World Health Organization (WHO)

LIVE | Media briefing on #hantavirus and other global health issues hosted by @DrTedros x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Small daily changes can make a big difference for your health. Eating more fresh, minimally processed foods and cutting back on highly processed foods can help reduce hidden salt intake, lower the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease bit.ly/3R1zKIR #LessSalt

"These subjects and more will likely be raised during, and on the sidelines, of the #WHA79, which starts here in Geneva on Monday. I am looking forward to welcoming all WHO Member States, and the global health community, to join this critical event. We will come together to take stock of the state of global health, and find ways to deliver on our goal of achieving the highest level of health for not some, not most, but for all people on the planet. Put simply, to achieve #HealthForAll"-@DrTedros

"The importance of vaccines for protecting health cannot be underestimated. New findings on the RTS,S #malaria vaccine, generated through the WHO Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme, confirm that one in eight child deaths were averted among those eligible to receive the vaccine in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi from 2019 to 2023. WHO recommended malaria vaccines are now available in 25 countries in Africa, and wider impact is expected. But funding constraints continue to limit the abilities of many countries to scale up to meet national vaccination targets. Equitable access and increased and sustained financing of immunization programmes are needed to protect children and save lives"-@DrTedros

LIVE | Media briefing on #hantavirus and other global health issues hosted by @DrTedros x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Easy to hide, harder to quit. Nicotine pouches are spreading fast: toxic, highly attractive and addictive, damaging brain development and poisoning small children. Around 160 countries have no specific regulations. Youth are at risk. Stop making nicotine appealing. Read WHO’s Global Nicotine Pouch Report. 👉bit.ly/48Xn1x2 #TobaccoExposed

The UV index tells you when the ☀️ is most dangerous. When it indicates 3 and above, you need sun protection. Download the SunSmart Global UV App to find out when sun protection is recommended and add up to 10 locations bit.ly/3S89udu #UVradiation

Did you know? Every data point tells a story. Health statistics help countries track progress, strengthen health systems, and save lives. Here's what you need to know about the World Health Statistics 2026 report.

Companies are targeting young people with nicotine pouches. Different marketing tactics. Same goal: a lifetime of addiction. The truth is that only 26 countries currently restrict the sale of nicotine pouches to minors. Know the tactics. Protect your health. 🔗 bit.ly/4nymmbk #TobaccoExposed

Nicotine pouch sales are booming. 🚩 Global sales hit 23.5 billion tins in 2024, up 50.5% in just one year. Governments must move fast to regulate these products and protect young people. Read WHO’s new Report. 👉 bit.ly/4nymmbk #TobaccoExposed

When I took office as @WHO Director-General in 2017, we recognized WHO’s overreliance on voluntary contributions from a handful of donors as a major risk, and we took steps to mitigate it. As part of our broader transformation, we initiated a financial reform to broaden WHO’s revenue sources. Our Member States agreed to increase their fees (so-called assessed contributions) to reach 50% of our base budget, to be provided in five instalments. This reform helped cushion the impact of funding cuts, and following a prioritization and realignment process over the past 16 months - now complete, we have reached a position of stability and are moving forward. We now project that 90% of the base budget for the current biennium, 2026–2027, will be funded. As I told the media recently, systemic problems cannot be solved in a year or two. By building the broadest possible revenue source, we are laying the groundwork to prevent shocks like last year’s. Since 2022, two instalments have already been approved, and as the remaining three are to be approved over the next five years, the Organization will reach better stability and independence. A sustainably financed WHO is essential to promote, provide, and protect health, including by coordinating the international response to events such as the #hantavirus outbreak. My PBAC remarks: bit.ly/4foOqf0

📣 Join our press conference, hosted by WHO Director-General @DrTedros, on #hantavirus, the 79th World Health Assembly #WHA79 and other global health issues. 🗓️ Today at 15.00 CEST (GMT+2) Livestream via WHO X, Facebook, LinkedIn & YouTube

Nicotine pouches, flavoured and appealing, are designed to hook young people. And these products evolve rapidly. WHO is calling on governments to regulate them now. Read WHO’s Global Nicotine Pouch Report 👉 bit.ly/4nymmbk #TobaccoExposed

When it comes to salt, less is more. Find out how you can cut down salt and reduce your health risks in today's daily dose.

