Thread by @WHO

LIVE: Media briefing on health situation in #Pakistan, #COVID19, #monkeypox with @DrTedros twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@DrTedros "First to #Pakistan, where weeks of heavy monsoon rains have caused extensive flooding and landslides, resulting in death, displacement and damage. More than 1000 deaths have been reported, and almost 900 health facilities have been damaged"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1564920997278629889?s=20&t=E7qVlHeE8FL0H0XsAkfipQ

@DrTedros "3/4 of #Pakistan’s districts & 33 million people have been affected, with 6+ million in dire need of humanitarian aid. Damage to health infrastructure, shortages of 👩‍⚕️ & limited health supplies are disrupting health services, leaving 👶 & 🤰 & 🤱 at increased risk"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "#Pakistan was already facing health threats including #COVID19, cholera, typhoid, measles, leishmaniasis, HIV and polio. Now, the flooding has led to new outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, malaria, dengue, and more"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "The loss of crops and livestock will have a significant impact on the nutrition and health of many communities who depend on these resources. And more rain is expected"-@DrTedros #Pakistan

@DrTedros "Under our internal grading system, WHO has classified the flooding in #Pakistan as a grade 3 emergency, the highest level, which means all 3 levels of the organization are involved in the response: the country & regional offices, & headquarters"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1564953890516246529?s=20&t=3tW3DKR2wHqSuGA3_rJIBw

@DrTedros "We are releasing $10 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies, which is supporting our work to treat the injured, deliver supplies to health facilities, and prevent the spread of infectious diseases"-@DrTedros #Pakistan

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1564968266723999751?s=20&t=q6agRvPXC2Uu9_RneO-K7Q

@DrTedros "Floods in #Pakistan, drought and famine in the Greater #HornofAfrica, and more frequent and intense cyclones in the Pacific and Caribbean all point to the urgent need for action against the existential threat of #climatechange"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Now to #COVID19, where we are now seeing a welcome decline in reported deaths globally. However, with colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, it’s reasonable to expect an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Subvariants of Omicron are more transmissible than their predecessors, & the risk of even more transmissible & more dangerous variants remains. Meanwhile, vaccination coverage among the most at-risk people remains too low, especially in low-income countries"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "But even in high-income countries, 30% of #healthworkers and 20% of older people remain unvaccinated. These vaccination gaps pose a risk to all of us. So, please get vaccinated if you are not, and get a booster if it’s recommend that you have one"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "Even if you are vaccinated, there are simple things you can do to reduce your own risk of infection, and to reduce the risk of infecting someone else.
Avoid crowds if you can, especially indoors. If you are in a crowded indoor space, wear a 😷 and open a 🪟"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "And continue to clean your hands, which will help to protect you and others from all kinds of viruses and bacteria"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1564970236872474626?s=20&t=q6agRvPXC2Uu9_RneO-K7Q

@DrTedros "Living with #COVID19 doesn’t mean pretending the pandemic is over. If you go walking in the rain without an umbrella, pretending it’s not raining won’t help you. You’ll still get wet. Likewise, pretending a deadly virus is not circulating is a huge risk"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Living with #COVID19 means taking the simple precautions to avoid getting infected, or if you're infected, from getting seriously sick/dying.
I'm asking all governments to update their policies to make best use of the life-saving tools to manage COVID-19 responsibly"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Finally, to #monkeypox. In the Americas, which accounts for more than half of reported cases, several countries continue to see increasing numbers of infections, although it is encouraging to see a sustained downward trend in Canada"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Some European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, are also seeing a clear slowing of the [#monkeypox] outbreak, demonstrating the effectiveness of public health interventions and community engagement to track infections and prevent transmission"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "These signs confirm what we have said consistently since the beginning: that with the right measures, this is an outbreak that can be stopped. And in regions that do not have animal-to-human transmission, this is a virus that can be eliminated"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

@DrTedros "But it won’t just happen. Eliminating #monkeypox needs three things: the evidence that it’s possible, which we are now beginning to see; political will and commitment; and the implementation of the public health measures in the communities that need them most"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We might be “living with #COVID19” for the foreseeable future. But we don’t have to live with monkeypox. WHO will continue to support all countries to stop this outbreak and eliminate this virus"-@DrTedros