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0:14
[AUDIO LOGO]
0:22
MARCIA CASTRO: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the 2025 Elisabeth B. Weintz Humanitarian awardees' lecture and award ceremony. I'm Marcia Castro. I'm the Andelot Professor of Demography and chair of the Department of Global Health and Population here at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. I am honored to be here today to welcome Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization and recipient of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiatives 2025
0:55
Weintz Humanitarian Award. As director general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros transformed WHO by implementing a new operating model, making it more efficient, data-driven, and impact-focused organization. Dr. Tedros has navigated complex political and diplomatic situations to protect the health and well-being of people in conflict zones, and remains a committed advocate for universal health coverage. From leading global health initiatives such as HIV/AIDS,
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malaria, and maternal and child health to coordinating a robust international response to threats such as Ebola, COVID-19 and mpox, Dr. Tedros has championed public health worldwide. Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Tedros served within the Ethiopian government as minister of health and minister of foreign affairs, leading transformative improvements in health infrastructure and negotiating funding for Sustainable Development Goals. Due to his extraordinary impact as a humanitarian leader
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on the world stage, Dr. Tedros was selected as the recipient of the 2025 Elizabeth B. Weintz Humanitarian Award. This award was established at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative in 2015 to honor a visionary public figure who has demonstrated superior leadership in a time of humanitarian crisis. The award celebrates the memory of Elisabeth "Betsy" Weintz by recognizing her outstanding contributions to humanitarian leadership at Harvard University. I'd like to thank the Weintz family
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for their generous support of Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and the Harvard Chan School. Several members of the Weintz family are here today. So please, let's take a moment to applaud their contribution, their generosity, and their vision. [APPLAUSE]
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Their generosity is needed now more than ever. In a time when funding for global aid has been cut and public health research remains under threat. In addition to celebrating Dr. Tedros' accomplishment and dedication to global health today, we're also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, HHI. So I also would like us to take a moment to thank the team of HHI who, over those two decades, have really made a difference in the humanitarian field. Congratulations.
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[APPLAUSE]
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HHI is the humanitarian hub of Harvard and its teaching hospitals, educating the next generation of humanitarian leaders. HHI aims to create new knowledge and advance evidence-based leadership in disasters and humanitarian crises through interdisciplinary, practice-based research and education. With that, I would like to invite my colleague Michael VanRooyen, who is the founding director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Mike, please come to the podium to present the 2025 Elisabeth B.
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Weintz Humanitarian Award. [APPLAUSE]
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MICHAEL VANROOYEN: Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you all and welcome. It's such a great honor to be here today. Thank you, Professor Castro. Thank you for all of our friends and colleagues at the School of Public Health and all of you for joining us today. It's a special day for us at HHI and at the school. Once again, my name is Dr. Michael VanRooyen. I'm the Lavine Professor of Humanitarian Studies at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and the director of the initiative since its founding
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20 years ago. And I'd like to first welcome you on behalf of HHI and behalf of Harvard. And my colleague, we shall call upon Dr. Tedros in a moment. HHI has been established 20 years ago. And for that time, our entire mission has been dedicated to advancing the science and practice of humanitarian assistance. What that looks like is leveraging the resources at Harvard and across the university to really, truly engage with our partners in the field?
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Our partners being non-government organizations, governments-- NGOs and UN agencies to actually push the boundaries of what evidence-based humanitarian assistance really means. And so it's with great pride that we look upon these 20 years and all of the collaborations and supporters of the many, many non-government organizations and agencies that we've worked with and many contributions we believe we've had in the science and practice of humanitarian studies.
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We've also worked closely with the World Health Organization in many fronts. And so it's fitting that we recognize Dr. Tedros and the World Health Organization today. We're also grateful for the Weintz family for their support of this prize, and for their long-standing support over the 20 year history of HHI. The humanitarian endeavor and humanitarian assistance globally is under tremendous threat. This is no surprise for all of us in public health.
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We see the erosion of truth, of evidence, of research, and the attacks on public institutions as being something that we have to contend with in an aggressive fashion. And it is a really challenging era for both all of global health and public health, but especially in the humanitarian sector where there's really literally millions of lives in the balance. We see the impact of corrosive political threats, of the lack of neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity.
