Thread by @WHO

LIVE: Inauguration of the WHO Hub for pandemic & epidemic intelligence with @DrTedros & Chancellor Merkel pscp.tv/w/c_4eNXR3LTE0…

🎉 The WHO Hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence is officially inaugurated by @DrTedros and 🇩🇪 Chancellor Merkel

"It is an honour and a privilege to be here today for the opening of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.

I want to begin by taking you back to 2015, when the terrible West African #Ebola outbreak was just beginning to be brought under control"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "As the world gathered in Geneva for the World Health Assembly [#WHA68], questions were being asked about how this could have happened. There was a guest speaker at the Assembly that year. It was, of course, Chancellor Merkel"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/600233869628076032?s=20

@DrTedros "This is what she said:
“The war will only have been won when there are no new infections. In fact, it will only really be won when we are properly equipped to face the next crisis – in other words, when we have learned from this crisis.
..."-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433069766357536775?s=20

@DrTedros "...
“One lesson that we all need to learn is that we should have reacted sooner. We thus have to ask: how
we can do that?”"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433070080309538819?s=20

@DrTedros "Lessons were learned from our experience in West Africa that have helped the response to subsequent outbreaks of #Ebola in the #DRC"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Those [#Ebola] outbreaks were brought under control without spreading across borders as they did in West Africa, even though the North Kivu outbreak occurred in a highly unstable and insecure environment, and very close to the border with Uganda"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "But the lessons from West Africa were not sufficient to prepare the world for a global pandemic of a respiratory pathogen"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433070480878194688?s=20

@DrTedros "The #COVID19 pandemic is the defining crisis of our time. It has taught the world many painful lessons"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "One of the most clear is the need for new, powerful systems and tools for global surveillance, to collect, analyse and disseminate data on outbreaks with the potential to become epidemics and pandemics"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433070724781154310?s=20

@DrTedros "Viruses move fast, but data can move even faster.

With the right information, countries and communities can stay ahead of emerging risks, and save lives"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Urbanization, deforestation, #climatechange and intensified agricultural practices are all increasing the risks of zooneses spilling over into human populations"-@DrTedros

"At the same time, new technologies are giving us the ability to predict, prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks faster than ever before. Harnessing the power of these new technologies to save lives is not just an opportunity, it’s an obligation"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "The WHO Hub for Pandemic & Epidemic Intelligence is about: leveraging innovations in data science, harnessing the power of AI, quantum computing & other cutting-edge technologies, & fostering greater sharing of data & information, between communities & countries"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "No single institution or nation can do this alone. That’s why we have coined the term “collaborative intelligence” to sum up our collective mission. This Hub will bring together scientists, innovators, policy makers, & civil society representatives from around the 🌍"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Our aim is to put the knowledge and insights that are developed here in Berlin to practical use on the ground all over the 🌍"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "There have been several reviews of the global response to the #COVID19 pandemic, with recommendations for countries and for WHO about what we can do to keep the world safer in future"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "The hub is one response to the recommendations, filling a gap in the 🌍’s defences & answering the question that Chancellor Merkel asked in 2015: how can we react faster & avoid the needless suffering & death of the #COVID19 pandemic in future"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433074445476933640?s=20

@DrTedros "For WHO, this is part of our commitment to keeping the world safer, to being the organization the world needs, and to giving countries the information and tools they need to protect their people"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "My brother @Chikwe_I is the perfect person to lead the WHO Hub. He brings vision and experience, and will be an excellent addition to our WHO leadership team"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I "And Berlin is the perfect place to host it, as a vibrant, dynamic, creative and modern city that is the ideal incubator for what we want to achieve"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433074927561854976?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I "My thanks once again to Governing Mayor Müller and the people of Berlin for hosting the WHO Hub, and to the 🇩🇪 Federal Government for its generous financial support"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I "So many people have come together and worked so hard, so quickly to make this happen.

I would especially like to offer my profound thanks and appreciation to my friend and brother Dr @schwartlanderb, who has devoted himself to bringing us all to this moment"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb "No one has done more to make the vision of the WHO Hub a reality than Chancellor Merkel. Under her leadership, 🇩🇪 has become a leading advocate for global health. This is not a recent development, or a sudden realisation that health matters in the wake of a pandemic"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb "Health has been a central theme of Chancellor Merkel’s leadership throughout her tenure. This began with the 2007 G8-Summit in Heiligendamm, which mobilized 60 billion US dollars for global health"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433075338775564290?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb "In 2015, she addressed the #WHA68, at a critical moment in global health. In 2017, in my first week as Director-General, I had the honour of attending the G20 Summit in Hamburg, 🇩🇪 put a very strong emphasis on health & emergency preparedness"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb "As part of 🇩🇪’s G20 presidency, Chancellor Merkel also initiated the first ever meeting of G20 health ministers, which included a health emergency simulation exercise"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb "In 2019 together with 🇳🇴 PM @erna_solberg & 🇬🇭 President @NAkufoAddo, she initiated the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives & Well-being for All, bringing together 13 multilateral partners to develop a coherent approach for achieving the health-related @GlobalGoalsUN"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN "When the #COVID19 pandemic struck, the German government moved quickly to expand its financial support for WHO, becoming our biggest donor, and was one of the first supporters of the @ACTAccelerator"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1253670647290445826?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "In October last year, I was honoured to speak to Chancellor Merkel, which is when we first discussed the idea for a new centre that would serve as a global platform to enhance global capacity for pandemic and epidemic intelligence"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1320801019740233731?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "Which brings us to today. We have arrived at this moment in no small part because of one woman who says what she means, and means what she says"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433078523787464707?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "I began by reminding you of Chancellor Merkel’s speech to the World Health Assembly in 2015. She concluded that speech with an appeal, that, “Every single person is vitally needed to fight for the human right to health.”"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "The right to health is not a job for one organization or one leader. It is a job for every single one of us, every single day"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433078929485701124?s=20

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "Your Excellency [Chancellor Merkel] – I dare to call you my friend, You have more than played your part. Your leadership, integrity, humility and dedication are an example to us all"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "You [Chancellor Merkel] have served your country with distinction, but you have also served the people of the 🌍. I know that whatever life brings you in the months & years ahead, you will continue to serve others, & you will continue to work for the right to health"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @Chikwe_I @schwartlanderb @erna_solberg @NAkufoAddo @GlobalGoalsUN @ACTAccelerator "Your legacy for global health will be so much more than your name on a plaque on a wall in Berlin. It will be etched in the lives of people all over the world for years to come, who will enjoy healthier and safer lives because of you"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1433080032176615424?s=20

"It's with both pride & humility that I have the honour to present you [Chancellor Merkel] with the WHO Global Leadership Award, in recognition of your outstanding contribution to the health of the world’s people"-@DrTedros