Thread by @kakape

"More than 35,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported to WHO, from 92 countries and territories, with 12 deaths", says @DrTedros at @WHO presser
"Almost 7,500 cases were reported last week, a 20% increase over the previous week, which was also 20% more than the week before"

@DrTedros @WHO Almost all cases being reported from Europe and Americas and among men who have sex with men, says @drtedros.
This underscores "the importance for all countries to design and deliver services and info tailored to these communities that protect health, human rights and dignity"

@DrTedros @WHO "The primary focus for all countries must be to ensure they are ready for monkeypox and stop transmission using effective tools", says @drtedros.
Mentions disease surveillance, contact tracing, tailored risk comms and community engagement as well as risk reduction measures.

@DrTedros @WHO "Vaccines may also play an important part in controlling the monkeypox outbreak", says @drtedros.
"However, for the moment, supplies of vaccines, and data about their effectiveness, are limited, although we are starting to receive data from some countries."

@DrTedros @WHO .@WHO is in contact with vaccine manufacturers and countries willing to share doses, says @drtedros.
"We remain concerned that the inequitable access to vaccines we saw during the covid19 pandemic will be repeated, and that the poorest will continue to be left behind."

@DrTedros @WHO Millions of people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda are facing starvation, says @DrTedros.
"Drought, conflict, climate change, and increasing prices for food, fuel and fertilizer are all contributing to lack of access to sufficient food."

@DrTedros @WHO "Hunger and malnutrition pose a direct threat to health, but they also weaken the body’s defenses, and open the door to diseases including pneumonia, measles and cholera", says @drtedros. "Food insecurity also forces some people to choose between paying for food and health care."

@DrTedros @WHO "While other partners are working to address the food crisis, WHO is addressing the resulting health crisis", says @drtedros.
"The $123.7 million we are appealing for will be used to prevent and control outbreaks, to treat malnutrition and to provide essential health services..."

@DrTedros @WHO "In the Ethiopian region of Tigray, the drought is compounding a man-made catastrophe for 6 million people who have been under siege from Ethiopian and Eritrean forces for 21 months, sealed off from the outside world", says @drtedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "As a result, the people of Tigray are facing multiple outbreaks of malaria, anthrax, cholera, diarrhea and more", says @drtedros.
"This unimaginable cruelty must end."

@DrTedros @WHO "Just in the past week, 15,000 people around the world lost their lives to #covid19", says @DrTedros. "15,000 deaths in a week is completely unacceptable when we have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives."

@DrTedros @WHO "The number of sequences shared per week has fallen by 90% since the beginning of this year, and the number of countries sharing sequences has dropped by 75%, making it so much harder to understand how the virus might be changing", says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "With colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere and people spending more time indoors, the risks for more intense transmission and hospitalization will only increase in the coming months", says @drtedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "There is a lot of talk about learning to live with this virus", says @drtedros.
"But we cannot live with 15,000 deaths a week. We cannot live with mounting hospitalizations and deaths. We cannot live with inequitable access to vaccines and other tools."

@DrTedros @WHO "Learning to live with #COVID19 does not mean we pretend it's not there", says @drtedros.
"It means we use the tools we have to protect ourselves and protect others."

@DrTedros @WHO On monkeypox:
"We have known from the beginning that this vaccine would not be a silver bullet, that it would not meet all the expectations that are being put on it and that we don't have firm efficacy data or effectiveness data in this context", says @PeopleDocGeneva.

@DrTedros @WHO @PeopleDocGeneva "The fact that we're beginning to see some breakthrough cases is really important information, because it tells us that the vaccine is not 100% effective", says @PeopleDocGeneva.
"We cannot expect 100% effectiveness at the moment based on this emerging information."

@DrTedros @WHO @PeopleDocGeneva On monkeypox:
"A number of countries are showing concerning trends and Brazil is one of them", says @PeopleDocGeneva

@DrTedros @WHO @PeopleDocGeneva "It's really important for all public health interventions that are available in the country to be put in place and for individuals to be given the information they need to protect themselves", says @PeopleDocGeneva on #monkeypox in Brazil.

@DrTedros @WHO @PeopleDocGeneva .@DrMikeRyan says he is surprised that all questions have been on monkeypox.
"It shows how much interest there is in monkeypox. But it also shows quite frankly, how interest is declining in COVID and how we don't seem to give a damn about what's happening in the Horn of Africa."