A new report by the World Health Organization shows evidence of a higher risk of premature death and illness among many persons with disabilities compared to others in the society.
The Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities, published today, shows that because of the systemic and persistent health inequities, many persons with disabilities face the risk of dying much earlier—even up to 20 years earlier—than persons without disabilities. They have an increased risk of developing chronic conditions, with up to double the risk of asthma, depression, diabetes, obesity, oral diseases, and stroke.
Many of the differences in health outcomes cannot be explained by the underlying health condition or impairment, but by avoidable, unfair and unjust factors.
Launched ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the report shows the number of people with significant disabilities worldwide has risen to 1.3 billion (or one in six people). This number reinforces the importance of achieving full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and embedding the principles of inclusion, accessibility and non-discrimination in the health sector.
The report stresses the need for urgent action to address the vast inequities in health caused by unjust and unfair factors within health systems. These factors—which account for many of the differences in health outcomes between persons with and without disabilities—could take the form of:
negative attitudes of healthcare providers,
health information in formats that cannot be understood, or
difficulties accessing a health centre due to the physical environment, lack of transport or financial barriers.
“Health systems should be alleviating the challenges that people with disabilities face, not adding to them,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This report shines a light on the inequities that people with disabilities face in trying to access the care they need. WHO is committed to supporting countries with the guidance and tools they need to ensure all people with disabilities have access to quality health services.”
With an estimated 80% of persons with disabilities living in low- and middle-income countries where health services are limited, addressing health inequities could be challenging. Yet even with limited resources, much can be achieved.
Recognizing that everyone has the same right to the highest attainable standard of health, the report provides important economic analysis of adopting a disability-inclusive approach. It shows investing in a disability-inclusive health sector is cost-effective.
WHO calculates that governments could expect a return of about US$ 10 for every US$ 1 invested on disability-inclusive noncommunicable disease prevention and care. In addition, family planning and vaccination are cost–effective when implemented in a disability-inclusive manner.
The report outlines 40 actions across the health sector for governments to take, drawing on the latest evidence from academic studies as well as consultations with countries and civil society, including organizations representing persons with disabilities. These actions vary by resource level and range from addressing physical infrastructure to training of health and care workers.
Ensuring health equity for persons with disabilities will also have wider benefits and can advance global health priorities in 3 ways:
health equity for all is critical towards achieving universal health coverage; inclusive public health interventions that are administered equitably across different sectors can contribute to healthier populations; and advancing health equity for persons with disabilities is a central component in all efforts to protect everyone in health emergencies. “Addressing health inequities for persons with disabilities benefits everyone,” said Dr Bente Mikkelsen, WHO Director for Noncommunicable Diseases. “Older persons, people with noncommunicable diseases, migrants and refugees, or other frequently unreached populations, can benefit from approaches that target the persistent challenges to disability inclusion in the health sector.”
She added: “We urge governments, health partners and civil society to ensure all health sector actions are inclusive of persons with disabilities so that they can enjoy their right to the highest standard of health.”
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission yesterday agreed on reinforcing a decade-long collaboration to accelerate the achievement of universal health coverage. The letter of intent foresees an additional contribution from the European Union (EU) of €125 million for the continuation of WHO’s assistance to its Member States over the next five years, implemented through the Universal Health Coverage Partnership (UHC Partnership). This will focus on strengthening health systems to make them more resilient and responsive to natural, climate or human-made disasters.
“Health is a fundamental human right, and universal health coverage is critical for achieving that right. The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating evidence that Universal Health Coverage is the foundation to resilience and sustainable development for all. That's true for individuals and families confronting a life-threatening illness, and it's true for countries—and the whole world—in the face of epidemics and pandemics. I am grateful to the European Union for its strong leadership and longstanding commitment to helping the world achieve Universal Health Coverage,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The partnership with WHO is a key deliverable of the new EU Global Health Strategy adopted by the European Commission yesterday. Strengthening health systems and advancing universal health coverage worldwide is one of the three key priorities of the Strategy.
“I am delighted to sign today with Dr Tedros a new contribution of €125 million EU contribution for the period 2023–2027 to our Universal Health Coverage Partnership with the World Health Organization. As COVID-19 dramatically highlighted, resilient health systems and equitable access to health care are key to ensuring individual well-being and identifying and managing public health threats effectively,” said Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen.