Read nutrition labels and compare products when shopping. Sodium is one of the main components of regular table salt, but sodium can be found in other forms and often found in high amounts in processed foods. Choosing lower-sodium options can make a big difference to your daily salt intake and your health. To reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular diseases, WHO has recommended reducing sodium intake to less than 2,000 mg/day (equivalent to <5 g/day of salt, a little less than one teaspoon) bit.ly/3R1zKIR #LessSalt

Dear people of Tenerife, Greetings from Geneva. It is Tedros again. Our work in Tenerife is done. And it was done with grace. Last Monday, I stood at the port of Granadilla de Abona and watched the last of the passengers from the MV Hondius board the vehicles that would carry them home. I watched health workers in protective equipment move with calm professionalism. I watched Spanish officials coordinate with quiet precision. And I watched and felt your support and solidarity. And I thought of the letter I wrote to you just days ago, and how everything that your Spanish Government and the @WHO promised came to pass, exactly as described. More than 120 people from 23 countries have safely disembarked and are now being cared for and monitored by public health professionals while in transit or upon arrival in their home countries. They arrived in fear and uncertainty. They left carrying something they could not have expected to find in Tenerife: the dignity of being cared for by strangers from your community, and people around the world, who chose to help. The risk assessment held. The protocols worked. The corridor held. Science and solidarity operated in coordination, as they must, as they can, when we trust each other. But I do not want this moment to be remembered only as a logistical success. What happened here in Tenerife was something rarer than competence. It was moral courage, the willingness of an entire island, an entire nation, to say: these are human beings, and we will not turn away from them. The government of Prime Minister @sanchezcastejon honoured its obligations under international law and then went beyond them, with warmth, speed and care. Ministers @Monica_Garcia_G, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and @avtorresp led with great commitment. The port authorities of Granadilla executed a complex operation flawlessly. The health teams who boarded that ship, who stood at the port gates, who rode in those vehicles: they did their jobs not because it was easy, but because it was right. To Captain Jan Dobrogowski and his 26-member crew still onboard of the MV Hondius and sailing now to the Netherlands: you held your passengers together through weeks of grief and confinement. History will not forget that. To you, the people of Tenerife, who opened your island not with applause or fanfare but with quiet, steady acceptance: I want you to know what that means to the world. You may never meet the passengers and crew who transited your port. But those 150 people and their families know that somewhere in the Atlantic, there was an island community that said “yes.” That community was you. We live in a time when it is easy to close doors, to turn inward, to let fear harden into hostility. Tenerife chose differently. You have written something into the record of how humanity responds to crisis, and the WHO will carry that record forward. Three people died aboard the Hondius. Their families are grieving. The conclusion of this operation does not erase that grief, and I do not want it to. Behind every public health response there are real lives, real losses and real families who will carry this forever. We also learned of the loss of a member of the @guardiacivil of Tenerife, who died of a heart attack while serving during this operation. He was here because of duty and commitment to his community. I extend my deepest condolences to his family, his colleagues, and to the entire Guardia Civil. His service will not be forgotten. The best immunity we have is solidarity. Tenerife has proven this, not as a slogan, but as a way to work, and to live. I will confess something personal. Last Monday, before the last group of passengers departed, I walked through part of your city, alone. The island was going about its day, and I found Tenerife to be genuinely beautiful: the place, yes, but above all the people. The warmth I encountered from some people who recognised me, even in the briefest exchanges, stayed with me. I wish I had come under different circumstances, on a WHO conference perhaps, or better still, simply with my family to rest. That is a wish I intend to honour. I look forward to returning to Tenerife as a visitor, not as a crisis responder, to see it the way it deserves to be seen, slowly and without urgency, with my family beside me. On behalf of the World Health Organization, on behalf of the passengers now home, and on behalf of those families around the world who watched this island with hope: thank you. From the depth of my heart, thank you. I also want to thank my colleagues from WHO headquarters and from our Regional Office @WHO_Europe in Copenhagen, who stood with me in Tenerife, and those who supported us tirelessly from afar. This was a team effort in every sense of the word. But for us, the job is not yet done, until every passenger and crew is out of quarantine and reunited with their loved ones. With profound respect, admiration and gratitude, Tedros