7:02
These very principles that were found-- that we founded the humanitarian world upon are all under threat. And so it's a time when we need strong, principled leadership to help guide us. And that's what we're here to celebrate today. So in a time where we're reflective of all of the challenges in the humanitarian sector, we are really delighted to be able to celebrate something important. And something important in this case is the recipient of the 2025 Weintz Humanitarian
7:30
Award, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. Dr. Tedros has been the very embodiment of principled leadership. He's led the way since 2017 for WHO to lead really the health of continents and to do so facing Ebola epidemics and the COVID epidemic and many other threats. And now the threat, not only major financial threats, but the existential threat of what we see in universities and in UN institutions and institutions around the world. And that is the very foundation of public health.
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And he's led this response, really responding to families, to communities, to nations with grace, humility, intelligence, diplomacy, and all the things that we really expect in a leader that has to lead through really turbulent times. So it's with great pride and admiration that we award the 2025 HHI Weintz Humanitarian Award to Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. Dr. Tedros, please. [APPLAUSE]
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Dr. Tedros, before you take your seat and get too comfortable, I'd like to actually bring Dr. Tedros up to accept the award on behalf of a grateful Harvard and a grateful university and a grateful school of public health, to accept this award with a handshake, a photo, and then we'll ask you to address our audience, if you don't mind. So please join me up here. [APPLAUSE]
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Thank you. And I'm going to do this whole thing.
9:29
[APPLAUSE]
9:38
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Dr. Michael VanRooyen, dear colleagues, and friends, it's with deep gratitude, pride, and humility that I accept the Elisabeth B. Weintz Humanitarian Award. I would especially like to acknowledge the members of the Weintz family who are with us today. I don't know where Eric is. Yeah Eric. Including her son Eric, who himself has served as a humanitarian in both Eritrea and in my home country, Ethiopia. Thank you for your generosity and for this great honor.
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I'm especially proud and humbled to join the eminent list of previous recipients of this award, Nobel Prize winners, peace builders, activists, and journalists. And especially receiving it during the 20th anniversary of HHI makes it even special. So happy birthday, happy anniversary to HHI.
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Each of the recipients have shown moral courage in the face of injustice. Each has demonstrated outstanding leadership. Each has given voice to those who have none. And most importantly, each has made a difference. They're not just experts and leaders, they are change makers. It's also a real pleasure for me to be back at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, where I had the honor of delivering the commencement in 2021, invited by Dr. Michelle Williams.
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In fact, I have a long-standing link to Harvard that goes back more than 20 years to 2004, when I was head of the health bureau in my home state of Tigray in Ethiopia.
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That was the first time I came to Harvard when I worked with Dr. Mark Davis. He's now in California, I think-- in Florida, who was then chair of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital to develop training packages for health extension workers, which were a major part of our health extension system reforms in Ethiopia. So, in a way, today, I have come full circle being back at Harvard, receiving this award from the current chair of emergency medicine at Brigham
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and Women's Hospital, Dr. Mike VanRooyen. Standing here makes me reflect frankly with astonishment on how a kid born in Ethiopia in 1965 ended up here. One of my earliest memories is walking with my mother through the streets of Asmara where I was born, and seeing posters about a disease called smallpox and an organization that was eradicating it from our communities, the World Health Organization. I had never heard of smallpox or WHO, although I ended up being the head of the organization now.
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But I knew that sometimes diseases could sneak up on children and snatch them away because that's what happened to my younger brother. I don't know what disease is to him. Maybe measles according to my mother. But most probably it was a disease that in another country would have been prevented with a vaccine. The experience of losing my brother was one of the reasons I decided to pursue a career in public health so that other people would not lose people they loved like I did.
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By the way, we used to live in the same house and the same roof so I survived. It was a mere chance. He died, I survived.
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Inequity and insecurity were not things I read about in the newspapers or history books that happened to other people in far off lands. They were things I saw and experienced every day. They happened to me and they happened to my family.