The UHC Partnership was established by WHO in 2011 with support from the European Commission to help catalyze action at country level to make health for all a reality. From supporting seven countries in its inception phase, the initiative has seen steady expansion, with the European Commission remaining as a leading contributor. With consolidated funding from eight donors, 130 health policy advisors have so far been deployed across 120 WHO country offices covering more than 4 billion people. Health policy advisors play a crucial role in bringing WHO’s technical expertise in fostering policy dialogue, national health planning, health security, addressing noncommunicable diseases and more. The Partnership also provides funding for catalytic projects and helps engage partners to enable effective development cooperation.
Today, the UHC Partnership is regarded as one of WHO’s largest platforms for international cooperation on Universal Health Coverage and primary health care. As a source of mostly flexible funding, it supports the Organization in delivering assistance that is responsive to evolving priorities, including in the context of health emergencies such as disease outbreaks and conflict.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
On 1 December, World AIDS Day 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on global leaders and citizens to boldly recognize and address the inequalities that are holding back progress in attaining the global goal to end AIDS by 2030.
WHO is joining global partners and communities in commemorating World AIDS Day 2022 under the theme “Equalize” – a message highlighting the need to ensure that essential HIV services reach those who are most at risk and in need, particularly children living with HIV, key populations to HIV and their partners.
“With global solidarity and bold leadership, we can make sure everyone receives the care they need,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “World AIDS Day is an opportunity to re-affirm and refocus on our shared commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030”.
HIV remains a major public health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. But our response is at risk of falling behind.
· Of the 38 million people living with HIV, 5.9 million people who know they have HIV are not receiving treatment;
· A further 4 million people living with HIV have not yet been diagnosed;
· While 76% of adults overall were receiving antiretroviral treatment that help them lead normal and healthy lives, only 52% of children living with HIV were accessing this treatment globally in 2021;
· 70% of new HIV infections are among people who are marginalized and often criminalized;
· While transmission has declined overall in Africa, there has been no significant decline among men who have sex with men – a key population group -- in the past 10 years.
Available WHO data show that among people confirmed to have mpox, a high number—52% - were people living with HIV. Global data reported to WHO suggest that people living with mpox with untreated HIV appear to be at risk for more severe disease than people without HIV.
The current response to mpox shows that transmission can move quickly in sexual networks and within marginalized populations. But it can also be prevented with community-led responses and open attitudes to address stigma, and health and wellbeing can be improved and lives can be saved.
This World AIDS Day, WHO recommends a renewed focus to implement WHO’s 2022 guidance to reach the HIV and related health needs of key populations and children.
“People must not be denied HIV services no matter who they are or where they live, if we are to achieve health for all,” said Dr Meg Doherty, WHO Director of the HIV, Hepatitis and STI programmes.“ In order to end AIDS, we need to end new infections among children, end lack of treatment access to them, and end structural barriers and stigma and discrimination towards key populations in every country as soon as possible.”
With only eight years left before the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a global health threat, WHO calls for global solidarity and bold leadership from all sectors to ensure we get back on track to ending AIDS and, with that, end new syndemics, such as the recent mpox global outbreak.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
The Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, hosted in Muscat, Oman, concluded today, where targets to address the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenge were discussed for the first time. The conference and its numerical targets for antimicrobial use in the human and animal sectors will pave the way for bold political commitments at the forthcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2024.
The conference agreed the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto, which sets out the three global targets:
· Reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in agrifood systems by at least 30-50% by 2030, galvanizing national and global efforts;
· Preserve critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, ending the use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion in animals;
· Ensure ‘Access’ group antibiotics (a category of antibiotics that are affordable, safe and have a low AMR risk) represent at least 60% of overall antibiotic consumption in humans by 2030.
Globally agreed targets will be key to protecting the efficacy of antimicrobials and curbing the development of AMR worldwide, as well as reducing environmental pollution, in turn lowering the spread of AMR.
Countries also made commitments to implement National Action Plans for AMR and strengthen surveillance through improved data reporting and management, private sector engagement and implementation of evidence-based practices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE), known as the Quadripartite, welcome the outcomes of the Conference for accelerating action on AMR.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have constrained global efforts to address AMR, but it has also demonstrated the critical links between humans, animals and the environmental ecosystem. A range of stakeholders – including the health care, pharmaceutical, veterinary, food safety, agricultural, environmental sectors – have a shared responsibility to continue to collectively respond to AMR.
“FAO recognizes the importance of reducing the need for antimicrobials on farms and will soon launch a global 10-year initiative to provide comprehensive support to Members focusing on transforming agrifood systems to contribute to this reduction,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.