Querido pueblo de Tenerife: Os saludo desde Ginebra. Os habla nuevamente Tedros. Nuestro trabajo en Tenerife ha concluido. Y se llevó a cabo con gran honor. El pasado lunes, estuve en el puerto de Granadilla de Abona y observé cómo los últimos pasajeros del MV Hondius subían a los vehículos que los llevarían a sus hogares. Vi al personal sanitario, equipado con la protección necesaria, actuar con serenidad y profesionalidad. Vi a las autoridades españolas coordinarse con una precisión impecable. Y vi y sentí vuestro apoyo y vuestra solidaridad. Pensé entonces en la carta que os escribí hace apenas unos días, y en cómo todo lo que el Gobierno de España y la Organización Mundial de la Salud prometieron se cumplió, exactamente como se había planeado. Más de 120 personas de 23 países desembarcaron de forma segura y ahora están siendo atendidas y supervisadas por profesionales de salud pública durante su traslado o ya en sus países de origen. Llegaron con miedo e incertidumbre y se marcharon llevando consigo algo que no esperaban encontrar en Tenerife: la dignidad de haber sido atendidos por personas desconocidas de vuestra comunidad y de todo el mundo que decidieron ayudar. La evaluación del riesgo se mantuvo. Los protocolos funcionaron. El corredor sanitario resistió. La ciencia y la solidaridad actuaron de forma coordinada, como deben hacerlo, como pueden hacerlo cuando confiamos unos en otros. Pero no quiero que este momento sea recordado únicamente como un éxito logístico. Lo que ocurrió aquí, en Tenerife, fue algo más excepcional que la mera competencia profesional: fue coraje moral, la voluntad de toda una isla, de toda una nación, para decir: estos son seres humanos, y no vamos a darles la espalda. El gobierno del presidente @sanchezcastejon honró sus obligaciones conforme al derecho internacional y fue más allá, con cercanía, rapidez y esmero. La ministra @Monica_Garcia_G, y los ministros Fernando Grande-Marlaska y @avtorresp lideraron con un gran sentido de compromiso. Las autoridades portuarias de Granadilla ejecutaron una operación compleja de manera impecable. Los equipos sanitarios que subieron a ese barco, los que estuvieron en los accesos del puerto, los que viajaron en esos vehículos: hicieron su trabajo no porque fuera fácil, sino porque era lo correcto. Al capitán Jan Dobrogowski y a su tripulación de 26 miembros, aún a bordo del MV Hondius y navegando ahora hacia Países Bajos: mantuvisteis unidos a vuestros pasajeros durante semanas de duelo y confinamiento. La historia no lo olvidará. A vosotros, el pueblo de Tenerife, que abristeis vuestra isla no con aplausos ni alardes, sino con una acogida tranquila y constante: quiero que sepáis lo que eso significa para el mundo. Puede que nunca lleguéis a conocer a los pasajeros y la tripulación que transitaron por vuestro puerto. Pero esas 150 personas y sus familias saben que, en algún lugar del Atlántico, hubo una comunidad isleña que dijo “sí”. Esa comunidad sois vosotros. Vivimos en una época en la que es fácil cerrar puertas, replegarse hacia dentro, dejar que el miedo se convierta en hostilidad. Tenerife eligió un camino distinto. Habéis dejado una huella en la forma en que la humanidad responde a las crisis, y la OMS llevará ese ejemplo hacia el futuro. Tres personas fallecieron a bordo del Hondius. Sus familias están de luto. El cierre de esta operación no borra ese dolor, ni quiero que lo haga. Detrás de cada respuesta de salud pública hay vidas reales, pérdidas reales y familias reales que cargarán con ello para siempre. También supimos del fallecimiento de un miembro de la @guardiacivil de Tenerife, que falleció a causa de un infarto mientras prestaba servicio durante esta operación. Estaba aquí por deber y por compromiso con su comunidad. Quiero expresar mis más sentidas condolencias a su familia, a sus compañeros y a toda la Guardia Civil. Su entrega y vocación de servicio no serán olvidadas. La mejor inmunidad que tenemos es la solidaridad. Tenerife lo ha demostrado, no como un eslogan, sino como una forma de trabajar y de vivir. Permítanme compartir algo personal. El pasado lunes, antes de que partiera el último grupo de pasajeros, paseé solo por una parte de vuestra ciudad. La isla seguía su ritmo cotidiano, y descubrí en Tenerife una belleza auténtica: no solo en sus paisajes, sino, sobre todo, en su gente. La cercanía que sentí en algunas personas que me reconocieron, incluso en los encuentros más breves, me dejó huella. Me hubiera gustado haber venido en otras circunstancias, quizá para una conferencia de la OMS, o mejor aún, simplemente con mi familia para descansar. Ese es un deseo que tengo la intención de cumplir. Espero volver a Tenerife como visitante, no para responder a una crisis, sino para descubrir la isla como se merece, con calma, sin prisa y acompañado de mi familia. En nombre de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, en nombre de los pasajeros que ya están en sus hogares y en nombre de las familias de todo el mundo que miraron a esta isla con esperanza: gracias. Desde lo más profundo de mi corazón, gracias. También quiero agradecer a mis colegas de la sede de la OMS en Ginebra y de nuestra Oficina Regional para Europa en Copenhague, que estuvieron conmigo en Tenerife, así como a quienes nos apoyaron incansablemente desde la distancia. Este ha sido un esfuerzo de equipo en todos los sentidos de la palabra. Pero para nosotros, la labor aún no ha terminado hasta que todos los pasajeros y la tripulación salgan de la cuarentena y se reúnan con sus seres queridos. Con profundo respeto, admiración y gratitud, Tedros

Congratulations, #Tunisia for becoming the 31st country in the world to eliminate #trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness. With this milestone, Tunisia joins a growing number of countries working toward the elimination of neglected tropical diseases. Read more: bit.ly/3PCXylW