WHO / EXECUTIVE BOARD OPENING

STORY: WHO / EXECUTIVE BOARD OPENING
TRT: 10:00
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 JANUARY 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST:

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters

30 JANUARY 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, meeting room
3.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Three years ago today, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global spread of COVID-19 – the highest level of alarm under the International Health Regulations, and for the moment, the only level of alarm. As you know, on Friday the Emergency Committee met to consider whether that remains the case. The committee has advised me that in its view, COVID-19 remains a global health emergency, and I agree. As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, there is no doubt we are in a far better situation now than we were a year ago, when the Omicron wave was at its peak. But since the beginning of December, weekly reported deaths have been rising. In the past eight weeks, more than 170 thousand people have lost their lives to COVID-19. And that’s just the reported deaths; we know the actual number is much higher. We can’t control the virus, but we can do more to address the vulnerabilities in populations and health systems.”
4. Med shot, meeting room
5.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“We remain hopeful that in the coming year, the world will transition to a new phase in which we reduce hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest possible level, and health systems are able to manage COVID-19 in an integrated and sustainable way.”
6. Med shot, briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“At the Executive Board last year, I laid out five priorities for the coming five years, as we work together to reinvigorate progress towards the 13th General Programme of Work, the “triple billion” targets and the health-related SDGs. Those priorities have since crystallised into what we are calling the “five Ps”: Promoting, Providing, Protecting, Powering and Performing for health.”
8. Wide shot, meeting room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“First, promoting health, by addressing the root causes of disease, which is essential for achieving our target of seeing 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being. On tobacco control, we reached our target last year to support 100 million tobacco users to quit, but there are still an estimated 600 million users who want to quit and need our support. On trans fat, we have seen an almost five-fold increase in the number of people protected by WHO-recommended policies on the use of industrially produced trans fat, from 550 million people to 2.6 billion, in just four years.”
10. Med shot, Dr Tedros in the dais
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“The second priority is providing health, by reorienting health systems towards primary health care, which is essential for reaching our target to see 1 billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage.”
12. Wide shot, meeting room with Dr Tedros in the dais
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Last year, we supported dozens of Member States to restore essential health services disrupted during the pandemic, including for routine immunization, where we saw the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccination in 30 years. As a result, 25 million children missed out on life-saving vaccinations, and catching up is now one of our highest priorities.”
14. Wide shot, meeting room with Dr Tedros in the dais
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“On cancer, we have supported 65 countries to improve access to quality care as part of the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer – a 50% increase from 2021.This year we plan to provide medicines for all children with cancer in six countries, with the goal of reaching 50 countries by 2027.”
16. Wide shot, meeting room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“On communicable diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic was a severe setback, but in the past year, we have seen encouraging signs. On malaria, after increasing in 2020, the number of annual deaths appears to have stabilised, and cases increased at a slower rate. Meanwhile, the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S, is saving lives.”
18. Wide shot, meeting room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“As we mark World NTD Day today, we can be proud that in 2022, eight countries were validated or certified for eliminating a neglected tropical disease: DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo, Uganda and Vanuatu. Egypt also eliminated measles and rubella, and Oman eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.”
20. Med shot, meeting room
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“The third priority is to protect health, by strengthening the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, response and resilience. In 2022, WHO responded to 72 graded emergencies, across all regions, including three public health emergencies of international concern, outbreaks of Ebola and cholera, conflicts in Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, and humanitarian crises in the greater Horn of Africa, the Sahel and much more. Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, we were able to release more than 87 million US dollars immediately to support rapid response.”
22. Wide shot, meeting room
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“In July, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of mpox. In total, more than 85,000 cases and 86 deaths have been reported to WHO from 110 countries. The number of weekly reported cases of mpox has now declined significantly, although 36 countries in all six regions continue to report new cases.”
24.Wide shot, meeting room
25. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“In September, the Government of Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak. Working with many partners, we supported the government to respond to and extinguish the outbreak.”
26. Wide shot, meeting room
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Last year also saw an unprecedented number of cholera outbreaks reported in 30 countries, with a massive increase in the number of people within affected countries who are now at risk.”
28. Wide shot, meeting room
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“We have now raised the global cholera crisis to a grade 3 emergency, the highest level in our internal grading system, due to the high case fatality, the potential for further spread and severe limitations in vaccine supply.”
30. Wide shot, meeting room
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“The fourth is to power health, by harnessing research, innovation, data, digital technologies and partnerships.”
32. Wide shot, meeting room
33. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“On innovation, the mRNA hub in South Africa has started transferring technology to manufacturers in 15 countries. And the biomedical training in Korea.”
34. Wide shot, meeting room
35. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“On digital health, with support from WHO, more than 120 Member States have developed national digital health strategies to guide their health system transformation.”
36. Wide shot, meeting room
37. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“The fifth and final priority is to perform for health, by building a stronger WHO that delivers results, and is enabled and empowered to play its leading role in global health. As Member States, you look to us to provide world-class, evidence-based norms, standards, research, data and technical and operational support. And that is what we are doing.”

