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STORY: WHO / HEALTH PRESSER
TRT: 06:23
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 JANUARY 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, press room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Almost three years of continuous violence have turned Sudan into the worst humanitarian crisis globally. An estimated 33.7 million people will need humanitarian aid this year, and 13.6 million people are displaced, making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world.”
3. Wide shot, press room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Poor living conditions, overcrowding, lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and a breakdown of routine immunization are fuelling disease outbreaks. WHO is supporting the response to outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria, and measles.”
5. Wide shot, press room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Despite sustained efforts by WHO and partners to restore and revive health services, more than one third of health facilities remain non-functional. WHO calls for unrestricted and safe access to all areas of Sudan to restore access to health services, and we call for the protection of civilians from attacks, including health and humanitarian workers and patients. And we call for an end to the conflict by all parties in Sudan. As always, the best medicine is peace.”
7. Wide shot, press room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):”
WHO is supporting countries to maintain essential health services in the short term, while mobilising domestic resources to make the long-term transition from aid dependency to sustainable self-reliance. One of the best tools for doing that is health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.”
9. Wide shot, press room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Health taxes have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems. At the same time, they generate an income stream that governments can use to invest in health, education and social protection.”
11. Wide shot, press room
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Today we are publishing new reports on taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks. They show that in most countries, these taxes are too low to be effective, poorly designed, not adjusted regularly, and rarely aligned with public health objectives.”
13. Wide shot, press room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“As a result, alcohol and sugary drinks have become more affordable, even as the diseases and injuries associated with their consumption continue to place growing strain on health systems, families and budgets.”
15. Wide shot, press room
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they are not simple. They can be politically unpopular, and they attract opposition from powerful industries with deep pockets and a lot to lose.”
17. Wide shot, press room
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“But many countries have shown that when they are done right, they are a powerful tool for health. For example, in the Philippines, a major tax reform on tobacco and alcohol in 2013 increased revenues by more than five times, which supported the expansion of national health insurance to more than 15 million poor families.”
19. Wide shot, press room
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We know that alcohol is an unhealthy product. We know that tobacco is an unhealthy product. We know that sugar consumption is unhealthy. All of these issues lead to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, injuries, etc. and so even the most poorest family, when they are hit by a severe injury, by a cancer or a cardiovascular disease, throws them into further poverty. So, they shouldn't be seen as a burden. They should be seen as a prevention measure that helps avoid consumption of unhealthy products. So yes, these taxes are relevant even for the poorest countries because it's about prevention.”
21. Wide shot, press room
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne-Marie Perucic, Economist, World Health Organization (WHO):
“And we've seen it specifically on tobacco and even more recently in the experience of Mexico or the UK when they introduced their tax on sugar sweetened beverages, they followed closely their populations to see how that would impact on consumption. And the greatest reductions in consumption were among the lower income groups. So, in terms of also health gains, the health gains will be greater also among lower income groups because of their reaction to the price and tax increases.”
23. Wide shot, press room
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Then when I say for US to reconsider its return, it's not about money. It's not about money. Money can be adjusted. It's about cooperation. It's about solidarity. The best immunity is solidarity. It's in the interest of the US. It's in the interest of the rest of the world. So, it's not about money. And I don't want it to be seen as such. I'm not saying money doesn't matter, but what matters most is solidarity, cooperation, and for the whole world to prepare itself for any eventuality to a common enemy, like a virus like Covid that we have seen. So, we need cooperation and solidarity for that.”
25. Wide shot, press room
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Katherine O’Brien, Director, Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, World Health Organization (WHO):
“So, the US is making its recommendations, and we'll be watching carefully about what the impact of those recommendations are on protection of children, especially from diseases for which we have safe and effective vaccines. And our WHO recommendations do provide that there are 14 diseases against which we have what we refer to as a global recommendation, which means that we do recommend that every country in the world is considering those vaccines for inclusion in their routine programme. The US has made a decision to step back from some of those vaccines and to revert them into a shared decision-making approach, which certainly can have, and we do have concerns that this may limit the opportunity for children to benefit from these safe and highly effective vaccines.”
