Global health issues 

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently conducted a virtual press conference on global health emergencies on November 16, 2022. Margaret Harris hosted the conference at WHO Headquarters in Geneva. As well as, a broad panel of technical experts was present online and offline for discussion.

COVID-19, Monkeypox & Other Global Health Issues Virtual Press conference transcript – 16 November 2022. Image Credit: akedesign / Shutterstock

The conference began with opening remarks from Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO. He addressed the session from Bali, Indonesia, where he was attending the G20 Summit. Referring to the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, he began his speech by saying, “when health is in danger, all the pieces is in danger.”  

Dr. Tedros also mentioned that world conflicts, climate change, and food and energy insecurities had overshadowed the pandemic; nonetheless, each issue significantly impacted public health and economies. Finally, he congratulated the G20 leaders for his or her strong commitment to supporting health and health security and achieving universal health coverage under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.   

As mentioned by Dr. Tedros, the G20 leaders have ensured adequate financing for pandemic preparedness and response. In addition they expressed willingness to support the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa. With their support, a recent pandemic fund was launched in Bali.  

By mentioning that WHO has established a recent training hub for emergency medical teams in association with Indonesia’s ministries of health and Defence, Dr. Tedros thanked Indonesia for its leadership as President of the G20 in 2022. Moreover, he anticipated working closely with India next yr.  

Ebola outbreak

Dr. Tedros shared a very important update on the Ebola outbreak in Uganda. He said, “there have been six more confirmed cases and one probable case of Ebola in Uganda, bringing the whole to 141 confirmed and 22 probable cases. There have also been two more confirmed Ebola deaths and one probable death, for 55 confirmed and 22 probable deaths. As well as, 73 patients have now recovered”. 

He further mentioned that the Ugandan government’s efforts to manage outbreaks have significantly reduced disease transmission in most districts. Nonetheless, a recent case has been detected within the Jinja district recently. WHO and partners are currently helping the federal government to manage the outbreak and rapidly initiate human trials for 3 vaccine candidates and two investigational therapeutics.

The FIFA World Cup

Dr. Tedros will probably be visiting the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar. About five billion persons are expected to attend this yr’s World Cup.

He mentioned that the WHO is working with Qatar and FIFA to advertise physical and mental health through various activities. For instance, they’ve planned to advertise a healthy food plan and physical activity among the many World Cup audience through extensive video campaigning and tv and social media messaging.   

During World Cup events, they’ve implemented strict control measures to stop disease transmission, including COVID-19. They’ve also prohibited tobacco use contained in the stadium. As well as, WHO’s goodwill ambassadors will probably be actively sharing the outcomes of the World Cup with the International Olympic Committee to support preparations for the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.

Family Planning Handbook

Dr. Tedros mentioned that the WHO has released an updated Family Planning Handbook to offer health employees and policymakers with the newest information on contraceptives. This new edition includes recommendations for broader access to self-administered contraceptives. These recommendations are expected to scale back the chance of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

With this announcement, Dr. Tedros handed over the session to Margaret. She then opened the ground for questions. Many health reporters from across the globe recommend their queries to the expert panel.

The important focus of the discussion was on the supply of Ebola trial vaccines (ChAdOx, ChAd3, and VSV Sudan). Reporters also asked in regards to the trials’ robustness in gathering sufficient satisfactory evidence.

Experts on the panel mostly replied affirmatively in regards to the availability of sufficient doses to initiate future trials. Regarding preparedness for future trials, one among the panelists, Dr. Ana Maria, said, “WHO, the partners and the vaccine developers are committed to randomizing these vaccines so we are able to generate the robust evidence that can allow us to know if a number of of them has the efficacy we hope they’ve.”  

The potential for combined outbreaks of influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) within the upcoming winter was also discussed. On this regard, panelists beneficial taking the COVID-19 and flu vaccines and following public health measures.  

Monkeypox outbreak

European Health Union (EHU) has arranged one other press conference on November 17, 2022, to reveal that the Commission’s Health Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has signed a Joint Procurement Framework contract with the corporate Bavarian Nordic for the provision of as much as 2 million doses of the monkeypox vaccine in 2023 and 2024. In this fashion, participating countries could construct stockpiles and meet their medium and long-term needs.