Thread by @kakape

“The global increase in #COVID19 cases continues, driven by large outbreaks in Asia and a fresh wave in Europe”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser.
"We all want to move on from the pandemic. But no matter how much we wish it away, this pandemic is not over."

“Even as some high-income countries propose a second booster dose, one third of the world’s population remains unvaccinated”, says @DrTedros.
“But there are some promising signs of progress.”

@DrTedros “In Nigeria, for example, vaccine uptake was dramatically increased when supply stabilized, and planning was done on how to effectively distribute vaccines”, says @DrTedros.
Goal remains to vaccinate 70% of population in every country by middle of this year.

@DrTedros On to Ukraine:
"Almost 10 million people, nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population, have now been forcibly displaced”, says @DrTedros.
"The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in many parts of the country, and is critical in the Mariupol and Bucha districts."

@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”, says @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”, says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros WHO’s response is facing hurdles.
“Access to many parts of the country remains blocked”, says @DrTedros. Also "serious cash-flow constraints in our ability to deliver life-saving support". WHO has received just $9.6 million against our appeal for $57.5 million over next 3 months.

@DrTedros One of the most horrifying counts these days:
"WHO has now verified 64 attacks on health care since the start of the war, and we are in the process of verifying further attacks."

"Attacks on health must stop”, says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros "We have concerns around the integrity and safe operation of nuclear and chemical facilities”, says @DrTedros.
“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 moves on to the humanitarian crisis in #Tigray, which is getting far less attention.
WHO had been waiting for permission to send 95 metric tonnes of medical supplies. It finally got that.

@DrTedros "If we can deliver these supplies safely, they will help people in desperate need, but much more is needed”, says @DrTedros.
“Only 4% of the needs for health supplies have been delivered. The region has been under siege for almost 500 days, with dire shortages of fuel and food:"

@DrTedros One of my favorite subjects now: Guinea worm eradication.
This terrible disease remains endemic in 5 countries in Africa.
At a meeting in Abu Dhabi this week, ministers from those countries "came together to commit to taking the action needed to eradicate Guinea worm by 2030"

@DrTedros In recent weeks in Europe with the lifting of restrictions and BA.2 taking over "transmission has taken off again in many, many, many countries”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan But "we're seeing that in countries with high levels of vaccination, especially in those most vulnerable, we're not seeing that translate into pressure on the health system into high rates of hospitalization and high rates of death”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Same picture in Asia, says @DrMikeRyan:
"Countries that have high rates of vaccination amongst their vulnerable populations are weathering that transmission storm”. But where vaccination rate is low, "we've seen higher rates of hospital admission and death".

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Vulnerabilities of the 6,5 million people displaced within Ukraine are stark, says @DrMikeRyan:
- 27% of those households have an infant under 5
- 56% have a person over 60
- 32% have a chronically ill person
- 10% have a pregnant women
- 19.5% have a disabled person

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan “I'm not even getting to the issues of mental health and trauma”, says @DrMikeRyan.
"Those people have suffered so there's an incredibly complex problem inside Ukraine as well”, he says, with a further 12 million people estimated to be in the zones of conflict and unable to move

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Out of a population of 44 million people over all, "half the population of Ukraine has either left the country, has been displaced within the country or is in the direct conflict zone”, says @DrMikeRyan.
"That's an incredible, shameful statistic 4 weeks into this invasion."

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan Problems so far are “the tip of an iceberg of need”, says @DrMikeRyan.
“There's going to have to be a further massive scaling up of assistance within Ukraine in the coming weeks because I have never myself seen such complex needs so quickly in a crisis that is developed so fast"

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan "We have experienced all kinds of bureaucratic restrictions”, says @DrMikeRyan on #Tigray:
"It is the responsibility of all parties to facilitate a process of giving access not to take away piecemeal small bits of a blockade and allow some aid to trickle in."

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan “It shouldn't be upon the humanitarian community to have to constantly renegotiate and negotiate and then have bureaucratic blocks and stop, start, stop, start. This is not the way it's supposed to be”, says @DrMikeRyan

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan "We are forgetting the basic principles of humanitarian law, when we end up in these interminable discussions about getting the most simple and basic access to populations who desperately desperately need us”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @DrMikeRyan And @DrMikeRyan adds: “Nowhere right now on this planet is that situation being more precisely illustrated than in Ethiopia and Tigray."