Global governance of tobacco in the 21st century
28 February 2013 -- Speaking about the need to strengthen tobacco control, Dr Margaret Chan explained the game-changing significance of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which now has 176 parties. As she noted, a particularly disturbing trend is use by the tobacco industry of international trade and investment agreements as a vehicle to seek enhanced market access and avoid regulation. Such agreements are being exploited to directly challenge tobacco control measures in the courts. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - February 26, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Ministerial meeting on universal health coverage
18 February 2013 -- WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan opened a WHO/World Bank meeting on universal health coverage attended by ministers of health and finance. She noted the many benefits of moving towards universal care but reminded participants that doing so is a struggle that takes time and costs money. She challenged participants to explore health financing reforms that do not punish the poor and do not disappoint them either. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - February 18, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Technical meeting on global health estimates
13 February 2013 -- Dr Margaret Chan opened a meeting of experts asked to look at different approaches to global health estimation and advise on ways to improve current estimation practices. As she noted, the existence of multiple and significantly different estimates for the same indicator can cause confusion. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - February 13, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
WHO Director-General launches joint report on public health, intellectual property, and trade
5 February 2013 -- Speaking together with the heads of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization, Dr Margaret launched a joint report aimed at promoting access to medical technologies and innovation. The report sets out a comprehensive inventory of legal instruments and policy options that can be drawn on to craft measures to meet public health objectives. But, as she noted, not all problems have been solved. Practices that delay the market entry of generic products hurt public health. (Source: WHO Director-General speeches)
Source: WHO Director-General speeches - February 5, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