“Self-reporting by countries indicates that a third of National Action Plans on AMR do not include the environment. This signals the critical importance of supporting countries to boost actions to prevent and reduce environmental pollution. The burden of AMR can be reduced if we focus on all its dimensions and work together. UNEP is committed to working with Member States and key partners, including the Quadripartite organizations, to address AMR,” said Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director for UNEP Inger Andersen.
"Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time, and yet perhaps because it is not as dramatic as a pandemic, a war or a humanitarian emergency, it doesn’t attract the same attention," said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "It is my firm hope that this meeting will pave the way towards bold - and concrete - political commitments at the 2024 UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AMR."
“The use of antimicrobials in animals has shown an overall decrease over the last years. By strengthening biosecurity and husbandry practices, such as animal vaccination, we can further build on this great achievement and sustainably reach the agreed goals,” said WOAH Director General Dr Monique Eloit. “Reducing the need for antimicrobials is the best way to prevent antimicrobial resistance.”
The conference marks the conclusion of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, an annual week-long global campaign that brings together leaders across sectors to highlight the actions needed to preserve and protect antimicrobials.
As highlighted by the Manifesto, the Quadripartite will continue to scale up support through a One Health approach, which balances and optimizes the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. The partnership will also continue to coordinate a global, multisectoral AMR response, promote strong governance and leadership, and support countries in developing and implementing National Action Plans on AMR.
FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Its goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
For more information please contact:
Peter Mayer, FAO News and Media, peter.mayer@fao.org
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
For more information, please contact:
Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UN Environment Programme
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance to live a healthy life.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
Measles vaccination coverage has steadily declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose: 25 million children missed their first dose and an additional 14.7 million children missed their second dose, a joint publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. This decline is a significant setback in global progress towards achieving and maintaining measles elimination and leaves millions of children susceptible to infection.
In 2021, there were an estimated 9 million cases and 128 000 deaths from measles worldwide. Twenty-two countries experienced large and disruptive outbreaks. Declines in vaccine coverage, weakened measles surveillance, and continued interruptions and delays in immunization activities due to COVID-19, as well as persistent large outbreaks in 2022, mean that measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.
“The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programmes were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Getting immunization programmes back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”
The situation is grave: measles is one of the most contagious human viruses but is almost entirely preventable through vaccination. Coverage of 95% or greater of 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine is needed to create herd immunity in order to protect communities and achieve and maintain measles elimination. The world is well under that, with only 81% of children receiving their first measles-containing vaccine dose, and only 71% of children receiving their second measles-containing vaccine dose. These are the lowest global coverage rates of the first dose of measles vaccination since 2008, although coverage varies by country.
Measles anywhere is a threat everywhere, as the virus can quickly spread to multiple communities and across international borders. No WHO region has achieved and sustained measles elimination. Since 2016, ten countries that had previously eliminated measles experienced outbreaks and reestablished transmission.
“The record number of children under-immunized and susceptible to measles shows the profound damage immunization systems have sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CDC Director Dr Rochelle P. Walensky. “Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization programs, but public health officials can use outbreak response to identify communities at risk, understand causes of under-vaccination, and help deliver locally tailored solutions to ensure vaccinations are available to all.”
In 2021, nearly 61 million measles vaccine doses were postponed or missed due to COVID-19-related delays in immunization campaigns in 18 countries. Delays increase the risk of measles outbreaks, so the time for public health officials to accelerate vaccination efforts and strengthen surveillance is now. CDC and WHO urge coordinated and collaborative action from all partners at global, regional, national, and local levels to prioritize efforts to find and immunize all unprotected children, including those who were missed during the last two years.
Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization programs and other essential health services. To mitigate risk of outbreaks, countries and global stakeholders must invest in robust surveillance systems. Under the Immunization Agenda 2030 global immunization strategy, global immunization partners remain committed to supporting investments in strengthening surveillance as a means to detect outbreaks quickly, respond with urgency, and immunize all children who are not yet protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
WHO is launching a global scientific process to update the list of priority pathogens—agents that can cause outbreaks or pandemics—to guide global investment, research and development (R&D), especially in vaccines, tests and treatments.
Starting with a meeting held last Friday, 18 November, WHO is convening over 300 scientists who will consider the evidence on over 25 virus families and bacteria, as well as “Disease X.” Disease X is included to indicate an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic. The experts will recommend a list of priority pathogens that need further research and investment. The process will include both scientific and public health criteria, as well as criteria related to socioeconomic impact, access, and equity.
