Robert Terry

Despite the challenges we face, @WHO is continuing to do what Member States have mandated us to do: We’re delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere; We’ve helped to stop the spread of Ebola in DRC; We’re helping countries to deal with the impact of bilateral cuts to aid; To catch up on immunization; To take action on NCDs and mental health; To monitor and respond to antimicrobial resistance; To eliminate neglected tropical diseases. We’re supporting the roll out of malaria vaccines; We’re helping to accelerate the development of a new vaccine against tuberculosis; We’re working on the availability and affordability of long-acting antiretrovirals for HIV prevention, which could be a game-changer for the epidemic. #HealthForAll #RC75CPH

Our deep country-based experience delivers results to control and eliminate diseases of poverty. One of our major success stories is the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in Bangladesh. Learn more here: youtube.com/watch?v=TpA25H… #TDRInvestmentCase #BeatNTDs

WHO statement on autism-related issues The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) during pregnancy. Globally, nearly 62 million people (1 in 127) have autism spectrum disorder, a diverse group of conditions related to development of the brain. Although awareness and diagnosis have improved in recent years, the exact causes of #autism have not been established, and it is understood there are multiple factors that can be involved. Extensive research has been undertaken over the past decade, including large-scale studies, looking into links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism. At this time, no consistent association has been established. WHO recommends that all women continue to follow advice of their doctors or health workers, who can help assess individual circumstances and recommend necessary medicines. Any medicine should be used with caution during pregnancy, especially in the first three months, and in line with advice from health professionals. Also, a robust, extensive evidence base exists showing childhood vaccines do not cause autism. Large, high-quality  studies from many countries have all reached the same conclusion. Original studies suggesting a link were flawed and have been discredited.  Since 1999, independent experts advising WHO have repeatedly confirmed that vaccines - including those with thiomersal or aluminum - do not cause autism or other developmental disorders. Childhood vaccine schedules are developed through a careful, extensive and evidence-based process involving global experts and country input. The childhood immunization schedule, carefully guided by WHO, has been adopted by all countries, and has saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years. The schedule remains essential for the health and wellbeing of every child and every community. These schedules have continually evolved with science and now safeguard children, adolescents and adults against 30 infectious diseases. Every vaccine recommendation by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), an independent advisory group to WHO, is grounded in rigorous review of evidence and carefully designed to offer the best protection against serious diseases and to be delivered when most needed. When immunization schedules are delayed or disrupted, or altered without evidence review, there is a sharp increase in the risk of infection not only for the child, but also for the wider community. Infants too young to be vaccinated and people with weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions are at greatest risk. Autism and neurodevelopmental disorders are among priority mental health and neurological conditions being discussed at the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and mental health this Thursday, 25 September. As a global community, we need to do more to understand the causes of autism and how best to care for and support the needs of autistic people and their families. WHO is committed to advancing this goal working together with partners including autistic-led organizations and other organizations representing persons with lived experience. WHO also stands with people who are living with autism and their families, a dignified community entitled to evidence-based considerations free of stigma. Full statement: bit.ly/47YsgwI

Coming up later this week! 🗓️ Webinar invitation 🎓 🎯 Are you a health researcher, programme implementer or frontline health professional looking to turn your research findings into real-world action? Register for a webinar on research communication: who.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Evidence is our strongest weapon against #AMR. This week, through the Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative, we're enhancing researchers' capacity to effectively communicate findings — to influence policy, improve practice, and strengthen health systems.

For over 20 years, Neglected Tropical Disease programmes have been a model of successful public–private partnership. But as global health resources are shrinking - this success is under threat. I thank the Task Force for Global Health, the @GLIDE_AE, and the @RockefellerFdn for hosting today's discussion on how to #BeatNTDs in this challenging environment. I urge endemic countries to take the lead in these discussions and to voice their vision for what is needed to achieve sustainable, country-led NTD programmes.

.@WHO received reports of two strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex this morning, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 people, including four health workers and five journalists. Fifty others were injured, among them critically ill patients who were already receiving care. The hospital’s main building, which houses the emergency department, inpatient ward, and surgical unit, was hit. The strike damaged the emergency staircase. While people in #Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health care is being further crippled by repeated attacks. We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!

