UNifeed: GENEVA / HEALTH ASSEMBLY WRAP

GENEVA / HEALTH ASSEMBLY WRAP

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the world must remain vigilant in the face of the A (H1N1) virus. Addressing the World Health Assembly, he noted there were still many unanswered questions about the new virus. "We do not yet know how far and how fast it will spread, how serious the illnesses will be and indeed how many lives will be lost." UNTV

Duration:03:05Date:19 May 2009

Categories:

United Nations Television, HEALTH, DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL, DISEASES AND CARRIERS OF DISEASES

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Full Script

STORY: GENEVA / HEALTH ASSEMBLY WRAP
SOURCE: WHO 
TRT: 3.05
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE:  19 MAY 2009, GENEVA/ FILE

SHOTLIST:

RECENT, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA

1.	Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations

19 MAY 2008, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2.	Wide shot, audience and podium
3.	SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“I know they are still many unanswered questions about this new virus. We do not yet know how far and how fast it will spread, how serious these illnesses will be, and indeed, how many lives will be lost.”
4.	Med shot, audience
5.	Wide shot, podium
6.	SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“Solidarity in the face of this particular outbreak must mean that all have access to drugs and vaccines. It means that virus samples are shared. It means that self-defeating restrictions on trade and travel are avoided.  It means that WHO and other vital bodies have the resources they need when they need them. It means that we must all act in the interest of the poorest and must vulnerable people in the world.” 
7.	Pan left, audience
8.	SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“If we fall short on health, we cannot simply go back later and pick up where we had left off. There is no pause button. There is only rewind. Children start falling ill again from preventable diseases. Families suffer. Communities break down. In the blink of an eye, the damage to generations can be far too gone.”
9.	Wide shot, exterior WHO building
10.	Tracking shot, Secretary-General walks in to meet WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan
11.	Med shot, woman in front of computer screen
12.	Close up, influenza map on computer screen
13.	Zoom in, Dr. Chan giving Secretary-General a tour
14.	Tilt up, from computer screen to Secretary-General greeting WHO staff
15.	Pan left, video conference monitors
16.	Med shot, Secretary-General addressing WHO staff
17.	Med shot, Secretary-General addressing WHO staff with video conference screens in the background.
18.	Various shots, Secretary-General meeting with vaccine manufacturers

STORYLINE:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today (19 May) that the world must remain vigilant in the face of the H1N1 outbreak. Addressing the World Health Assembly the Secretary-General noted there were still many unanswered questions about the new virus.

The Secretary-General reminded his audience of health ministers and officials from all parts of the world that previous pandemics showed that what began as mild in the first stage might be less so in the next.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“I know they are still many unanswered questions about this new virus. We do not yet know how far and how fast it will spread, how serious these illnesses will be, and indeed, how many lives will be lost.”

Ban pointed to the importance of partnerships with the private sector and said that global solidarity must be at the heart of the world's response to the crisis. Developing countries have been reluctant to provide information about viruses without guarantees from the industrialized that resulting vaccines would be made available at fair prices.

The Secretary-General said everyone must act in the interests of the poorest and most vulnerable. He also called for the sharing of virus samples and data and an end to restrictions on trade and travel.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“Solidarity in the face of this particular outbreak must mean that all have access to drugs and vaccines. It means that virus samples are shared. It means that self-defeating restrictions on trade and travel are avoided.  It means that WHO and other vital bodies have the resources they need when they need them. It means that we must all act in the interest of the poorest and must vulnerable people in the world.”

The Assembly brings together officials from WHO’s 193 member countries for an annual review of the agency’s activities and to set new priorities for the future. The United Nations leader described health as" fundamental" to the organization's work and stressed that cutting investments on health at times of recession is not just morally wrong, it is economically foolish.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“If we fall short on health, we cannot simply go back later and pick up where we had left off. There is no pause button. There is only rewind. Children start falling ill again from preventable diseases. Families suffer. Communities break down. In the blink of an eye, the damage to generations can be far too gone.”

The Secretary-General also called for priority attention to maternal health.

Earlier, the Secretary-General visited the JW Lee Centre for Strategic Health Operations (also known as the SHOC room) at WHO headquarters, the centre of WHO's emergency response. He met chief executives from 30 vaccine manufacturers from developing and developed countries along with WHO Executive Director, Dr. Margaret Chan.

Both the Director-General and the Secretary-General stressed the importance of assuring that any eventual vaccine for Influenza A(H1N1) was made available in a spirit of equity and fairness, and invited the manufacturers to continue to work with them to develop a strategy for this. Industry representatives affirmed their wish to cooperate in making supplies available to developing countries, and said they stood ready to produce the vaccine when requested.

As of yesterday, 40 countries have officially reported 8,829 cases of the new flu strain, including 74 deaths. WHO’s pandemic alert level remains at Phase 5 – on a six-point warning scale – meaning that sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus on a community level is restricted to one of the agency’s geographic regions, in this case North America.

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GENEVA / HEALTH ASSEMBLY WRAP

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