The list was first published in 2017 and the last prioritization exercise was done in 2018. The current list includes COVID-19, Crimean-Cong haemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Nipah and henipaviral diseases, Rift Valley fever, Zika and Disease X.
“Targeting priority pathogens and virus families for research and development of countermeasures is essential for a fast and effective epidemic and pandemic response. Without significant R&D investments prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would not have been possible to have safe and effective vaccines developed in record time,” said Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
For those pathogens identified as priority, the WHO R&D Blueprint for epidemics develops R&D roadmaps, which lay out knowledge gaps and research priorities. Where relevant, target product profiles, which inform developers about the desired specifications for vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests, are developed. Efforts are also made to map, compile and facilitate clinical trials to develop these tools. Complimentary efforts – such as to strengthen regulatory and ethics oversight – are also considered.
“This list of priority pathogens has become a reference point for the research community on where to focus energies to manage the next threat,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist. “It is developed together with experts in the field and is the agreed direction for where we—as a global research community—need to invest energy and funds to develop tests, treatments and vaccines. We thank our donors like the US government, our partners, and the scientists who work with WHO to make this possible.”
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
WHO is launching today a new strategy to respond to the urgent problem of antimalarial drug resistance in Africa. The strategy is being released during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, a global annual campaign to improve awareness of the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics and other medicines.
In recent years, there have been reports from Africa of emerging parasite resistance to artemisinin – the core compound of the best available medicines to treat malaria. There are also worrying signs that parasites in some areas may be resistant to drugs that are commonly combined with artemisinin. Vigorous measures are needed to protect their efficacy.
“Although antimalarial drug resistance is a serious cause for concern, artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) remain the best available treatment for uncomplicated
P. falciparum malaria,” notes Dr Pascal Ringwald, lead author of the new strategy and a Coordinator in the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “Health care providers should continue to prescribe and use ACTs to treat confirmed malaria.”
WHO currently recommends 6 different artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) as first- and second-line treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. Isolated from the plant Artemisia annua, artemisinin and its derivatives are powerful medicines known for their ability to rapidly reduce the number of Plasmodium parasites in the blood of patients with malaria. ACTs combine an artemisinin derivative (artesunate, artemether or dihydroartemisinin) with a partner drug. The role of the artemisinin compound is to reduce the number of parasites during the first three days of treatment, while the role of the partner drug is to eliminate the remaining parasites and cure the infection.
Rising resistance to antimalarial drug regimens
On a global scale, parasite resistance to artemisinin has been identified in the Greater Mekong sub region and several areas in Africa – notably Uganda, Rwanda and Eritrea. While artemisinin resistance alone rarely leads to treatment failure, resistance to both artemisinin and the partner drug within ACT drug regimens can lead to high rates of treatment failure – as seen in recent years in parts of the Greater Mekong subregion.
To date, resistance to ACT partner drugs has not been confirmed in Africa, and the treatment remains highly efficacious. However, there are some worrying signals: data are lacking for several countries, and contradictory findings on ACT efficacy need to be further assessed.
Given the heavy reliance on ACTs in Africa, full-blown treatment failure could have very serious consequences. “We don’t have that many options for malaria drugs,” notes Dr Dorothy Achu, WHO’s new Team Lead for Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases for the WHO African Region. As it stands, we just have artemisinin-based combination therapies for uncomplicated malaria. So any threat to these drugs could lead to lots of cases and deaths, which we obviously want to avoid,” she added.
In 2016, researchers at Imperial College London modelled the potential impact of widespread resistance to both artemisinin and a partner drug in Africa. Under this scenario, there would be an estimated 16 million more malaria cases each year, and about 360 000 more severe cases requiring hospitalization – leading, in turn, to nearly 80 000 additional malaria deaths annually. Under this same scenario, the yearly economic impact across the African continent was estimated at US$ 1 billion.
The new WHO strategy builds on lessons learned from past global plans and complements existing strategies, including broader efforts to respond to antimicrobial resistance. It aims to minimize the threat and impact of antimalarial drug resistance in Africa through 4 pillars:
· Strengthen surveillance of antimalarial drug efficacy and resistance.
· Optimize and better regulate the use of diagnostics and therapeutics to limit drug pressure through pre-emptive measures.
· React to resistance by limiting the spread of antimalarial drug-resistant parasites
· Stimulate research and innovation to better leverage existing tools and to develop new tools against antimalarial drug resistance.
