WHO Director-General addresses the Regional Committee for South-East Asia
11 September 2013 -- In her address to the Regional Committee for South-East Asia, Dr Margaret Chan praised the region for its commitment to move health systems towards universal coverage. She noted the challenges of the rise of chronic noncommunicable diseases and the region’s growing elderly population. Ongoing efforts to improve national policies for essential medicines are an important part of making universal coverage a reality. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - September 11, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General considers the tobacco endgame
11 September 2013 -- Proposals for a tobacco endgame have strong policy appeal. They promise to improve the world in a permanent way, offering every future generation the perpetual gift of freedom from tobacco-related disease. But what are the prospects for success? In her address to an international conference on the Endgame for Tobacco, Dr Margaret Chan explores prospects and barriers, offering advice together with some strong words of caution. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - September 11, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General addresses the Regional Committee for Africa
2 September 2013 -- “Africa is rising. Africa is changing. Africa is at a unique juncture in its history. Some critical political choices need to be made.” With these words, Dr Margaret Chan challenged Africa’s ministers of health to consider why a decade of remarkable economic growth has not been matched by equally remarkable gains for health. As she argues, growth in GDP is not the real measure of progress. What matters most is the rate at which new wealth is converted into less poverty, more opportunities, and better health. The world does not need any more rich countries full of poor people. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - September 2, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Launch of the World Health Report 2013: Research for universal health coverage
15 August 2013 -- The World Health Report 2013 sets out the scientific research agenda needed to translate the growing commitment to universal health coverage into evidence-based action. During the launch of the report, Dr Margaret Chan noted its central goals: to stimulate the right kind of research, but also to open the eyes of policy-makers to the power of research as a decision-making tool. The report also calls for a number of changes, including much more emphasis on research that facilitates the use of existing interventions. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - August 15, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
New business models for medical innovation
5 July 2013 -- In her address to a joint WHO/WIPO/WTO technical symposium, Dr Margaret Chan explored reasons for the great mismatch between medical products that can have a major impact on global health and what is actually on the market or in the pipeline. She also described a number of initiatives under way to reduce this mismatch and concluded that progress is being made. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - August 5, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
50th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
2 July 2013 -- Dr Margaret Chan recounts the history of Codex, which was established in 1963 to put science in the service of consumer protection and cast a safety net around the world’s food supply. The impact of Codex food standards and codes of practice has been transformational. Today, consumers expect a purchased food to conform to what is stated on its label. That trust is thanks to decades of work by Codex. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - July 2, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
The rising importance of family medicine
26 June 2013 -- In her address to the World Organization of Family Doctors, Dr Margaret Chan describes changes in the world health situation that have made the role of family doctors more critical than ever before. Everywhere, costs of health care are soaring, budgets are shrinking, and public expectations are rising. A health system where primary care is the backbone and family doctors are the bedrock delivers the best health outcomes, at the lowest cost, and with the greatest user satisfaction. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - June 26, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General addresses World Hospital Congress
18 June 2013 -- Hospitals are seen by some as wasteful, by others as healing, comforting, and an essential part of the continuum of care. The relationship between hospital clinicians and public health officials has sometimes been viewed as tense. As Dr Chan notes, primary health care and hospital services are not in conflict. They are complementary and mutually beneficial. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - June 18, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General addresses health promotion conference
10 June 2013 -- In her address to the 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion, Dr Margaret Chan described efforts to counter the tactics of powerful economic operators as one of the biggest challenges facing health promotion, especially when it aims to prevent noncommunicable diseases. As she stated, Big Tobacco, Big Food, Big Soda, and Big Alcohol all fear regulation, and protect themselves by using similar tactics. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - June 10, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General praises the World Health Assembly for its work
27 May 2013 -- Dr Margaret Chan thanked Member States for moving so efficiently and productively through a packed agenda. In particular, approval of the action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases will be a watershed event in the way these diseases are approached. Looking at the overall world health situation, she described the novel coronavirus as her greatest concern. As she stated, “Any new disease that is emerging faster than our understanding is never under control.” (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - May 27, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General addresses the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly
20 May 2013 -- In her address, Dr Margaret Chan expressed a conviction that public health is doing the right things, on the right track. Fear of new diseases, like those caused by the H7N9 avian influenza virus and the novel coronavirus, can unite the world, but so can determination to relieve preventable human misery. She also reminded Member States that today’s health problems, especially noncommunicable diseases, pose especially difficult challenges, including opposition from economically powerful industries. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - May 20, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Support for strong alcohol policies
26 April 2013 -- In her address to the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium in Istanbul, Dr Margaret Chan welcomed the growing support for strong national alcohol policies. Evidence shows they work. Noting that the harmful use of alcohol is responsible for around 2.3 million deaths worldwide each year, she encouraged governments to use the menu of policy options and supporting interventions set out in a recently approved WHO global strategy. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - April 26, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
World Health Day message on blood pressure
3 April 2013 -- In a message marking World Health Day, Dr Margaret Chan advises the public to know their blood pressure, take high blood pressure seriously, and then take control. High blood pressure is both preventable and treatable, yet shows no symptoms. “Be smart,” she says. “Don’t let an invisible, silent killer steal years of your life away.” (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - April 3, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Director-General’s message on World TB Day
18 March 2013 -- Twenty years after WHO declared TB a global public health emergency, has the epidemic been conquered? Speaking at a press briefing, Dr Margaret Chan answered, “Yes and no.” On the positive side, TB control has been successful in shrinking the epidemic and reducing the number of cases and deaths. The negative side has three dimensions: the sheer scale of infected people, the rise of multi-drug and extensively-drug resistant forms of TB, and a severe financial shortfall. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - March 18, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