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And inequity and insecurity continue to be the driving force of my life and career. Consider this, there is currently a 31-year discrepancy between the countries with the shortest and longest life expectancy. A child in Ethiopia dies from a disease against which a child in Switzerland is vaccinated. A young one-- a young woman in Chad dies in childbirth because the services that save other women like her in the United States are not available where she lives.
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A gay man in Peru is infected with HIV because he can't afford the preventive medicines that are covered by health insurance in the UK. A child in Gaza starves to death while a child just a few miles away in Israel has plenty to eat. These are the gaps and contradictions that stain our world. Health inequities are not natural or accidental. They are the result of systemic differences in the opportunities people get, the resources they can access, and the power they hold.
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Which leads me to my subject today, global health in a fractured world.
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I would like to speak about three areas in which our world is fractured-- systems, security, and solidarity. First, systems, specifically health systems. A staggering half of the world's population still lacks access to one or more essential health services like vaccines, maternal care, treatment for TB, HIV, malaria, hypertension, and diabetes. And even when those services are available, almost 1 billion people face financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health spending.
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I'm not telling you what you don't know. It's just a reminder. As a result, the progress we have made since the turn of the century against HIV, TB, malaria, and maternal and child mortality has stalled or gone backwards. At the same time, non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes now account for 18 million premature deaths each year. And beneath it all, a silent crisis of mental health grows. These challenges are difficult enough
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in the most secure countries, let alone in those beset by war. Which leads me to the second fracture, a fracture in security. We are all painfully aware of the extent to which our world is riven by conflict and displacement in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere. And where war goes, disease follows, as we all know. It's no accident that polio resurged in Gaza last year, 25 years since the last reported case. It's no accident that we now are battling outbreaks
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of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue, diphtheria, and polio in Sudan. Ending these conflicts and the suffering they bring requires the concerted effort of the international community. Which leads me to the third fracture, a fracture in solidarity. We are now seeing a dangerous retreat from both bilateral aid and multilateral cooperation. Around the world, dramatic reductions in official development assistance are having severe impacts on health.
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Millions of people are missing out on life-saving services. Health facilities are being forced to close and supply chains and information systems are disrupted. And at just the same time, when many countries need us the most, WHO itself is under pressure from cuts to our funding by the United States and other countries. Earlier this year, our member states approved a significantly reduced budget for the next two years. We have implemented a range of cost-saving measures,
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but even so, we have no choice but to reduce the size of our workforce. We have implemented a range of cost-saving measures. But even so, we have no choice but to reduce our size of workforce, as I said earlier. Over the past few weeks and months, we have been through a very painful process of saying goodbye to many of our dedicated and talented colleagues. These are people who have served the world in many ways, including under extreme pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic,
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and do not deserve to be treated this way. Dear colleagues and friends, the diagnosis I have described is grave, the three issues related to fracturing. But it's not terminal. The fractures of our world can be healed. Not with simplistic solutions but with courageous, collective, and smart action. First, we must heal our fractured health systems from the ground up with primary health care at the cornerstone. This is not a glamorous work, but it's absolutely essential.
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Strong primary health care can meet up to 90% of a person's lifetime health needs. The pandemic taught us that a resilient health system is not the same thing as an advanced medical care system. Even some countries with the most sophisticated medical care were overwhelmed by COVID-19. And they were surprised by COVID-19. By contrast, some middle income countries with fewer resources fared much better thanks to investments in public health after outbreaks of SARS, MERS, H1N1, and others,
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especially the countries, the groups of Mekong region did much better than any corner of the world because of muscle memory and the preparedness they had. For instance, the simple art of contact tracing is one that many high-income countries struggled with, but that low and middle income countries did well because of their muscle memory from previous outbreaks. Strengthening primary health care means investing in the local health worker, the community
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clinic, and the supply chains that get quality medicines to those who need them. It means addressing the projected global shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030, a gap concentrated in the most vulnerable regions. A system built on primary health care is the only way to ensure fair, affordable, and sustainable health for all. And it's the ultimate tool for health justice. Second, to heal the fracture in security, we need peace. In Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere,
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WHO is working to alleviate suffering, support health workers, and provide essential health services on which lives depend. In Gaza, WHO is the main provider of medical supplies. And over the past two years, we have supported the evacuation of almost 8,000 patients, including 5,400 children for treatment outside Gaza. But the one thing we can deliver in any of these places is the one that people need most, and that is peace. The best medicine is peace.
