My commitment to ensuring a strong, coordinated, and global response to health emergencies

We live in a world at constant risk of public health emergencies. In our increasingly interconnected world, public health emergencies can affect anyone, anywhere. The recent outbreaks of Zika, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and Yellow Fever have reminded us that disease threats are not limited to one country, one issue, or one pathogen. We saw the catastrophic impact of Ebola not only on the numbers of lives affected or lost and overwhelmed health systems but also on the economic development reversals of the affected countries. Yet Nigeria and Senegal were able to contain the outbreak rapidly due to better coordination, incident management systems, robust surveillance platforms and community engagement. One key takeaway is to ensure that each country builds the core capacities of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and ensures the safety of the public. Otherwise, the gains we have made over the past several decades can easily be undone. We must make sure that countries are encouraged, not punished, to report outbreaks and have the necessary support. The post-Ebola landscape showed that Member States increasingly want WHO to go beyond its traditional normative role to engage and lead health aspects of emergency responses. Through the current reform of the WHO Emergency Programme, WHO is developing new operational capacities and capabilities for outbreaks and humanitarian emergencies. Strong leadership is essential in the face of health crises. Complex public health emer...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news