Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoWHO / TEDROS HEALTH EMERGENCIES
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: WHO / TEDROS HEALTH EMERGENCIES
TRT: 10:22
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 SEPTEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, World Health Organization (WHO)
2. Wide shot, press briefing
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“More than a year ago, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the spread of mpox in Africa, on the advice of an Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations. Since then the Emergency Committee has met every three months to evaluate the outbreak. Yesterday, they met again and advised me that in its view, the situation no longer represents an international health emergency. I have accepted that advice. This decision is based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in other affected countries including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Of course, lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over,nor that our response will stop, and we note the Africa CDC’s decision yesterday that mpox remains a continental emergency. The possibility of continued flare-ups and new outbreaks remains, requiring adequate surveillance and response capacity. Ongoing efforts are needed to protect the most vulnerable groups, particularly children and people living with HIV. WHO, Africa CDC and other partners have maintained a coordinated emergency response, supporting countries to reduce transmission, address stigma, and expand access to testing, care and vaccination.”
6. Wide shot, press briefing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme:
“Despite the situation at the moment, we have sustained increasing capacity to detect and respond across the continent and we are fairly confident in working with our national public health agencies, ministries of health, research institutes, working with global partners that have supported access to vaccines, equitable distribution of access according to need across the continent, that we will continue to drive forward, challenges and opportunities that we have had to improve the response. So this is actually not an indication to deescalate, but actually an indication to sustain our efforts and make sure that we continue this new disease that remerged on our continent a few years ago.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Yesterday, the government of that country declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the central province of Kasai. So far, 28 suspected cases and 16 deaths have been reported, including four health workers. WHO has staff on the ground in Kasai, with more on the way. We’re joining rapid response teams to trace contacts and find cases, we’re collecting and testing samples, and we’re providing technical expertise in surveillance, infection prevention and control, treatment, risk communication and more. WHO has also delivered personal protective equipment, laboratory equipment, medical supplies and a mobile laboratory. We had previously prepositioned 2,000 doses of Ebola vaccine in Kinshasa, which we are releasing to vaccinate contacts and health workers. This is the 16th outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, and the government has rich experience from those previous outbreaks.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Famine was declared in parts of Gaza two weeks ago. Since the conflict began in October 2023, at least 370 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 300 just in the past two months. And where hunger goes, disease follows. Lack of food and clean water and cramped living conditions are leaving people with weakened immune systems exposed to more disease. In the past month, more than 100 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome have been reported, with 11 deaths – a syndrome that can occur after other infection and lead to paralysis.”
12. Wide shot, press briefing
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“WHO is doing the best we can to alleviate suffering, and evacuate those who need urgent medical care outside Gaza. Since October 2023, WHO has supported the evacuation of over 7,640 patients, including 5,300 children, and 2,660 companions. But there are still more than 15000patients in Gaza who need urgent specialized care, including 3,800 children. More than 700 people have died while waiting for medical evacuation, including almost 140 children. However, the problem we face is that too few countries are willing to receive them. We call for countries to open their arms to these critically ill patients. We call on Israel to allow people to be treated in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where hospitals closer to home can take many patients.”
14. Wide shot, press briefing
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“And we call on the Government of Israel to end this inhumane war. If it will not, I call on its allies to use their influence to stop it. The most intolerable part of this man-made disaster is that it could be stopped right now. People are starving to death while the food that could save them sits on trucks a short distance away. And for what? Starving the people of Gaza will not make Israel safer, nor will it facilitate the release of the hostages. This is a catastrophe that Israel could have prevented, and could stop at any time. Starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. That can never be tolerated: doing so in one conflict risks legitimizing its use in future conflicts.”
16. Wide shot, press briefing
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Like Gaza, Sudan is also facing a hunger crisis, with famine conditions confirmed in parts of the country. This year alone, over 770 thousand children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition. WHO is supporting 142 centres that have treated more than 20000 severely malnourished children so far this year. At the same time, the country is facing a severe cholera outbreak, which has spread to all 18 states, with more than 105,000 cases and 2,600 deaths.”
18. Wide shot, press briefing
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“In August, WHO supported vaccination campaigns that reached 3.5 million people, and we will soon launch another campaign targeting almost two million people in Darfur. Since November 2023, over 17 million people have been reached with oral cholera vaccines. The situation is especially severe in the region of North Darfur, where the city of El Fasher has been under siege for more than 500 days. More than 260, 000 people need urgent health assistance; 35 health facilities have been destroyed; There are 5,000 suspected cholera cases and 98 deaths; 130,000 children are suffering from malnutrition; And survivors of sexual and gender-based violence need urgent care, including mental health support. UN humanitarian aid, including WHO supplies, hasn’t reached the city in over a year. We call for the immediate opening of safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to El Fasher to meet the mounting health needs and save lives. We call on the RSF to lift the siege, and we call on all parties to the conflict to end the war.”
20. Wide shot, press briefing
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Today WHO is releasing the latest editions of the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children. These lists are among WHO’s most important products, used in over 150 countries to shape public sector procurement, the supply of medicines, health insurance and reimbursement schemes. The updated lists include new treatments for various types of cancer, and for diabetes with associated conditions such as obesity. Medicines for cystic fibrosis, psoriasis, haemophilia and blood-related disorders are among the other conditions.”