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WHO's founders knew this when they crafted our constitution, which says that health is not only a human right, but the foundation of peace and security. There can be no health without peace and no peace without health. Which means that, third, to heal the fracture in solidarity, nations must work together to find shared solutions to shared problems. That means more multilateral engagement and less dependency on bilateral aid. Many leaders have told me they are
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ready to use this moment to leave behind the era of aid dependency and transition toward sustainable self-reliance. WHO is supporting countries to make that transition by identifying tools to improve efficiency and generate new revenues of health from domestic resources. This includes health taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks. pooled procurement. public health insurance, especially public health insurance is a strategic solution, and more.
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Likewise, although WHO is facing a very difficult situation, I also see it as an opportunity to make it stronger, sharper, more independent, and more focused on our core mandate, and more empowered to serve the nations and people of the world. And in response to the painful lessons that COVID-19 taught us, WHO, our member states, and partners have taken many measures to ensure a more coordinated, coherent, and collective response to future pandemics. For example, together with the World Bank,
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we established the pandemic fund, which has now disbursed $885 million in grants to support lower income countries to strengthen their capacities for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The focus is capacity building. We also established the mRNA Technology Transfer hub, the WHO Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative, the Global Health Emergency Corps. And at last year's World Health assembly, WHO member states adopted a set of amendments
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to strengthen the International Health Regulations. Most significantly, in 2021, the nations of the world agreed to negotiate a new international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. And just as the world has international treaties against shared threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change, and tobacco, nations agreed they needed a similar instrument of international law to ensure a common response to the common threat of pandemics.
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For three and a half years, our member states engaged in difficult negotiations. There were those who said they could not succeed and those who did not want them to succeed. But in May this year, they reached a consensus and that the World Health Assembly, they adopted the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement. They are now negotiating an annex to that agreement, the pathogen benefit and access sharing mechanism, which aims to ensure faster sharing of pathogens
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with pandemic potential and equitable access to the medical products needed to respond to them. We expect these negotiations to be concluded in time for next year's World Health Assembly in May. After that, the Pandemic Agreement will be open for ratification by countries and for its ultimate entry into force as international law. The adoption of the agreement was truly historic, not only because what is in it, but also because of the context in which it was negotiated.
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In a divided, divisive, and fractured world, countries demonstrated they can still find common ground for a common purpose. They showed that multilateralism is alive and well, and that to borrow an expression from Mark Twain, "Reports of its death are greatly exaggerated." So multilateralism is alive. Dr. VanRooyen, dear colleagues, and friends. The responsibility to heal our fractured world lies not only with governments and international organizations. It lies with each of us.
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We need leaders and policymakers who see health not as a cost to be contained, but an investment to be nurtured in security, stability, and economic prosperity. We need scientists, researchers, and health professionals not only to do their vital work but to communicate it with courage and clarity. Stand for what you believe. That's a message to all researchers and academia. And we need citizens to raise their voices for equity and justice.
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Demand that your leaders invest in health not as a privilege but as a fundamental human right for every human being, everywhere. Health is a fundamental human right and end in itself. Of course, it can be also a means to prosperity because healthy society, a prosperous country. In the end, the fractures in our world are fractures in our politics and in our collective will. But I believe it's within our power to mend them. We have the tools. We have the knowledge.
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What we need now is the courage to make the right choices, to choose solidarity over nationalism, equity over greed, and evidence over ideology. Let me leave you with two specific requests. First, we seek your support in strengthening our scientific foundations. Around the world, WHO works with a network of more than 800 collaborating centers, including two here at Harvard School, the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity and the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change.
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With our reduced resources, we will rely even more on scientific partnership with our collaborating centers. So we seek your support in strengthening that partnership in the areas in which we are already working together and exploring new ones. So what we're saying is with the current crisis, as you know, WHO is a bit less. But we say we can do more with less, especially if we use our convening power, WHO's convening power, and work through collaborating centers and other networks.