The strategy’s 20 recommended interventions include, for example, generating standardized data on drug efficacy, promoting equitable access to quality diagnostics and drugs, ensuring optimal vector control coverage in priority areas, and developing innovative tools to limit malaria infection and transmission. Interventions should be tailored to the local context, with the support of global and regional stakeholders.
All of these interventions require strong health systems and investments in primary health care, which are the backbone of any successful response to malaria.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears nearly the entire global burden of malaria, accounting for an estimated 96% of malaria cases and deaths in 2020; approximately 4 in 5 of these deaths were among children under the age of five.
Despite the considerable efforts to tackle malaria in Africa over the last 2 decades, progress has plateaued in recent years and, in many countries with a high burden of the disease, cases are on the rise. Emerging threats, such as antimalarial drug resistance, could derail progress even further.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
FIFA and the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Qatar and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) launched the #BringTheMoves challenge, encouraging players at the FIFA World Cup 2022™ to meet the celebration challenges presented to them on social media by fans across the globe and encourage youngsters to #BeActive.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “We know the negative impact on children’s health a lack of exercise can have, and football can use the significant platform of this FIFA World Cup to spread that message in this exciting and engaging way.
“This challenge not only unites children with their heroes but utilizes the most digital-ever World Cup to send the message that we all need to be active and drives awareness also for parents that children need 60 minutes of physical exercise a day. At the moment, that is not the case for 80% of adolescents around the world.”
In the run-up to and during FIFA World Cup 2022™, children worldwide are challenging players of participating teams to celebrate goals with fresh new moves simply by posting a video on their social media pages using the hashtag #BringTheMoves.
One former player who celebrated hundreds of goals in an illustrious career is former Côte d’Ivoire striker Didier Drogba, who is now a WHO Goodwill Ambassador.
“Being active provides many benefits to everyone, especially for children while they are growing and developing physically, mentally and socially,” said Drogba. “Being active is good for your body and your mind – mental and physical health.”
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who is also a WHO Goodwill Ambassador and will be coming to Qatar with Brazil, knows the importance of being in peak condition. He wants to use the focus on the FIFA World Cup™ to encourage youngsters to #BringTheMoves and get more active.
“I support the Bring the Moves challenge because I really believe kids have to be active,” said the Liverpool goalkeeper. “They need to be active for the good of their future as they are growing up. I [can] see that we, football players, can be an inspiration for them as well. So, if we can have fun with them and make them move their bodies a little bit, we’re going to be happy.”
The campaign also encourages children to download GenMove, a digital app that uses artificial intelligence to encourage children to be physically active daily throughout the FIFA World Cup. Season 1 of GenMove will be launched on 19 November by Her Excellency Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health for Qatar and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, at the Walk the Talk - Health for All Challenge in Qatar.
“Football, music and joy are the perfect ingredients to get people moving for health,” said Dr Tedros. “WHO's partnership with FIFA and Qatar Ministry of Public Health on the Bring The Moves challenge is all about connecting World Cup stars with young people globally, to motivate people everywhere to be more physically active for better health.”
#BringTheMoves is part of a collaboration between FIFA, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health, Qatar designed to harness the power of football to protect and promote health for all. This, in turn, will create a blueprint for protecting and promoting health at mass gatherings which can then be shared with the IOC and other sports organizations.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
This is the first report to capture the implications of COVID-19 for vaccine markets.
Despite progress in recent decades, global market vaccine dynamics are not fully conducive to the development, supply and access for vital vaccines for public health.
Vaccines prioritized by WHO are not being developed or fully invested in due to limited profit potential.
Lower-income countries have struggled to access critical vaccines – such as against COVID-19 in 2021 and cervical cancer vaccine – that are in-demand by wealthier countries.
Some regions depend almost entirely on others for vaccine supply.
WHO calls on governments, manufacturers and partners to take ambitious action to guarantee equitable access to vaccines and improve responses to future pandemics.
WHO’s Global Vaccine Market Report 2022, published today, shows that inequitable distribution is not unique to COVID-19 vaccines, with poorer countries consistently struggling to access vaccines that are in-demand by wealthier countries.
Limited vaccine supply and unequal distribution drive global disparities. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer has only been introduced in 41% of low-income countries, even though they represent much of the disease burden, compared to 83% of high-income countries.
Affordability is also an obstacle to vaccine access. While prices tend to be tiered by income, price disparities see middle-income countries paying as much – or even more – than wealthier ones for several vaccine products.
"The right to health includes the right to vaccines," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "And yet this new report shows that free-market dynamics are depriving some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people of that right. WHO is calling for much-needed changes to the global vaccine market to save lives, prevent disease and prepare for future crises."
