Thread by @WHO

LIVE: Media briefing on global health issues with @DrTedros twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@DrTedros "2022 has been very challenging year for the health of the 🌍’s people:
-3rd year of the #COVID19 pandemic
-a 🌍 outbreak of #mpox
-#Ebola outbreak in 🇺🇬
-wars in 🇪🇹 & 🇺🇦
-cholera outbreaks
-drought & flooding in the greater Horn of Africa & Sahel
-flooding in 🇵🇰
..."-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "That’s not to mention the multiple other threats to health that people face year in, year out, in the air they breathe, the products they consume, the conditions in which they live & work, & in their lack of access to essential health services"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605576035159855106?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "And yet, as 2022 draws to a close, we still have many reasons for hope. The #COVID19 pandemic has declined significantly this year, the global #mpox outbreak is waning, and there have been no cases of #Ebola in 🇺🇬 for more than three weeks"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We are hopeful that each of these emergencies will be declared over at different points next year"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605576385849806851?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "Certainly, we are in a much better place with the #COVID19 pandemic than we were a year ago, when we were in the early stages of the Omicron wave, with rapidly increasing cases and deaths"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "But since the peak at the end of January, the number of weekly reported #COVID19 deaths has dropped almost 90%"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605576539357286401?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "However, there are still too many uncertainties and gaps for us to say the pandemic is over:
-Gaps in surveillance, testing and sequencing mean we do not understand well enough how the virus is changing;
..."-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "...
-Gaps in vaccinations mean that millions of people remain at high-risk of severe disease & death;
-Gaps in treatment mean people are dying needlessly;
-Gaps in health systems leave them unable to cope with surges in patients with #COVID19, flu & other diseases
..."-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "...
-Gaps in our understanding of post-#COVID19 condition mean we don't understand how best to treat people suffering with the long-term consequences of infection;
-Gaps in our understanding of how this pandemic began compromise our ability to prevent future pandemics"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We continue to hold out hope that #China will share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request. As I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605577442411696128?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "At the same time, WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in #China, with increasing reports of severe disease"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for intensive care units support"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605577606736248833?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "WHO is supporting #China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "At our final press conference last year, I said that in 2022, we must apply the lessons from the #COVID19 pandemic. I’m encouraged that this year, the world has made tangible steps towards making the changes needed to keep future generations safer"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "A new Pandemic Fund has been created;

Nations have committed to negotiating a legally-binding #PandemicAccord;

We established the mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in 🇿🇦, to give low- & lower-middle income countries the know how to rapidly-produce their own mRNA vaccines"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Even as the number of weekly reported cases and deaths from #COVID19 declined through the course of this year, we were confronted with many other emergencies"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "In July, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of monkeypox, now known as #mpox. Over 83,000 cases have been reported from 110 countries, although the mortality rate has remained low, with 66 deaths"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "As with #COVID19 the number of weekly reported cases of #mpox has declined more than 90% from the peak. If the current trend continues, we are hopeful that next year we will also be able to declare an end to this emergency"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Likewise, with no new cases since the 27th of November, and no patients being treated at the moment, the countdown to the end of the #Ebola outbreak in #Uganda has begun. If no new cases are detected, the outbreak will be declared over on the 11th of January"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "With support from WHO, the Government of #Uganda is now focusing its efforts on maintaining surveillance and being prepared should there by any further cases"-@DrTedros #Ebola

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605578502266163200?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros "Meanwhile, we are continuing to respond to #cholera outbreaks in 30 countries, including #Haiti, where 310 cholera deaths have been reported after more than 3 years without a case"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Last week, #Haiti received almost 1.2 million doses of oral #cholera vaccines, and vaccination campaigns have now started in the most affected areas. @pahowho has also supplied almost 50 tons of essential medical supplies to cholera treatment centres"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "In the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel, climate-related drought and flooding are supercharging a food crisis, and driving outbreaks of cholera, yellow fever, measles and vaccine-derived polio"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "WHO and our partners are on the ground, working to provide access to basic health services, treatment for severe malnutrition and support for countries to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605578896258146305?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros @pahowho "In addition to outbreaks, climate-driven crises & other emergencies, conflicts jeopardized the health & well-being of millions of people this year in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine & Yemen. In all these countries, attacks on health constantly undermine our work"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "In 2022, WHO has verified more than 1000 attacks on health in 16 countries, with 220 deaths and 436 injuries. Attacks on health are a violation of international humanitarian law, and a violation of human rights. They deprive people of care when they need it most"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "WHO’s work in responding to emergencies often makes the headlines, but around the world we have been working in many other vital ways to protect and promote health in ways that don’t make the news as often"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll

@DrTedros @pahowho "We supported countries to restore essential health services disrupted during the #COVID19 pandemic, including for routine immunization, where we saw the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in 30 years"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll

@DrTedros @pahowho "As a result, 25 million children missed out on life-saving vaccinations, and catching up is now one of our highest priorities"-@DrTedros #HealthForAll

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1605579461952344064?s=20&t=rO1wHcdVcohtZqAGw_UIXQ

@DrTedros @pahowho "This year, we continued to support the rollout of the world’s first #malaria vaccine, reaching more than 1 million children in Africa"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "We supported countries to introduce new legislation or taxation to combat health-harming products including tobacco, trans fats and sugary drinks"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @pahowho "New reports highlighted for the first time critical gaps in services for oral health, refugee and migrant health, infection prevention and control, disabilities, and more"-@DrTedros