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We can actually multiply meaning working through networks and collaborating centers could be a multiplier and needs a mindset change. Because, normally, the way we work is we mobilize resources, money. We hire someone. We do the job. Of course, that's one way. But there is the other way, which can be even better in doing more with specially less. So that's why in the collaborating centers, we will need your support to work with the existing ones, but to recruit even more and for WHO
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to go back to its roots convening and work through others. And second, we secure support in strengthening our financial foundations.
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I'm not asking for money, but you show me how to make money. You will help us. For several years, we have been working on a range of measures to make our financing more sustainable and resilient. That's actually one of the transformation ideas we started in 2017, which is delivering well. And the idea is to reduce our heavy reliance on unpredictable, voluntary, and earmarked funding from a handful of traditional donors. If we had not taken those measures, which I have told you,
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the finance reform, we would be in much worse situation than we are now. Because of the sustainable reform, we have mobilized resources that reduce the impact of this crisis. But there is more we need to do to make WHO more independent and to protect it from impact of future shocks. So the proposal we made a few years ago was to broaden the donor base, which can help us to prevent shocks like this and also to make WHO more independent.
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Because when you take a large amount of money from one donor, some conditions and influence can come with that. We want to be truly, truly belong to all member states. Wider donor base and prevent shocks like this from happening and also ensure our independence. This is a very strategic solution we started in 2017. Especially now, it's very, very critical. So in addition to the reform we have done, which is helping, as I told you, one of the ideas that has been proposed
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is to establish a WHO endowment similar to the endowment that many US universities use, but Harvard, one of the most successful we know. We would very much value Harvard support and advice in helping us to build such an endowment to strengthen WHO and make its financing more sustainable and resilient so it can prevent future shocks like this, but at the same time, be more independent and continue to be the independent voice. So this is a very blessed mission. I hope you will agree with me.
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And it will be historic for Harvard to contribute to an international organization to be sustainable and independent. Dr. VanRooyen and families of Dr. Elisabeth Weintz, dear colleagues, and friends, once again, thank you for this great honor, which I receive with deep gratitude on my own behalf, but also on behalf of the incredible women and men I'm proud to call my colleagues. As we speak, they're in Gaza providing life-saving care. They're in the DRC responding to that country's latest
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outbreak of Ebola. They're in Sudan vaccinating against a cholera outbreak spurred by years of civil war. They're in 150 different countries supporting governments in sometimes slow and unglamorous work of strengthening health systems. It's sometimes easy to despair about the state of our world. But when I meet my colleagues, I take heart and I take hope.
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All wars and outbreaks end eventually. Once-deadly diseases become preventable or treatable. Science continues to pull back the curtain on the unknown and the inscrutable. And if we look at improvements in global health since WHO was founded in 1948, there is every reason for hope. Life expectancy globally for both sexes has increased from 46 to 73, 46 to 73 years, with the biggest gains in the poorest countries. Smallpox exists only in the history books and polio will soon join it.
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In the past 25 years alone, smoking has fallen by a third. Maternal mortality has fallen by a third and child mortality has more than halved. Cervical cancer, Ebola, and malaria are now vaccine-preventable diseases. Of course, we still face formidable challenges, but none that we cannot meet. And we'll be part of meeting those challenges. Your commitment to science, evidence and humanitarianism has saved lives and advanced peace around the world. I have every confidence that will continue.
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As the you know, the motto of this storied university is one simple but powerful Latin word, veritas, truth. In a world awash with mis- and misinformation-- mis- and disinformation, fake news, and propaganda, the truth is sometimes harder to find and harder to hear. But it remains essential to human flourishing. The truth is not captive to the most powerful armies and economies. It cannot be bought or sold. It can only be thought, found, and spoken.
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The truth is not always comfortable or convenient to others or ourselves. But it's the only thing worth believing, the only thing worth seeking, and the only thing worth speaking. Veritas. I thank you so much. [APPLAUSE]
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Thank you. Thank you.
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IRINI ALBANTI: Thank you, Dr. Tedros. Congratulations again. We are delighted to have you here. So we have a few questions from our students if you can answer some. So I'll start with the first one. It's actually something that you talked about sustainability. And the question is, with the recent changes in the funding landscape, what efforts is WHO making to ensure its own sustainability? TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Our own sustainability. Thank you. Yeah, I think I said it.
