Diabetes can be successfully prevented and managed by a healthy lifestyle. When not managed, it can lead to severe organ damage and death.
Tedros Adhanom
The specter of climate change threatens worsening natural disasters, rapid urbanization, forced migration, and economic hardship for the most vulnerable. Despite significant global advances, inability to effectively address epidemics and health emergencies still prevail and continuously threaten global health security and economic development.
Simply put, girls and women are the keys that will unlock sustainable development. They are also at the center of the healthier and more resilient societies we desire.
We live in a world at constant risk of public health emergencies. In our increasingly interconnected world, public health emergencies can affect anyone, anywhere.
The global commitment for the Sustainable Development Goals offers a profound opportunity to tackle the structural, social, and economic changes needed to end AIDS.
Effective public-private partnerships will help drive the development of new products to meet the particular health needs of the poor and other vulnerable populations.
Women are the key to successful development and ongoing progress. In the workforce, their ingenuity, determination, and hard work help our economies thrive. In the government, they offer valuable perspective that can inform policy and remove barriers.
I envision a world where everyone can lead healthy and productive lives, regardless of who they are or where they live.
That all-too-common gap - between where the doctors, facilities and resources are based and where the individuals suffering from HIV live - had to be closed. This is what the Health Extension Program (HEP) was created to do.
Stabilizing economies and reducing political and civil strife are means to development and, as such, are part of the approach for promoting healthy populations.
My experience in Ethiopia helped shape my vision for WHO. We need to promote evidence-based decision-making and awareness. Specifically, we need to advocate for research and development, champion and support global and regional coalitions, and strengthen national capacity.
The importance of Africa's development to the entire world should be self-evident. And yet, despite the high stakes, Europe - and the international community more broadly - have not devoted the attention and resources that the issue merits.
We are convinced that universal health coverage, with strong primary care and essential financial protection, is the key to achieving the ambitious health targets of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to avoiding impoverishment from exorbitant out-of-pocket health expenses.
In 2009, when I was Health Minister, we re-engineered our business processes to examine the weaknesses and opportunities in our health system. Following that exercise, we established a public health emergency management system from national to district level to prevent and provide rapid response to outbreaks.
Over the years, I have worked on programs in Africa and around the globe to combat malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. I have been witness to incredible progress in these fights.
The Ministry of Health started by restructuring Ethiopia's previously male-dominated health system with women at the center.
The Paris Agreement underlines the urgency to implement climate action in support of sustainable development.
Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability, and many do not have access to mental health services and face significant social stigma around their disease.
I think the world should unite and focus on strong health systems to prepare the whole world to prevent epidemics - or if there is an outbreak, to manage it quickly - because viruses don't respect borders, and they don't need visas.
Strong leadership is essential in the face of health crises. Complex public health emergencies demand a collective response with high-level political and diplomatic engagement at both the national and global levels.
Investing in girls and women is the smartest thing we can do, and will help us to improve opportunities for all people. With equal access to education, health care, employment, and representation in political and economic decision-making, girls and women are force to be reckoned with.
Strong health and disease surveillance systems halt epidemics that take lives, disrupt economies, and pose global health security threats.
The fight against HIV/AIDS cannot be won unless countries take ownership of protecting and supporting the health of communities both near and far.
Al Qaeda and ISIS may have global aspirations, but their ability to penetrate a society is strongly influenced by local conditions.
I believe UNAIDS' provocative leadership has been critical in addressing the AIDS epidemic and converting it from a death sentence to a chronic health condition.
I promise I will get up every day, determined to make a difference... I am ready to serve.
Early in my career, I was galvanized by a disease that ravaged my country and many others around the world: malaria.
The monetary impacts of malaria from the household to the global level are significant. Malaria tends to strike during harvest season, rendering families too sick and too weak to perform the work necessary to earn a living. Malaria-stricken families spend an average of over a quarter of their income on malaria treatment.
Vaccination and other essential preventive services must be delivered close within communities.
Jihadist organizations attempt to exploit discontent among marginalized groups in unstable societies.
Working together with our exceptional leadership team, our Ministry of Health was empowered to make smart investments that could unlock our potential by producing long-lasting health and economic benefits for all.
Education gives girls the knowledge, experience, and confidence to play their rightful role in society.
I speak often about my personal experiences with malaria in the field as a young public health officer because it had such a profound impact on my life and my work.
Expanding health coverage is not a technical issue but a political one; it should be seen as a right and a means to development.
Our biggest achievement was health-sector reform. The success was in making sure that primary health care was the center of gravity in our health system.
I think any position in any international organization should be merit-based.
Ensuring investment in health systems will not only help us manage HIV/AIDS, it will also support our efforts to prevent and treat other communicable and noncommunicable diseases as well as prevent and respond to future health emergencies.
Scaling up community health workers and health system capacity must be a fundamental component of our efforts to achieve universal health coverage, which will be my topmost priority if elected as Director-General.
While WHO has never had a director from Africa, no one should elect me because I am from Africa.
During World Immunization Week, we must celebrate our shared results and redouble our efforts to improve the health and lives of people everywhere.
New malaria cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015 worldwide, and malaria death rates fell by 29 percent in the same period. Yet, though malaria is preventable and treatable, it is still claiming too many lives around the world.
Defeating malaria is absolutely critical to ending poverty, improving the health of millions, and enabling future generations to reach their full potential.
Climate change and variations particularly impact many aspects of life that are inextricably linked to health: food security, economic livelihoods, air safety, and water and sanitation systems. Gender differences in health risks are likely to be worsened by climate change.
Ethiopia has a robust response, designing development policies with a view to mitigating the impact of climate change. I am proud to say that in the fifth edition of the Global Green Economy Index released in September 2016, Ethiopia is ranked 14 globally in terms of climate change performance.
As a candidate for Director-General of the WHO, I believe there is a key role WHO needs to play to improve and advance mental health. It can help advocate for efficient resources and services - and efforts to reduce stigma - to be in place at local, national, and global levels.
When we tell girls that we expect them to pursue education and excel in education, we are changing the narrative and are opening the door to the leaders of our future.
I truly believe that, together, we can create a healthier world.
Universal health coverage is an ambitious goal, but it is one that can create a healthier and more equitable world for all people. It means a child reaches adulthood, and adults lead healthier lives regardless of who they are and where they live.
When people are healthy, their families, communities and countries thrive.
The 2000 Durban conference prompted action, and since then, great strides have been made in global health and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