The #Gaza famine, a man-made catastrophe, has unfolded in front of the world’s eyes. We saw it coming. We warned about it. We were not allowed to stop it. Now, as we count the lives lost to this intentional starvation, there is only one question to ask world leaders: Where is humanity? End the blockade of aid — TODAY. CEASEFIRE!

Famine has been confirmed in Gaza, with over half a million facing starvation, destitution and death. We have been warning about this impending tragedy for months. The UK can't say they didn't know this would happen. All available evidence indicates that the Government of Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. This siege must end, and the full flow of aid restored. The UK Government cannot stand by while children in Gaza are starved in plain sight. No child should face this horror. The UK must uphold international law: hold Israel accountable and suspend all arms sales, including F-35 components. Demand Keir Starmer takes urgent action to protect Palestinian children now - sign our petition: bit.ly/4kXTLJs

"It is a famine. The Gaza Famine. It is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel. Everyone owns this. The #GazaFamine is the world’s famine." - @UNReliefChief

Famine confirmed for first time in Gaza FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO reiterate call for immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today. Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (@FAO), @UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Programme (@WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have collectively and consistently highlighted the extreme urgency for an immediate and full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition and plummeting levels of food consumption, with hundreds of thousands of people going days without anything to eat. The agencies reinforced that famine must be stopped at all costs. An immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict is critical to allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives. The agencies are also gravely concerned about the threat of an intensified military offensive in Gaza City and any escalation in the conflict, as it would have further devastating consequences for civilians where famine conditions already exist. Many people – especially sick and malnourished children, older people and people with disabilities – may be unable to evacuate. By the end of September, more than 640 000 people will face Catastrophic levels of food insecurity – classified as IPC Phase 5 – across the Gaza Strip. An additional 1.14 million people in the territory will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and a further 396 000 people in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) conditions. Conditions in North Gaza are estimated to be as severe – or worse – than in Gaza City. However, limited data prevented an IPC classification, highlighting the urgent need for access to assess and assist. Rafah was not analyzed given indications that it is largely depopulated. Classifying famine means that the most extreme category is triggered when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached. The latest analysis now affirms on the basis of reasonable evidence that these criteria have been met. Almost two years of conflict, repeated displacement, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access, compounded by repeated interruptions and impediments to access to food, water, medical aid, support to agriculture, livestock and fisheries and the collapse of health, sanitation, and market systems, have pushed people into starvation. Access to food in Gaza remains severely constrained. In July, the number of households reporting very severe hunger doubled across the territory compared to May and more than tripled in Gaza City. More than one in three people (39 percent) indicated they were going days at a time without eating, and adults regularly skip meals to feed their children. Malnutrition among children in Gaza is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. In July alone, more than 12 000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – the highest monthly figure ever recorded and a six-fold increase since the start of the year. Nearly one in four of these children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the deadliest form with both short and long-term impacts. Since the last @theIPCinfo Analysis in May, the number of children expected to be at severe risk of death from malnutrition by the end of June 2026 has tripled from 14 100 to 43 400. Similarly, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the number of estimated cases has tripled from 17 000 in May to 55 000 women expected to be suffering from perilous levels of malnutrition by mid-2026. The impact is visible: one in five babies are born prematurely or underweight. The new assessment reports the most severe deterioration since the IPC began analyzing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, and it marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. Since July, food and aid supplies entering Gaza increased slightly but remained vastly insufficient, inconsistent and inaccessible compared to the need. Meanwhile, approximately 98 percent of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible – decimating the agriculture sector and local food production – and nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes. Cash is critically scarce, aid operations remain severely disrupted, with most UN trucks looted amid growing desperation. Food prices are extremely high and there is not enough fuel and water to cook and medicines and medical supplies. Gaza’s health system has severely deteriorated, access to safe drinking water and sanitation services has been drastically reduced, while multi-drug resistant infections are surging and levels of morbidity – including diarrhoea, fever, acute respiratory and skin infections – are alarmingly high among children. To enable lifesaving humanitarian operations, the U.N. agencies emphasized the importance of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to stop the killing, allow for the safe release of hostages and permit unimpeded access for a mass influx of assistance to reach people across Gaza. They stressed the urgent need for greater amounts of food aid, along with dramatically improved delivery, distribution and accessibility, as well as shelter, fuel, cooking gas and food production inputs. They emphasized that it is critical to support the rehabilitation of the health system, maintain and revive essential health services, including primary health care, and ensure sustained delivery of health supplies into and across Gaza. The restoration of commercial flows at scale, market systems, essential services, and local food production is also vital if the worst outcomes of the famine are to be avoided. “People in Gaza have exhausted every possible means of survival. Hunger and malnutrition are claiming lives every day, and the destruction of cropland, livestock, greenhouses, fishery and food production systems has made the situation even more dire,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “Our priority must now be safe and sustained access for large-scale food assistance. Access to food is not a privilege – it is a basic human right.” “Famine warnings have been clear for months,” said Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director. “What’s urgently needed now is a surge of aid, safer conditions, and proven distribution systems to reach those most in need – wherever they are. Full humanitarian access and a ceasefire now are critical to save lives.” “Famine is now a grim reality for children in Gaza Governorate, and a looming threat in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “As we have repeatedly warned, the signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat; babies dying from hunger and preventable disease; parents arriving at clinics with nothing left to feed their children. There is no time to lose. Without an immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access, famine will spread, and more children will die. Children on the brink of starvation need the special therapeutic feeding that UNICEF provides.” “A ceasefire is an absolute and moral imperative now,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world has waited too long, watching tragic and unnecessary deaths mount from this man-made famine. Widespread malnutrition means that even common and usually mild diseases like diarrhoea are becoming fatal, especially for children. The health system, run by hungry and exhausted health workers, cannot cope. Gaza must be urgently supplied with food and medicines to save lives and begin the process of reversing malnutrition. Hospitals must be protected so that they can continue treating patients. Aid blockages must end, and peace must be restored, so that healing can begin.”

