Thread by @WHO

LIVE: Media briefing on #Ukraine, #COVID19 and other global health issues with @DrTedros twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@DrTedros "The global increase in #COVID19 cases continues, driven by large outbreaks in Asia and a fresh wave in Europe. Several countries are now seeing their highest death rates since the beginning of the pandemic"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "This reflects the speed with which Omicron spreads, and the heightened risk of death for those who are not vaccinated, especially older people"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506638605263032322?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "We all want to move on from the pandemic. But no matter how much we wish it away, this pandemic is not over. Until we reach high vaccination coverage in all countries, we will continue to face the risk of infections surging & new variants emerging that evade 💉"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Even as some high-income countries propose a second booster dose, 1/3 of the 🌍’s population remains unvaccinated"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506639023091163144?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "But there are some promising signs of progress. In #Nigeria, for example, vaccine uptake was dramatically increased when supply stabilized, and planning was done on how to effectively distribute vaccines"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "WHO’s target remains to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year, with priority given to #healthworkers, older people and other at-risk groups"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "Achieving that target is essential to save lives, prevent the risk of long COVID, protect health systems and increase population immunity"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506639415489273865?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "Other tools, including testing, sequencing and contact tracing, also remain essential, and it’s vital that countries don’t abandon the capacities they have built over the past two years. WHO continues to support countries with the tools they need"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "One of those tools is Go.Data, an application developed by WHO and partners for contact tracing and data management that helps responders track outbreaks in real-time"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506639588965724176?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "Go.Data is free, mobile-friendly, can be used offline and is easily adapted to different outbreaks and locations. It was first used during outbreaks of #Ebola in the DRC and Uganda, and diphtheria in Bangladesh"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "When the #COVID19 pandemic struck, many countries realised that older contact tracing methods weren't fit for purpose. Today, 65 countries have used Go.Data. It's a good example of an aspect of the COVID response that will now strengthen health systems"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "For example, Brazil has used it for #COVID19, and is now also using it to track #measles"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506640010115751940?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "It’s now one month since the Russian Federation invasion of #Ukraine began. Almost 10 million people, nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population, have now been forcibly displaced"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in many parts of the country, and is critical in the Mariupol and Bucha districts"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506640262260477964?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros "The disruption to services and supplies throughout #Ukraine is posing an extreme risk to people with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and TB, which are among the country’s leading causes of mortality"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Displacement, poor shelter, and overcrowded living conditions caused by the conflict are also increasing the risk of diseases such as measles, pneumonia and polio, as well as #COVID19"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "WHO has delivered 150 MT of medical supplies. We've established supply lines from our warehouse in Lviv to many cities in 🇺🇦, but access to many parts of the country remains blocked. A humanitarian convoy to Mariupol wasn't able to be dispatched due to insecurity"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We continue facing serious cash-flow constraints in our ability to deliver life-saving support. So far, WHO has received just $9.6 million against our appeal for $57.5 million over the next three months"-@DrTedros

ukraine.who.foundation

@DrTedros "We thank Norway, Switzerland and the @UNCERF for their generosity, but we continue to face a huge funding gap that prevents us from delivering urgently needed medical supplies. We call on donors to quickly address these urgent needs"-@DrTedros #Ukraine
ukraine.who.foundation

@DrTedros @UNCERF "WHO has now verified 64 attacks on health care since the start of the war [in #Ukraine], and we are in the process of verifying further attacks.

Attacks on health must stop.

Health systems, facilities and #healthworkers are #NotATarget"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHOUkraine/status/1506579164043919367?s=20&t=zbqxfjNQ4uKjZp-GuzXjwA

@DrTedros @UNCERF "We have concerns around the integrity & safe operation of nuclear & chemical facilities. WHO is working with @iaeaorg & we continue to call on all sides to minimise the risk of a nuclear or chemical accident, which could have catastrophic consequences for human health"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "We continue to call on the Russian Federation to stop the war"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "Last week, I spoke about the humanitarian disaster in #Tigray, and that WHO was still waiting for permission to send an additional 95 metric tonnes of medical supplies. Since then, permission has been granted"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "If we can deliver these supplies safely, they will help people in desperate need, but much more is needed
So far, only 4% of the needs for health supplies have been delivered"-@DrTedros #Tigray

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506642640099590145?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "The region has been under siege for almost 500 days, with dire shortages of fuel and food. We continue to call on #Ethiopia and #Eritrea to end the blockade"-@DrTedros #Tigray

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506642734848880647?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "Earlier this week I had the honour of attending the Guinea Worm Summit in Abu Dhabi. Although it’s largely unknown in high-income countries, Guinea worm has plagued people in Africa, the Middle East and Asia for millennia"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1506220023387500545?s=20&t=zbqxfjNQ4uKjZp-GuzXjwA

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg "But thanks to a partnership between WHO, the @CarterCenter and other partners, the eradication of this ancient disease is now within sight. In the 1980s there were an estimated 3.5 million cases of Guinea worm disease globally. Last year, there were just 15"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg @CarterCenter "Today, Guinea worm remains endemic in just five African countries. At the Guinea Worm Summit in Abu Dhabi this week, Ministers of Health from those countries came together to commit to taking the action needed to eradicate Guinea worm by 2030"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1506240614790094853?s=20&t=zbqxfjNQ4uKjZp-GuzXjwA

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg @CarterCenter "Finally, tomorrow is #WorldTBDay.

Tuberculosis kills more than 1.5 million people each year.

Ending this debilitating disease remains a priority for WHO, and in recent years, we have made encouraging progress"-@DrTedros #EndTB

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg @CarterCenter "More than 66 million people received access to TB services since the year 2000. However, the #COVID19 pandemic has led to disruptions that reversed years of progress. And the war in #Ukraine is also jeopardising progress in that country"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1506644326952144898?s=20&t=2z8UnHxJ01tWk0KHsY2lew

@DrTedros @UNCERF @iaeaorg @CarterCenter "For the first time in over a decade, WHO has reported an increase in tuberculosis deaths. This is a very dangerous trend that we must arrest. We call on all countries to invest in expanding access to effective tools against tuberculosis, and in new tools to #EndTB"-@DrTedros