STORYLINE:

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General said today that COVID-19 remains a global health emergency, even though, as the world enters the fourth year of the pandemic, “there is no doubt we are in a far better situation now than we were a year ago, when the Omicron wave was at its peak.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing WHO’s Executive Board on Monday (30 Jan) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he noted that, since the beginning of December, weekly reported deaths have been rising.

“In the past eight weeks, more than 170 thousand people have lost their lives to COVID-19. And that’s just the reported deaths; we know the actual number is much higher. We can’t control the virus, but we can do more to address the vulnerabilities in populations and health systems,” said Ghebreyesus.

WHO’s chief added, “We remain hopeful that in the coming year, the world will transition to a new phase in which we reduce hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest possible level, and health systems are able to manage COVID-19 in an integrated and sustainable way.”

The Director-General remembered the five priorities for the coming five years he laid out last year, what the Agency is calling the “five Ps”: Promoting, Providing, Protecting, Powering and Performing for health.”

He noted that, on tobacco control, WHO reached its target last year to support 100 million tobacco users to quit, but there are still an estimated 600 million users who want to quit and need our. On trans fat, there was an almost five-fold increase in the number of people protected by WHO-recommended policies on the use of industrially produced trans fat, from 550 million people to 2.6 billion, in just four years.

Last year, Ghebreyesus said WHO supported dozens of Member States to restore essential health services disrupted during the pandemic, including for routine immunization, where there was the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccination in 30 years. As a result, 25 million children missed out on life-saving vaccinations, and catching up is now one of our highest priorities.

“On cancer, we have supported 65 countries to improve access to quality care as part of the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer – a 50% increase from 2021.This year we plan to provide medicines for all children with cancer in six countries, with the goal of reaching 50 countries by 2027,” said WHO’s chief.

Ghebreyesus also noted some “encouraging signs”, like on malaria, where, after increasing in 2020, the number of annual deaths appears to have stabilised, and cases increased at a slower rate.

In 2022, WHO responded to 72 graded emergencies, across all regions, including three public health emergencies of international concern, outbreaks of Ebola and cholera, conflicts in Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, and humanitarian crises in the greater Horn of Africa, the Sahel and much more.

Ghebreyesus said, “Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, we were able to release more than 87 million US dollars immediately to support rapid response.”

In July, the Agency declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of mpox. In total, more than 85,000 cases and 86 deaths have been reported to WHO from 110 countries. The number of weekly reported cases of mpox has now declined significantly, although 36 countries in all six regions continue to report new cases.

According to Ghebreyesus, last year there was “an unprecedented number of cholera outbreaks reported in 30 countries, with a massive increase in the number of people within affected countries who are now at risk.”

As a result, WHO has raised the global cholera crisis to a grade 3 emergency, the highest level in the internal grading system, due to the high case fatality, the potential for further spread and severe limitations in vaccine supply.

WHO’s Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. The main functions of the Board are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, and to advise and generally facilitate its work.