27. Wide shot, press room
World Health Organization (WHO) chief said that in Sudan, “Poor living conditions, overcrowding, lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and a breakdown of routine immunization are fuelling disease outbreaks.”
Addressing the press today (13 Jan), WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Almost three years of continuous violence have turned Sudan into the worst humanitarian crisis globally. An estimated 33.7 million people will need humanitarian aid this year, and 13.6 million people are displaced, making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world.”
He continued, “Poor living conditions, overcrowding, lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and a breakdown of routine immunization are fuelling disease outbreaks. WHO is supporting the response to outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria, and measles.”
He added, “Despite sustained efforts by WHO and partners to restore and revive health services, more than one third of health facilities remain non-functional. WHO calls for unrestricted and safe access to all areas of Sudan to restore access to health services, and we call for the protection of civilians from attacks, including health and humanitarian workers and patients. And we call for an end to the conflict by all parties in Sudan. As always, the best medicine is peace.”
He said, “WHO is supporting countries to maintain essential health services in the short term, while mobilising domestic resources to make the long-term transition from aid dependency to sustainable self-reliance. One of the best tools for doing that is health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.”
He also said, “Health taxes have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems. At the same time, they generate an income stream that governments can use to invest in health, education and social protection.”
He announced, “Today we are publishing new reports on taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks. They show that in most countries, these taxes are too low to be effective, poorly designed, not adjusted regularly, and rarely aligned with public health objectives.”
He continues, “As a result, alcohol and sugary drinks have become more affordable, even as the diseases and injuries associated with their consumption continue to place growing strain on health systems, families and budgets.”
He stressed, “Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they are not simple. They can be politically unpopular, and they attract opposition from powerful industries with deep pockets and a lot to lose.”
He highlighted, “But many countries have shown that when they are done right, they are a powerful tool for health. For example, in the Philippines, a major tax reform on tobacco and alcohol in 2013 increased revenues by more than five times, which supported the expansion of national health insurance to more than 15 million poor families.”
Dr Etienne Krug, Director, Department of WHO Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, said, “We know that alcohol is an unhealthy product. We know that tobacco is an unhealthy product. We know that sugar consumption is unhealthy. All of these issues lead to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, injuries, etc. and so even the most poorest family, when they are hit by a severe injury, by a cancer or a cardiovascular disease, throws them into further poverty. So, they shouldn't be seen as a burden. They should be seen as a prevention measure that helps avoid consumption of unhealthy products. So yes, these taxes are relevant even for the poorest countries because it's about prevention.”
Anne-Marie Perucic, WHO Economist, said, “And we've seen it specifically on tobacco and even more recently in the experience of Mexico or the UK when they introduced their tax on sugar sweetened beverages, they followed closely their populations to see how that would impact on consumption. And the greatest reductions in consumption were among the lower income groups. So, in terms of also health gains, the health gains will be greater also among lower income groups because of their reaction to the price and tax increases.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “Then when I say for US to reconsider its return, it's not about money. It's not about money. Money can be adjusted. It's about cooperation. It's about solidarity. The best immunity is solidarity. It's in the interest of the US. It's in the interest of the rest of the world. So, it's not about money. And I don't want it to be seen as such. I'm not saying money doesn't matter, but what matters most is solidarity, cooperation, and for the whole world to prepare itself for any eventuality to a common enemy, like a virus like Covid that we have seen. So, we need cooperation and solidarity for that.”
Dr Katherine O’Brien, Director of WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, said, “So, the US is making its recommendations, and we'll be watching carefully about what the impact of those recommendations are on protection of children, especially from diseases for which we have safe and effective vaccines. And our WHO recommendations do provide that there are 14 diseases against which we have what we refer to as a global recommendation, which means that we do recommend that every country in the world is considering those vaccines for inclusion in their routine programme. The US has made a decision to step back from some of those vaccines and to revert them into a shared decision-making approach, which certainly can have, and we do have concerns that this may limit the opportunity for children to benefit from these safe and highly effective vaccines.”
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