Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.
2022 has been another very challenging year for the health of the world’s people:
The third year of the COVID-19 pandemic; a global outbreak of mpox; an Ebola outbreak in Uganda; wars in Ethiopia and Ukraine; cholera outbreaks in multiple countries; drought and flooding in the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel; flooding in Pakistan; and numerous other health emergencies.
That’s not to mention the multiple other threats to health that people face year in, year out, in the air they breathe, the products they consume, the conditions in which they live and work, and in their lack of access to essential health services.
And yet, as 2022 draws to a close, we still have many reasons for hope.
The COVID-19 pandemic has declined significantly this year, the global monkeypox outbreak is waning, and there have been no cases of Ebola in Uganda for more than three weeks.
We are hopeful that each of these emergencies will be declared over at different points next year.
Certainly, we are in a much better place with the pandemic than we were a year ago, when we were in the early stages of the Omicron wave, with rapidly increasing cases and deaths.
But since the peak at the end of January, the number of weekly reported COVID-19 deaths has dropped almost 90%.
However, there are still too many uncertainties and gaps for us to say the pandemic is over:
Gaps in surveillance, testing and sequencing mean we do not understand well enough how the virus is changing;
Gaps in vaccination mean that millions of people – especially health workers and older people – remain at high-risk of severe disease and death;
Gaps in treatment mean people are dying needlessly;
Gaps in health systems leave them unable to cope with surges in patients with COVID-19, flu and other diseases;
Gaps in our understanding of post-COVID-19 condition mean we do not understand how best to treat people suffering with the long-term consequences of infection;
And gaps in our understanding of how this pandemic began compromise our ability to prevent future pandemics.
We continue to call on China to share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request.
As I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table.
At the same time, WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease.
In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support.
WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system.
At our final press conference last year, I said that in 2022, we must apply the lessons from the pandemic.
I’m encouraged that this year, the world has made tangible steps towards making the changes needed to keep future generations safer.
A new Pandemic Fund has been created;
Nations have committed to negotiating a legally-binding accord on pandemic preparedness and response;
And we established the mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa, to give low- and lower-middle income countries the know how to rapidly-produce their own mRNA vaccines;
Even as the number of weekly reported cases and deaths from COVID-19 declined through the course of this year, we were confronted with many other emergencies.
In July, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of monkeypox, now known as mpox.
Over 83 000 cases have been reported from 110 countries, although the mortality rate has remained low, with 66 deaths.
As with COVID-19 the number of weekly reported cases of mpox has declined more than 90% from the peak.
If the current trend continues, we are hopeful that next year we will also be able to declare an end to this emergency.
Likewise, with no new cases since the 27th of November, and no patients being treated at the moment, the countdown to the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda has begun.
If no new cases are detected, the outbreak will be declared over on the 11 January.
With support from WHO, the Government of Uganda is now focusing its efforts on maintaining surveillance and being prepared should there be any further cases.
Meanwhile, we are continuing to respond to cholera outbreaks in 30 countries, including Haiti, where 310 cholera deaths have been reported after more than 3 years without a case.
Last week, Haiti received almost 1.2 million doses of oral cholera vaccines, and vaccination campaigns have now started in the most affected areas. WHO-PAHO has also supplied almost 50 tons of essential medical supplies to cholera treatment centres.
In the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel, climate-related drought and flooding are supercharging a food crisis, and driving outbreaks of cholera, yellow fever, measles and vaccine-derived polio.
WHO and our partners are on the ground, working to provide access to basic health services, treatment for severe malnutrition and support for countries to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks.
In addition to outbreaks, climate-driven crises and other emergencies, conflicts jeopardized the health and well-being of millions of people this year in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
In all these countries, attacks on health constantly undermine our work.
In 2022, WHO has verified more than 1000 attacks on health in 16 countries, with 220 deaths and 436 injuries.
Attacks on health are a violation of international humanitarian law, and a violation of human rights. They deprive people of care when they need it most.
WHO’s work in responding to emergencies often makes the headlines, but around the world we have been working in many other vital ways to protect and promote health in ways that don’t make the news as often.
We supported countries to restore essential health services disrupted during the pandemic, including for routine immunization, where we saw the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations 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.
This year, we continued to support the rollout of the world’s first malaria vaccine, reaching more than 1 million children in Africa;
We supported countries to introduce new legislation or taxation to combat health-harming products including tobacco, trans fats and sugary drinks;
New reports highlighted for the first time critical gaps in services for oral health, refugee and migrant health, infection prevention and control, disabilities, and more
We published lifesaving guidance on HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, maternal and newborn health, safe abortion and more;
We worked to elevate health to the top of the climate agenda, amid a continued increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events;
We raised the alarm on increasing resistance in bacterial infections, and published the first list of priority fungal infections threatening public health;
And most recently, our partnership with FIFA enabled us to reach billions of people globally with campaigns promoting health during the World Cup.
2022 was also a landmark year for the future of WHO, with our Member States committing to increase their assessed contributions – or membership fees – to 50% of our base budget over the next decade, from just 16% now.
This will give WHO much more predictable and sustainable funding, enabling us to deliver long-term programming in countries, and to attract and retain the world-class experts we need.
Next year marks WHO’s 75th birthday.
In 1948, as the world was recovering from the Second World War, the nations of the world came together to recognize, in the words of our Constitution, that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being, without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.
But more than that, the WHO Constitution affirms that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security.
Perhaps more than at any time in the past 75 years, the past three years have demonstrated just how true those words are.
Like any organization, we are not perfect, and we don’t claim to be.
But the committed, talented people I work with have dedicated their careers to protecting and promoting the health of the world’s people.
Like them, I remain committed to building a heathier, safer and fairer future for those people – the people we all serve.
On that note, I wish all who celebrate it a very Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and joy to all people around the world.
