Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Reports of attacks on civilians in #Ethiopia's Amhara and Tigray regions are deeply disturbing. Among those reportedly killed in the Jaari 2 displacement camp in Amhara were children, including a newborn. In another attack in Rama, Tigray, several people were reportedly killed while trying to get food. While these are the latest incidents, drone attacks and civilian casualties have tragically become frequent across Ethiopia. The violence in northern Ethiopia is pushing an already fragile health system closer to collapse. Hospitals face shortages of health workers, medicines, and equipment. Ambulance services are severely limited. Insecurity is obstructing the delivery of life-saving medical supplies to some areas. @WHO and @UN partners are working around the clock to deliver additional much needed medical supplies to all the affected regions. As fighting continues, more people are likely to lose access to essential health care, including emergency services, maternal and child health care, and treatment for diseases. Civilians must be protected. Health workers and humanitarian supplies must be allowed to reach those in need. The most courageous choose peace. The best medicine is peace. reuters.com/world/africa/str…

Health is a right, not a privilege determined by income, identity or birthplace.    The same principle applies between countries. No nation should be left without access to the vaccines, diagnostics and treatments it needs in an emergency.    In a divided and divisive world, health remains an area in which countries can find shared solutions to shared threats.

I thank the @fundaciondiario for Premios Taburiente Award, which I accept with much gratitude, humility and pride. In truth, I owe this award to the people of Tenerife. In May, I came to this island under very difficult circumstances. #Hantavirus had broken out on board the cruise ship MV Hondius. The passengers were frightened, sick or worried about becoming sick, and far from home. They needed a safe harbour. We asked Tenerife to provide it. I know that was not an easy request. Many of you were worried. You asked whether the virus could spread; whether your families were safe; whether your island was being exposed to a risk that was not yours to carry. Those concerns were valid. They deserved to be heard and answered honestly, not dismissed. Fear in the face of an outbreak is not selfishness. It is human. What matters is what people do next. And what you did was remarkable. You opened your port. Your health workers, emergency services, port workers and authorities worked side by side with WHO and our partners. Each passenger was disembarked safely and returned home. The outbreak was brought under control. None of that would have been possible without you. When an outbreak strikes, the instinct is to close the door. You chose to open it, carefully, safely and with compassion. You protected strangers without putting your own people at risk. I would also like to recognize the leadership of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Ministers Mónica García, Ángel Víctor Torres and Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Over many years, I have seen what fear and division do in an emergency. Here in Tenerife, I saw the alternative. Solidarity is our best immunity. So this award belongs to you. To the port workers, the health workers, the officials, the families who welcomed strangers, and everyone who chose to help. Thank you, Tenerife. ¡Muchas gracias!

My thanks to EuBiologics of the Republic of #Korea for its commitment to producing life-saving #cholera vaccines for people worldwide. It is the only manufacturer of oral cholera vaccines at the scale needed for mass campaigns. I welcome its partnerships in South Africa and Ghana to help strengthen regional manufacturing capacity and equitable access to vaccines. #HealthForAll

Health and human rights are inseparable.   @WHO remains committed to making the right to health a reality for everyone.

Damaging nature fuels disease, hunger,economic losses and climate shocks. Protecting biodiversity means healthier, safer and more resilient societies. As @UNBiodiversity COP17 unfolds, we call on countries to put health at the heart of biodiversity and biodiversity at the heart of health policy.

I commend President @TokayevKZ’s commitment to raising salaries for 77,000 health workers in #Kazakhstan, and for keeping people’s health and well-being at the heart of national policy. By investing in primary health care, empowering general practitioners and supporting health workers, Kazakhstan is demonstrating how political leadership can translate into better, more accessible health services for all. Nearly 50 years ago, Kazakhstan helped shape the global vision of Health for All through the Alma-Ata Declaration. As we approach its 50th anniversary in 2028, Kazakhstan continues to set an important example of turning that vision into action. Political commitment to health makes a difference. Thank you, Kazakhstan, for showing the way! en.tengrihealth.kz/tengri-he…

Amid conflict, #polio vaccination campaign for 11 million children has started in #Sudan. It aims to boost immunity among children with limited access to health services due to the conflict: bit.ly/4kob7T8 In 2026, Sudan has confirmed poliovirus in six children and in three wastewater samples. @WHO and @UNICEF are supporting the vaccination campaign, contributing to efforts to reach children across the country and strengthen the response to the polio outbreak.

Congratulations to my sister, Prime Minister @miaamormottley, and the government, health workers and communities of #Barbados on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of #HIV. A major achievement in protecting new generations of children from HIV. This is universal health coverage in action: free healthcare for every pregnant woman, regardless of nationality, with her rights and privacy respected. #HealthForAll

Half the people in Haiti are struggling to feed themselves and their families and it’s expected to get worse. @pahowho is supporting the country efforts to prevent and treat medical complications in severely malnourished children. But the needs are much larger. We call for urgent humanitarian access and donor support to scale up the response. No one should have to live in hunger. Above all, what the people of Haiti need is peace. nitter.cf/theIPCinfo/status/2115…

Ten years ago, the @LancetCountdown began tracking the impact of climate change on health, and the world’s response. It shows where harm is greatest, how fast it is growing, and where action can make the greatest difference. That evidence is vital to @WHO’s work to turn science into policy and action. The science is clear: the climate crisis is a health crisis. The solutions are within reach. What is missing is political will, investment and action at scale. nitter.cf/LancetCountdown/status…

Congratulations, my friend Mark Dybul, on your appointment as Executive Director of the @GlobalFund. Welcome back! My congratulations also go to former Prime Minister @erna_solberg, the new Board Chair, and Javier Hourcade Bellocq, the new Vice Chair. @WHO colleagues and I look forward to continuing our strong partnership towards a healthier, safer and fairer world. nitter.cf/GlobalFund/status/2115…

We came to Madrid this week as partners in the World Summit on Obesity, to talk about health, and how we can help people everywhere live longer, fuller lives. This morning, that purpose tragically overshadowed by a terrible train accident south of this city that has taken many lives. The situation is still unfolding. But we already know that many families across Spain are anxiously awaiting to hear about their loved ones. Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, spouses, friends and colleagues, who set out on an ordinary journey and did not come home. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Health of Spain were meant to be with us today. Their place, rightly, is with the people of Spain, leading the response to this tragedy. Our thoughts are with them, and with everyone working at this very moment to help those affected. It would not *have been* right for us to carry on as though this were an ordinary day. Out of respect for those who have died, for their families, and for the Government and people of Spain, we decided to cancel today’s formal event. To everyone who has lost someone they love this morning: our hearts are with you. We grieve with you, and we will hold you in our thoughts in the days ahead. Spain has welcomed us with such warmth and generosity. Today, we want to offer that same warmth in return. On this dark day, we stand with you.