Famine is confirmed by @theIPCinfo in #Gaza City and the surrounding areas. They project that famine will spread further south by the end of September. This is man-made. For almost 6 months the Israeli Authorities have critically restricted food and other essential goods—including water, medicine, shelter and fuel. Read their report: ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-websit… #CeasefireNow

Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: “famine”. This is not a mystery — it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself. Famine is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival. People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing. As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law — including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population. We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity. No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow — it is now. We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and full, unfettered humanitarian access.

This year, there have already been 821 attacks on health care with 1121 deaths and 645 injuries of health workers and patients. Today is #WorldHumanitarianDay. WHO calls for active protection and respect of health care, ensuring safe and continued delivery of healthcare services and access to healthcare, free from violence, threat or fear. #ActForHumanity

"Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need. Allow the U.N. including UNRWA and our partners to operate at scale and without bureaucratic or political hurdles. At UNRWA, we have the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light to get into Gaza. Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper & safer. It’s more dignified for the people of Gaza. Finally, airdrops will not prevent aid diversion, principled humanitarian assistance will. It reaches those in need. The latest USAID report confirms that there is no “so called” systemic diversion of aid provided by the humanitarian community in Gaza." — @UNLazzarini

Next week’s High-level Conference on the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution is an important step toward sustainable peace. I commend co-chairs, France and Saudi Arabia, for their leadership and commitment to facilitate this event.

"In #Gaza, malnutrition has become a tragedy and a widespread reality”. An UNRWA doctor describes how they now have malnourished children on a daily basis. “The situation has worsened dramatically since the siege started in March 2025. Families report surviving on just one meal a day, if at all”. The siege must be lifted. Let aid in.

“Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.” – @antonioguterres says the UN will continue to speak out at every opportunity about the tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the need to release all hostages, immediately.

People in Gaza are starving to death. @UNICEF is warning that deadly malnutrition among children is reaching catastrophic levels. Humanitarian aid at scale is urgently needed. Safe, unrestricted access into Gaza must be granted to save lives.

Over the weekend in Gaza, we saw yet more mass shootings & killings of people seeking @UN aid – an atrocious & inhumane act which I utterly condemn. We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages & unimpeded humanitarian access.