Approximately 16 billion vaccine doses, worth US$ 141 billion, were supplied in 2021, almost three times the 2019 market volume (5.8 billion) and nearly three-and-a-half times the 2019 market value (US$ 38 billion). The increase was primarily driven by COVID-19 vaccines, showing the incredible potential of how vaccine manufacturing can be scaled up in response to health needs.
Although manufacturing capacity worldwide has increased, it remains highly concentrated. Ten manufacturers alone provide 70% of vaccine doses (excluding COVID-19). Several of the top 20 most widely used vaccines (such as PCV, HPV, measles and rubella containing vaccines) each currently rely mainly on two suppliers.
This concentrated manufacturing base leads to risk of shortages as well as regional supply insecurity. In 2021, the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions were dependent on manufacturers headquartered elsewhere for 90% of their procured vaccines. Entrenched intellectual property monopolies and limited technology transfer further limit the ability of building and using local manufacturing capacity.
The health of markets is also concerning for several of the vaccines commonly needed for emergencies, such as against cholera, typhoid, smallpox/monkeypox, Ebola, meningococcal disease, where demand surges with outbreaks and is hence less predictable. The continued limited investment in these vaccines could be devastating for people’s lives.
The report highlights the opportunities for more alignment of vaccine development, production and distribution with a public health agenda, towards achieving the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) goals and informing pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response efforts.
COVID-19 proved that vaccines can be developed and distributed rapidly, with a process lasting an average of ten years but never less than four years, compressed to 11 months. The pandemic also exposed the long-standing need to recognise vaccines as a fundamental and cost-effective public good rather than a commodity.
To drive ambitious action to deliver equitable access to vaccines, the report calls on governments to act on: clear immunization plans and more aggressive investment and stronger oversight of vaccine development, production and distribution; regional research and manufacturing hubs; and pre-agreeing rules for government collaboration in times of scarcity on issues such as vaccine distribution, intellectual property and the circulation of inputs and goods.
Recommended actions for industry include: focusing research efforts on WHO priority pathogens, ensuring transparency, facilitating technology transfer, and committing to specific equity-driven allocation measures. International organizations and partners should prioritize Immunization Agenda 2030 goals, support country-driven initiatives and push for the application of resolutions on market transparency.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
At the EU-WHO Strategic Dialogue on Health between the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, the European Commission (EC) and WHO agreed to enhance strategic cooperation in global health security and architecture. They will also cooperate on the implementation of major initiatives, such as the new European Union’s Global Health Strategy launched this week, the European Health Union and the WHO priorities for the 2022-2026 period.
The partners will mutually reinforce their work across areas of common interest, as called by the EU Global Health Strategy, to further bolster a strong multilateral system with the WHO at its core, powered by a strong EU.
Many significant elements of global health security will be under discussion in the coming two years. These include the currently ongoing negotiations of a future pandemic accord and of amended International Health regulations, shaping a permanent pandemics platform, top leadership engagement in global health issues, and financing global health.
The EC and WHO will coordinate closely throughout these discussions to shape an effective multilateral system that considers the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and provides comprehensive health security for citizens across the world.
“Our citizens expect a step change in global health security, and the new EU Global Health Strategy is our contribution to this process. Combatting health threats effectively requires a strong multilateral governance with a more effective, accountable, and sustainably financed WHO at the center and where the EU has a seat at the table. Reinforced strategic cooperation and alignment between the Commission and the WHO will be essential to deliver better health for all in a changing world.”, said Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
Other areas of cooperation include cross-border threats to health and digital health. To ensure mutual reinforcement across areas of common interest, both sides will review all current joint projects and actions by May 2023 and identify further areas of collaboration and specific projects to support. Both parties will meet in June 2023 to take stock, define the lines of future joint work, and provide the political impetus as and when necessary.
“A healthier Europe is stronger and more prosperous Europe, and a stronger and more prosperous Europe is a stronger and more prosperous world. We look forward to scaling up our cooperation with the European Union in the years ahead for a healthier, safer and fairer world.”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General at the launch of the Strategy in Brussels.
The new EU Global Health Strategy offers a framework for EU health policies leading up to 2030. It sets policy priorities and guiding principles to shape global health, and it identifies concrete lines of action. It outlines what the Commission will do and what it invites the 27 EU Member States to do, each strictly within their respective competences and institutional roles. The strategy builds on contributions received during a wide public consultation with a broad range of key stakeholders in Europe and beyond.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.