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STORY: WHO / TEDROS PRESSER
TRT: 07:25
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 MARCH 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, press briefing room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“WHO is deeply concerned about the conflict in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Middle East, with 16 countries affected. So far, almost 1000 deaths have been reported in Iran, 50 in Lebanon, 13 in Israel and eleven in other gulf countries.”
3. Wide shot, press briefing room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“WHO has verified 13 attacks on health care in Iran, and one in Lebanon. Under international humanitarian law, health care must be protected and not attacked.”
5. Wide shot, press briefing room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Hanan Balky, Regional Director, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO/EMRO:
“One of our most serious concerns is attacks on health care. In the past week, WHO has verified 13 attacks on health care in the Islamic Republic of Iran and one in Lebanon. In Lebanon, evacuation orders have forced the closure of 43 primary health care centres and two hospitals. Violence has also affected the first responders, with paramedics killed and injured.”
7. Wide shot, press briefing room8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Hanan Balky, Regional Director, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO/EMRO:
“Last year, WHO Global Health Emergencies Logistics Hub in Dubai fulfilled more than 500 emergency orders for 75 countries across all six WHO regions. However, humanitarian health supply chains are now being jeopardized. The hub's operations are temporarily on hold due to insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions affecting access to the Strait of Hormuz. This disruption is preventing access to 18 million USD in humanitarian health supplies, while another eight million USD in shipments cannot reach the hub.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Hanan Balky, Regional Director, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO/EMRO:
“Half of global humanitarian needs are concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean region. We are coordinating the health response across affected countries, supporting ministries of health and partners to sustain essential services, as well as strengthening disease surveillance and preparing for potential mass casualties and displacements.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“One of the other defining public health challenges of the past 50 years is HIV. But it’s also one of the defining public health successes. Once a death sentence, HIV can now be controlled with safe and effective medication. As a result, the number of annual AIDS-related deaths has dropped by 70 percent in the past 20 years.”
12. Wide shot, press briefing room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Last year, a new medicine was approved for the prevention of HIV – lenacapavir – that is the most important development in addressing HIV since the first antiretrovirals were approved almost 40 years ago.”
14. Wide shot, press briefing room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Lenacapavir is not a vaccine, but it’s the next best thing: a long-acting antiretroviral, taken once every six months by people who are HIV-negative but at risk of infection. In trials, it has been shown to prevent almost all cases of HIV in those at risk.”
16. Wide shot, press briefing room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“In October last year, South Africa’s national regulator became the first in Africa to approve lenacapavir, and only the third globally.”
18. Wide shot, press briefing room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“And just today, South Africa announced that it plans to manufacture lenacapavir locally. One of the challenges we face is that demand is outstripping what countries have ordered from donors, who buy lenacapavir from manufacturers. WHO is working with countries, donors and manufacturers to meet this demand.”
20. Wide shot, press briefing room
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Another powerful tool that is changing the face of public health is the HPV vaccine, which together with screening and treatment, is giving the world hope of eliminating cervical cancer. Yesterday was HPV Awareness Day, drawing attention to a family of viruses that are responsible for several cancers, including cervical cancer.”
22. Wide shot, press briefing room
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Today we are proud to celebrate two countries that are making major progress towards cervical cancer elimination: India and South Africa.”
24. Wide shot, press briefing room
25. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Last week, India announced the largest free HPV vaccination campaign in history, targeting almost twelve million girls aged 14 every year.”
26. Wide shot, press briefing room
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I referred earlier to President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address last month in which he announced plans for a massive rollout of lenacapavir. In the same speech, he also committed to ensuring every girl between nine and 14 receives an HPV vaccine. WHO is supporting South Africa to develop a comprehensive national strategy for cervical cancer elimination.”
28. Wide shot, press briefing room
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Katherine O’Brien, Director, Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, WHO:
“This is a schedule, as you know, that HPV vaccine can also be given in a two-dose schedule, and country after country is seeing the benefit of switching to a one dose schedule.”
30. Wide shot, press briefing room
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Katherine O’Brien, Director, Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, WHO:
“And we have some estimates that as a result of countries switching to the one dose schedule, something in excess of 30 million additional girls have been able to be vaccinated just because of a switch in schedule. So as countries continue to roll out the vaccine, I think we see more and more that the evidence that has supported the benefit and the equivalence of a one dose schedule has really driven the impact of the vaccine and protecting so many more young girls as they move into their adult years and protecting them from such a deadly disease.”
32. Wide shot, press briefing room
33. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Obesity is one of the greatest health challenges of our time – but it is a challenge that we have more and more tools to address, including GLP-1 therapies.”
34. Wide shot, press briefing room
35. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Yesterday, colleagues from WHO published a paper in The Lancet Global Health on our work to prepare health systems in twelve countries to strengthen obesity services, including GLP-1 therapies.”
36. Wide shot, press briefing room
37. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Through the WHO Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity, we are supporting 34 countries, representing 1.3 billion people, to reduce obesity prevalence across all age groups by 5 percent by 2030. Many countries are taking action – from taxing sugary drinks to integrating obesity care into primary health systems.”
38. Wide shot, press briefing room
The World Health Organization has raised alarm over escalating conflict across the Middle East, with Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressing that “under international humanitarian law, health care must be protected and not attacked,” as WHO verified 13 attacks on health facilities in Iran alone.
Regional Director Dr. Hanan Balky added that disruptions to the WHO logistics hub in Dubai are “preventing access to 18 million USD in humanitarian health supplies.”
Also Dr. Tedros highlighted major advances in global public health. He called lenacapavir “the most important development in addressing HIV since the first antiretrovirals were approved almost 40 years ago,” noting that South Africa announced its plans to “manufacture lenacapavir locally.”
On cervical cancer, he celebrated India's launch of “the largest free HPV vaccination campaign in history,” while Dr. Katherine O'Brien noted that switching to a one-dose HPV schedule means “something in excess of 30 million additional girls have been able to be vaccinated.”
Finally, Dr. Tedros addressed obesity, noting WHO is “supporting 34 countries, representing 1.3 billion people, to reduce obesity prevalence across all age groups by 5 percent by 2030.”