22. Wide shot, press briefing
Following the declaration on Thursday (04 Sep) of a new Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s centre-west, joint national rapid response team, supported by World Health Organization (WHO) experts has been deployed to strengthen disease surveillance and response capacity.
WHO is delivering more than two metric tons of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, mobile laboratory equipment, and medical items to support the immediate response.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva today (05 Sep), WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “So far, 28 suspected cases and 16 deaths have been reported, including four health workers.”
“WHO has also delivered personal protective equipment, laboratory equipment, medical supplies and a mobile laboratory,” the Director-General said, adding that the Organization “had previously prepositioned 2,000 doses of Ebola vaccine in Kinshasa, which we are releasing to vaccinate contacts and health workers. This is the 16th outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, and the government has rich experience from those previous outbreaks.”
On mpox in Africa, Tedros said that the Emergency Committee on Thursday (04 Sep) advised him that “in its view, the situation no longer represents an international health emergency.”
“I have accepted that advice. This decision is based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in other affected countries including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda,” the WHO chief added.
He continued, “Of course, lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over, nor that our response will stop, and we note the Africa CDC’s decision yesterday that mpox remains a continental emergency.”
“The possibility of continued flare-ups and new outbreaks remains, requiring adequate surveillance and response capacity,” Tedros said, adding, “Ongoing efforts are needed to protect the most vulnerable groups, particularly children and people living with HIV.”
WHO, Africa CDC and other partners have maintained a coordinated emergency response, supporting countries to reduce transmission, address stigma, and expand access to testing, care and vaccination,” he reiterated.
WHO’s Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said, “Despite the situation at the moment, we have sustained increasing capacity to detect and respond across the continent and we are fairly confident in working with our national public health agencies, ministries of health, research institutes, working with global partners that have supported access to vaccines, equitable distribution of access according to need across the continent, that we will continue to drive forward, challenges and opportunities that we have had to improve the response.”
“So this is actually not an indication to deescalate, but actually an indication to sustain our efforts and make sure that we continue this new disease that remerged on our continent a few years ago,” he added.
On Gaza, WHO chief said, “Famine was declared in parts of Gaza two weeks ago. Since the conflict began in October 2023, at least 370 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 300 just in the past two months.”
“Where hunger goes, disease follows,” Tedros highlighted, explaining that “lack of food and clean water and cramped living conditions are leaving people with weakened immune systems exposed to more disease.”
He noted that in the past month, more than 100 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome have been reported, with 11 deaths – a syndrome that can occur after other infection and lead to paralysis.
“WHO is doing the best we can to alleviate suffering, and evacuate those who need urgent medical care outside Gaza,” the WHO chief reiterated.
Since October 2023, WHO has supported the evacuation of over 7,640 patients, including 5,300 children, and 2,660 companions. But there are still more than 15,000 patients in Gaza who need urgent specialized care, including 3,800 children, Tedros told reporters.
He added, “More than 700 people have died while waiting for medical evacuation, including almost 140 children.”
“However, the problem we face is that too few countries are willing to receive them,” the Director General said, calling for countries to “open their arms to these critically ill patients.”
WHO also called on Israel to “allow people to be treated in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where hospitals closer to home can take many patients.”
Tedros said, “we call on the Government of Israel to end this inhumane war. If it will not, I call on its allies to use their influence to stop it.”
He continued, “The most intolerable part of this man-made disaster is that it could be stopped right now. People are starving to death while the food that could save them sits on trucks a short distance away. And for what?”
“Starving the people of Gaza will not make Israel safer, nor will it facilitate the release of the hostages,” the WHO chief stressed.
He said, “This is a catastrophe that Israel could have prevented, and could stop at any time. Starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. That can never be tolerated: doing so in one conflict risks legitimizing its use in future conflicts.”
Turning to Sudan, Tedros noted that this year alone, over 770 thousand children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
“WHO is supporting 142 centres that have treated more than 20000 severely malnourished children so far this year. At the same time, the country is facing a severe cholera outbreak, which has spread to all 18 states, with more than 105,000 cases and 2,600 deaths,” he said.
Tedros also said, “In August, WHO supported vaccination campaigns that reached 3.5 million people, and we will soon launch another campaign targeting almost two million people in Darfur.”
Since November 2023, over 17 million people have been reached with oral cholera vaccines.
“The situation is especially severe in the region of North Darfur, where the city of El Fasher has been under siege for more than 500 days,” the WHO chief stressed.
More than 260, 000 people need urgent health assistance; 35 health facilities have been destroyed; There are 5,000 suspected cholera cases and 98 deaths; 130,000 children are suffering from malnutrition; And survivors of sexual and gender-based violence need urgent care, including mental health support, he added.
The WHO chief continued, “UN humanitarian aid, including WHO supplies, hasn’t reached the city in over a year.”
WHO called for “the immediate opening of safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to El Fasher to meet the mounting health needs and save lives. We call on the RSF to lift the siege, and we call on all parties to the conflict to end the war.”
The latest editions of the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children was released today.
Tedros said, ‘ These lists are among WHO’s most important products, used in over 150 countries to shape public sector procurement, the supply of medicines, health insurance and reimbursement schemes.”
He concluded, “The updated lists include new treatments for various types of cancer, and for diabetes with associated conditions such as obesity. Medicines for cystic fibrosis, psoriasis, haemophilia and blood-related disorders are among the other conditions.”
