeatNTDs
#BeatNCDs
nursing & midwifery
🦷 health
social determinants of health
strategic directions for the 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️"-@DrTedros

"And this morning you approved a historic resolution on strengthening WHO preparedness and response for emergencies.

I would like to thank all Member States for the support they expressed for WHO, and for making it stronger"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"The reports of @TheIndPanel, the IHR Review Committee and the IOAC are unanimous in their view that the world needs a stronger WHO at the centre of the global health architecture"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"There are many recommendations in each of the reports about how to achieve that, and many of these recommendations require further discussion with Member States"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"As the reports all say and many Member States have emphasised, a paradigm shift in the quantity and quality of funding for the Secretariat is a key issue"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"Throughout this #WHA74, many Member States have spoken about their reliance on WHO experts at all levels for technical guidance. Our staff really appreciate this"-@DrTedros

"But the reality of our funding model is that many of these expert colleagues are on short-term contracts, and even if they are not, their programmes have to be planned in a debilitating cycle of financial ebb and flow"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"Even in the midst of this pandemic, we face a serious challenge to maintain WHO’s response to #COVID19 at its current level"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"Last week you heard about WHO’s co-ordination in country, the technical support and guidance we provide, the capacity building and training of health workers, the scaling up of sequencing, the critical supplies, the surge deployments and much more"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"It all has to be funded. We cannot pay people with praise.

And WHO cannot grow stronger without sustainable financing"-@DrTedros #WHA74

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399363036213809156?s=20

"This is not a new issue. More sustainable financing has been one of my priorities as part of the WHO Transformation. However, there have been two big differences at this #WHA74"-@DrTedros

"1⃣ the message that a strong WHO needs to be properly financed has been amplified by all the expert reviews that reported to this #WHA74"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399363292276080647?s=20

"2⃣ we have a way forward. I thank the Working Group on Sustainable Finance for its work so far, and for its encouraging interim report to this #WHA74. And thank you especially to 🇩🇪 & Björn Kümmel for their leadership of this initiative"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399363292276080647?s=20

"We look forward to its final report to the Executive Board in January"-@DrTedros #WHA74

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399363674943459336?s=20

"I also thank Member States for approving the planned Programme Budget for 2022-2023. For the long-term strengthening of WHO, I urge Member States to seize this pivotal moment & chart a course to a sustainable 💰 model through the recommendations of the Working Group"-@DrTedros

"In the medium-term, I ask that you fully fund the next Programme Budget.

In the short-term, I ask you to fill the significant shortfall in the Strategic Preparedness & Response Plan with the flexible 💰 we need to deliver on the @ACTAccelerator promise & save lives"-@DrTedros

"The theme of this #WHA74 is, “Ending this pandemic, preventing the next one.” The reality is, we still have a lot of work to do to end this pandemic"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"We’re very encouraged that cases and deaths are continuing to decline globally, but it would be a monumental error for any country to think the danger has passed"-@DrTedros #WHA74 #COVID19

"The tailored and consistent use of public health measures, in combination with #VaccinEquity, remains the way out"-@DrTedros #WHA74 #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399364707857883146?s=20

"I urge all Member States to commit to supporting the targets I set out on Monday, to achieve vaccination of at least 10% of the population of all countries by the end of September, and at least 30% by the end of the year"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity #WHA74

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1396903387732615172?s=20

"One day the #COVID19 pandemic will be behind us, but the psychological scars will remain for those who have lost loved ones, 👨‍⚕️👩‍⚕️ who have been stretched beyond breaking point & the millions of people of all ages confronted with months of loneliness & isolation"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"And we will still face the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic"-@DrTedros #WHA74 #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399365397070192642?s=20

"The questions the #COVID19 pandemic is asking us cannot simply be answered with new institutions, mechanisms, facilities or processes.

The challenges we face are profound, and so must be the solutions we design"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"Strengthening WHO certainly means strengthening the Secretariat, but also strengthening the bond between Member States. That’s why the 1⃣ recommendation that I believe will do most to strengthen both WHO & 🌍 health security is the recommendation for a #PandemicTreaty"-@DrTedros

"We need a generational commitment that:
-outlives budgetary cycles, election cycles & media cycles
-creates an overarching framework for connecting the political, 💰 & technical mechanisms needed for strengthening 🌍 health security"-@DrTedros #WHA74

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399366036588277764?s=20

"At present, pathogens have greater power than WHO.

They are emerging more frequently in a planet out of balance.

They exploit our interconnectedness and expose our inequities and divisions"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"The safety of the 🌍’s people cannot rely solely on the goodwill of governments. Every government is responsible for, & accountable to, its own people. But Member States can only truly keep their own people safe if they are accountable to each other at the 🌍 level"-@DrTedros

"The defining characteristic of the #COVID19 pandemic is the lack of sharing: of data, information, pathogens, technologies and resources"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"A #PandemicTreaty would foster improved sharing, trust and accountability, and provide the solid foundation on which to build other mechanisms for global health security"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"...
For peer review of national capacities
For research & innovation
For early warning
For stockpiling & production of pandemic supplies
For equitable access to 💉, tests & 💊
For an emergency workforce
And much more"-@DrTedros

#PandemicTreaty #WHA74

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399367608613412866?s=20

"A #PandemicTreaty is a promise to future generations;

To sustained political and financial commitment"-@DrTedros #WHA74

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1399368051062198276?s=20

"Crucially, an international agreement of any kind must be designed and owned by all Member States – all. It must be truly representative and inclusive.

It must be thorough and carefully considered, but it must also be urgent"-@DrTedros #PandemicTreaty #WHA74

"There is no reason we can’t do both.

We must seize the moment. In the coming months and years, other crises will demand our attention, and distract us from the urgency of taking action now"-@DrTedros #PandemicTreaty #WHA74

"We appreciate the strong support expressed by dozens of Member States for the idea of a global agreement on pandemic preparedness, under article 19 of the WHO constitution"-@DrTedros #PandemicTreaty #WHA74

"We look forward to discussing this idea further with Member States at a Special Session of the World Health Assembly in November"-@DrTedros #PandemicTreaty #WHA74

"You, our Member States, have demonstrated this week that with commitment, hard work and a willingness to compromise, it is possible to find common ground, even on issues where there are deep differences of opinion between you"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"That same commitment and willingness is needed now. Pandemics are a threat to all of us. So we must work together to build a healthier, safer, fairer future – for all of us"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"The #COVID19 pandemic has taught us many lessons. Among the most important is that when health is at risk, everything is at risk. But when health is protected and promoted, individuals, families, communities, nations and economies thrive"-@DrTedros #WHA74

"We call on all Member States to enshrine the right to health in their constitutions, as indeed many have already done. But the right to health cannot – must not – become an empty slogan. It must become the experience of every person in every nation"-@DrTedros #WH74

"Madam President, you said in your opening address to the #WHA74 that leadership is hard to define and harder to find. This is a moment for exceptional leadership; for doing the unusual and the unprecedented. We must approach the future with open eyes and open arms"-@DrTedros

"As the Bhutanese proverb goes: “If you want to action great ideas, you need to apply the strength of a Himalayan mountain.”"-@DrTedros #WHA74