Thread by @WHO

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

"First to #Sudan. The bloodshed we have seen in the past 10 days in Sudan is heartbreaking. In a country whose people already suffered so much in recent years. WHO welcomes the ceasefire agreed between the parties.

We urge all parties to fully respect the ceasefire. Already, the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"On top of the number of deaths and injuries caused by the conflict itself, WHO expects there will be many more deaths due to outbreaks, lack of access to food and water, and disruptions to essential health services, including immunization."
-@DrTedros #Sudan

"WHO estimates that one quarter of the lives lost so far could have been saved with access to basic haemorrhage control. But paramedics, nurses and doctors are unable to access injured civilians, and civilians are unable to access services."
-@DrTedros #Sudan

"In the capital [of #Sudan] Khartoum, 61% of health facilities are closed, and only 16% are operating as normal.
Many patients with chronic diseases, like kidney disease, diabetes and cancer, are unable to access the health facilities or medicines they need."
-@DrTedros

"In the coming weeks, an estimated 24 thousand women will give birth, but they are currently unable to access maternal care.
Vector control programmes to prevent transmission of dengue and malaria have had to stop;
The risk of diarrhoeal diseases is high as the water supply is… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Since the conflict began, WHO has verified 16 attacks on health, causing 8 deaths.
WHO is also concerned about the occupation of the central public health laboratory by one of the parties in the conflict.
Technicians no longer have access to the laboratory, which means the lab… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Power cuts are also threatening to make the few remaining stocks of blood stored in the [#Sudan] Central Blood Bank unusable."
-@DrTedros

"WHO staff are risking their lives to support the urgent health needs.
We are relocating our staff [in #Sudan] and their dependents to safety, but we are making plans to continue our operations to the best of our ability."
-@DrTedros

"WHO has stocks of essential medicines, blood bags, supplies for surgery and trauma care waiting for delivery. But we need safe access to do that.

As always, the best medicine in this situation is peace."
-@DrTedros

"Now to the #COVID19 pandemic.
In February 2020, just weeks after the first reported cases of COVID-19, WHO published our first Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan – the SPRP – outlining the steps countries needed to take to prepare for, and respond to, this new virus.

Next… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"We’re very encouraged by the sustained decline in reported deaths from #COVID19, which have dropped 95% since the beginning of this year.
However, some countries are seeing increases, and over the past four weeks, 14 thousand people lost their lives to this disease."
-@DrTedros

"An estimated 1 in 10 infections results in post #COVID19 condition, suggesting that hundreds of millions of people will need longer-term care."
-@DrTedros

"And, as the emergence of the new [#COVID19] XBB.1.16 variant illustrates, the virus is still changing, and is still capable of causing new waves of disease and death."
-@DrTedros

"We remain hopeful that sometime this year, we will be able to declare an end to #COVID19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

But this virus is here to stay, and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other infectious diseases.
The new SPRP… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Even as we support countries to respond to #COVID19, we’re also working to keep the world safer against future epidemics and pandemics.

Today, WHO launched the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Initiative, or PRET.
The acronym is deliberate: “prêt” means “ready”… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Rather than focusing on specific pathogens or diseases, PRET takes an integrated approach to pandemic planning, by focussing on groups of pathogens and the systems they affect.

To begin with, PRET will focus on respiratory pathogens, including influenza, coronaviruses, RSV, and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Pandemics are by definition global events, so PRET is designed to promote collaboration between countries.
But it’s also designed to promote collaboration between sectors.

As #COVID19 demonstrated, a pandemic is not just a health crisis. It affects economies, education, trade,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"PRET will therefore support countries to engage as many sectors as possible, as well as civil society groups, religious communities and young people.

This integrated approach will help countries to review, test, and update their pandemic planning efforts to ensure they have the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"The #COVID19 pandemic was a powerful demonstration of the lifesaving power of vaccines.

This week marks #WorldImmunizationWeek.

Although vaccines have played a key role in helping to curb COVID-19, the pandemic severely disrupted routine immunization programmes around the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Over the course of the pandemic, essential immunization levels fell in more than 100 countries, leading to rising outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever.

Between 2019 and 2021, an estimated 67 million children missed out on at least one essential immunization,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"In response, WHO and our partners have launched “The Big Catch-up”, a global effort to boost vaccination levels in children to at least pre-pandemic levels.

The Big Catch-up will have a particular focus on 20 countries around the world in which three-quarters of the children… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"Finally, yesterday marked World #Malaria Day.

Incredible progress has been made against malaria over the last two decades.

Advances in nets, tests and medicines have helped prevent more than two billion cases and save an estimated 12 million lives.

The world’s first malaria… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"But even with all of these advances, #malaria remains a leading cause of death for people in low-income countries, and still claims more than six hundred thousand lives each year, disproportionately affecting poor and marginalized populations.
At a time when more investment is… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"World #Malaria Day is a reminder of the urgent need to close investment gaps, scale up research and development, and expand access to malaria tools and services for the most-at-risk populations.
By using all the tools we have, old and new, we can move closer to the vision of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Full remarks of @DrTedros at the media briefing 26.04.2023 bit.ly/3n4eELc