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I will try to make-- to be as brief as possible.
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We saw this crisis actually coming in 2017 when we started the transformation. We said a major risk for the organization is dependency on few traditional donors. If any of the traditional donors reduce their funding significantly, we knew the same shock that's happening now could happen and we could get into crisis. But not only that, we also said, getting money, especially a big amount from few donors, is bringing pressure on us, meaning undermining our independence also, our independence.
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So we proposed at that time to broaden the donor base, meaning to introduce several measures that can help us to get resources from as many donors as possible, and especially targeting the 194 member states. So four majors have been identified. The first one is increasing the membership fee. And the second one was WHO Foundation. We established a new WHO Foundation to tap resources into from the private sector. But it has to be a buffer because we cannot take directly from the private sector.
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And then the third was cost recovery. We provide services and we cannot provide everything free. So some cost recovery from there is the third. And the fourth is replenishment programs. That's a voluntary one. But the key one was the first one, increasing membership fee. And we asked our member states to increase their membership fee by 50%. And some colleagues came to me and said, Tedros, either you're loco or you're naive. I said, why? Because this is very significantly
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higher than last increases. Then I asked them what was the last increase? He said 3%. So 50% is too high. Yes, it's too high. But if we have the right arguments, maybe they will agree. If they don't, we will understand why. We ask again. We shouldn't give up. To our surprise-- I was also worried because of the skepticism. But to our surprise, the member states agreed to increase their membership fee by 50% and to do it in five installments. They have done two.
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The remaining three will be fulfilled until 2032. This is the roadmap, meaning it's a broader donor base that comes with no strings attached, which is very flexible, long term, that really can help WHO to sustain its work and serve the people it serves the best way possible and address some of the HR issues even. Because with voluntary contribution and short-term funding, we're hiring short-term-- using short term contracts. That really kills the morale of the staff.
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So that's I think the solution to sustain, we need to continue on the same roadmap. But what I ask now Harvard to help is you have a very successful endowment. And we have some savings we can start with and you can help us on how to build that. Because if WHO can have a $30 to $50 billion endowment together with the assessed contribution, the increase that member states are increasing until 2032, just the two could be powerful in terms of financing. And these are the two financing models
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that can help the organization to be the organization of the future, that can prevent shocks like this, and also continue to be an independent voice. Because as I said earlier, with dependency on few traditional donors comes compromise in independence also. So thank you. But that's very, very important. But not for WHO, by the way. Many member states who have been relying on donations are suffering now, especially with the closure of USAID. You know this
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So what we are saying to them is use this crisis as an opportunity like what we're doing, and they can mobilize domestic resources. The immediate could be taxes on alcohol, tobacco. The future could be health insurance systems, both for the formal and informal sector. There are resources in developing countries. They can mobilize their own resources to finance their health system. But of course, they need fair terms. Fair terms in trade, fair terms in investment,
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fair terms in borrowing, and so on. And what I believe is whether it's the whole developing countries or Africa, it's not charity, what they want. It's fair terms. That's what I believe. Thank you. IRINI ALBANTI: Thank you for that. We have a slightly different question from another student asking, doing something to fix a problem requires the initial awareness of it. Given that many places like Afghanistan have no data, specifically on women's and children's health,
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what is WHO doing to ensure not neglecting those populations? TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Yeah. No, thank you. That's a very important question. I think the last time I was in Afghanistan was immediately after the Taliban took over. And I have first-hand experience, actually, what it feels and the situation. But on the data, we partner, by the way, with UN organizations, civil society, non-governmental organizations. We do surveys because you can't get data on women and children easily.
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And we do many things. But the bigger problem is not that. The bigger problem is, for instance, since the Taliban takeover, when was it? How many years now? Four years? Four years, I think. The country is isolated from the world family. We know Taliban is in power. I will be honest with you. You cannot communicate or work with the people, the population of Afghanistan without talking to those who are ruling them now. Is there any other option now? There is none.
