Dear WHO Mission Focal points,

 

Please be informed that in his report to the Seventy-second World Health Assembly, the Director-General will provide a summary of WHO’s key achievements over the past 12 months, according to each of the “triple billion” targets in the 13th General Programme of Work. This will include:

 

•             Examples of Member States in all regions that have taken decisive steps towards primary health care, health system strengthening and universal health coverage;

•             Progress made against communicable diseases, including malaria, HIV, TB, hepatitis C,  neglected tropical diseases and cervical cancer;

•             Progress made on maternal, child and adolescent health;

•             Efforts to combat noncommunicable diseases, including on road safety, childhood cancer, trans fat and the entering into force of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products;

•             Work on antimicrobial resistance, including the recent report of the Interagency Coordination Group on AMR;

•             Work on emergency preparedness and response, including an update on the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

•             New initiatives to address the determinants of health, including on air pollution and health, and the initiative on Climate Change and Health in Small Island and Developing States.

•             Efforts to expand access to health products, including the new Essential Diagnostics List and a pilot programme to prequalify biosimilar medicines.

 

The Director-General will draw attention to several ongoing challenges in global health, including the imperative for greater investment in emergency preparedness, gender-specific trends and vaccine hesitancy.

 

Finally, Dr Tedros will provide a progress report on WHO’s transformation, including resource mobilization, and will look ahead to key moments in the coming year, including the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage and the presentation of the Global Action Plan on Healthy Lives and Well-Being. Dr Tedros will emphasize the need for strong political leadership and partnership in our joint efforts to achieve the “triple billion” targets and the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

For your information the seating plan for the plenary for the Seventy-second World Health Assembly is attached.

 

Best regards,

 

Dr Timothy Armstrong

Director, Department of Governing Bodies

World Health Organization