GENEVA / CHAN

World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan reflects on the challenges and accomplishments to public health in 2009. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:45
• Production Date: 29 December 2009
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SUDAN - UNMIS; UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: HEALTH; HEALTH SERVICES; DISEASE PREVENTION; DISEASE CONTROL
• MAMS Id: U091229d

Description

STORY: GENEVA / CHAN
TRT: 3.45
SOURCE: WHO / UNICEF / UNMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 29 DECEMBER 2009

RECENT 2009, GENEVA , SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations

29 DECEMBER 2009 , GENEVA , SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Cutaway, laptop
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Margaret Chan, Executive Director, World Health Organization (WHO):
“For the first time we are seeing more than 4 million HIV patients receiving treatment, this is unimaginable 10 years ago. Another example, the under 5 child mortality, for the first time in 60 years we saw this figure drop below 10 million.”

FILE – PAHO – 2007-2008, LOCATION UNKNOWN

5. Med shot, nurse giving medicines to a HIV patient

FILE – UNICEF – 23-25 NOVEMBER 2008, DOUALA AND YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

6. Close up, son taking medicine
7. Wide shot, mother with son taking medicine
8. Close up, son drinking water

FILE – UNICEF – 6-10 JULY 2008 / BOUAKE AND ABIDJAN, COTE D'IVOIRE

9. Close up, baby
10. Close up, pricking baby’s foot for PCR test
11. Close up, nurse’s face
12. Close up, blood spot from baby’s foot
FILE – UNICEF – 16 NOVEMBER 2008 , BISHKEK , KYRGYZSTAN

13. Various shots, woman in labor

FILE – UNMIS – APRIL 8 - 9 2009 , TORIT, JUBA / SUDAN

14. Med shot, ambulance driver helping pregnant woman leave her hut
15. Med shot, ambulance driver helping pregnant woman into motorcycle ambulance
16. Med shot, motorcycle ambulance entering hospital

29 DECEMBER 2009 , GENEVA , SWITZERLAND

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Margaret Chan, Executive Director, World Health Organization (WHO):
“One thing that touches me very deeply is the lack of progress in MMR - maternal mortality, in many countries in Africa , in India and other countries in Asia as well. Another important area, and also under the overall scope of health for women and girls is violence against women, abuse against women these are issues we really need to double our effort, or triple our effort."
18. Cutaway, cameraman
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Margaret Chan, Executive Director, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I think that it is too premature and too early for us to say, we have come to an end of the pandemic influenza worldwide. It would be prudent and appropriate for WHO together with our member states to continue to monitor the evolution of this pandemic for the next six to twelve months."
20. Cutaway, journalist
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Margaret Chan, Executive Director, World Health Organization (WHO):
"The long overdue influenza pandemic is so moderate in its impact, it's probably the best health news of the decade. A severe pandemic, just imagine, as severe pandemic, coming at such a fragile time, in a world where there are many people suffering from chronic diseases like heart disease, lung disease including asthma, cancers, with many more people suffering from HIV, obesity and the list goes on. With this kind of backdrop, one could see if we are confronted with a severe pandemic, it could have brought the momentum of health development to a grinding halt, and reversed all the hard earned gains that the world collectively have achieved in the last ten years."
22. Wide shot, press conference

Storyline

As 2009 comes to a close, the Director-General of the World Health Organization took a moment with journalists in Geneva today to reflect back on the challenges to public health, but also the accomplishments of the year.

Dr. Margaret Chan noted some of the success stories.

But she also said that one of the challenges ahead was the lack of progress in maternal mortality ( MMR ).

T he headline that dominated the year was the H1N1 pandemic. As the number of cases decline in some countries, some people are beginning to raise the question of whether the pandemic is over. Chan said it was too early to tell and that the pandemic would have to come to an end worldwide.

Already there is enough evidence to suggest that the pandemic is not severe, and the Director General said this could be, “the best health news of the decade.”