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So I think the world should start talking to them, to the government, whether we like it or not, and discuss honestly, negotiate through that. We're helping the people of Afghanistan. Ignoring or isolating for how long when there is no other alternative solution? Unless that's addressed, I think many of the problems, including what you said, cannot really improve. So there should be communication. There should be-- we should stop the isolation. That's what I believe. Thank you.
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IRINI ALBANTI: Thank you. So the next question is about the youth. And we have many young, future public health practitioners in the room. So can you tell us a little bit about the WHO Youth Council and the WHO Youth Delegate Program? And what would be the way forward for youth leadership at the local level? TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: So on the WHO Youth Program, the WHO Youth Council, this is part of our transformation as well. As you know, WHO is a norms and standards organization.
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So we developed these norms in the standards. We share with countries. Of course, we have operational engagement as well. And we try to help countries to implement. But other than that, involvement or engaging the youth, engaging the civil society has been a weakness of our organization. And in the transformation, that's what we identified. So we decided we have to involve them starting from planning and also in our norms and standards. Because the lived community can show us
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what the right things to do are and it can shape what we prepare. The youth also, from its own situation and interest, they can also help us in shaping. And we can have better materials when we work with them. But not only that, having better materials, but you can also disseminate it and have it ready for use when you work through them. Because they can disseminate it as well and they can advocate for it. So that's what we have done. Because I always say WHO is shy by design.
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Just prepare your norms and standards and that's it. But not really working with others. So that's what's helping us. And the youth is helping a lot. And the committee members are leaders in the six major global youth organizations. So there is the global partnership, but we are trying also to use it at country level as well. Because the main model, actually, is not just to have a global council, but to mobilize the influence of youth and civil society at the country level.
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And that's what we're trying to do, but the organizing is helping us. We just started. Of course, it's few years ago. And we need to continue to institutionalize and build it. Thank you. IRINI ALBANTI: Thank you. So changing gears a little bit, the next question is about NCDs. And universal health coverage has made remarkable progress in primary care, but not non-communicable diseases like dementia and Parkinson's. They are rising fastest in low and middle-income countries.
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How can health systems integrate long-term NCD care without collapsing under the financial and workforce strain? TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Yeah, thank you. I think that's a very important question. The key now when we talk about universal health coverage, especially primary health care and NCD is how do we focus the whole system starting from primary health care to focus on health promotion? Because many of the neglected-- the non-communicable diseases, as you know,
51:12
whether it's cardiovascular, diabetes, or others are happening because of alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise, could be environmental pollution or the air we breathe, which is air pollution, and so on. So the key is how do we use primary health care to address this? How do we help people to lead a healthy lifestyle? That's the key. Meaning if they stay healthy, that's the best. Instead of being treated after they're unwell. But as you also know, when you do that,
51:51
you can save the health care expenditure. Because you will spend less on treating these expensive treatments, cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, and so on. Then if you do that, you can accommodate the non-communicable diseases like Parkinson's and so on in the system. So it's a matter of working in a way that brings more value. And the best would be to focus the primary health care on health promotion, fight NCDs. You know that the US is in top 15 in terms of obesity? It is.
52:33
And with obesity, you know what follows. And that's why I said-- when was it? A few weeks ago in our presser, I agree with RFK Jr. on this issue. Of course, we disagree on many issues. But on this issue, because the way he says about how the US is affected by chronic diseases or non-communicable diseases and why health promotion is important is really right. Of course, we disagree on vaccines and so on, but we can work on this one, for instance, which is correct.
53:07
So it's very important to focus on NCDs because premature deaths happen now, 70%, because of non-communicable diseases. It's the same in high-income countries, middle-income countries, and low-income countries. It's a global problem, it's a pandemic, and it's a silent killer. So we have to fight this scourge. And it starts from the basics, from health promotion. If people understand how they can keep themselves healthy and that's the role of the primary health care to make sure that happens.
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They can take care of their own health by doing the right things and staying away from all the things that bring ill health, smoking or drinking or lack of exercise or other things. Thank you. IRINI ALBANTI: Thank you. And I think we are at time. So please join me in congratulating Dr. Tedros and thanking him for being with us. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
54:16
Thank you.
54:24
Thank you. Please, thank you.
54:33
Thank you very much. Thank you.
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