#Dengue is no longer a sporadic threat confined to the tropics. More than half the world's population live in areas at risk. Reversing this trend demands urgent and coordinated action. That means: - stronger surveillance for early detection; - investing in innovative vector control strategies; - equitable access to vaccines and care. @WHO is committed to supporting countries reduce the risk posed by dengue.

We welcome your government's commitment, Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer, to protect children from the harms of #SocialMedia. x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/20…

On the Occasion of the #G7 Summit An Open Letter to the Leaders of the @G7 , the @g20org , BRICS and All Nations On finalizing the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex of the WHO Pandemic Agreement Dear Leaders of the G7, the G20, BRICS and of all nations, We write to you together, from Geneva and from Brasília, with one shared conviction: that the world must finish what it started, and that you can help it do so. We begin not with an institution or an annex, but with a memory the whole world shares. Not so long ago, our hospitals overflowed. Families said goodbye to the people they loved through glass, or by telephone, or not at all. Children lost grandparents. Doctors and nurses, exhausted beyond anything we had a right to ask of them, kept going anyway. Estimates from WHO and others put the lives lost at up to twenty million. Humanity promised itself, in the rawness of that grief, that it would not face such a day again unprepared. A little over a year ago, the world kept the first part of that promise. After the deadliest pandemic in a century, the nations of the world chose cooperation over division and adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement to strengthen how countries can work together to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics. In a divided world, that outcome was not to be taken for granted. It was an act of hope, and an act of faith in one another. We write to you now because that hope is not yet fulfilled, and because it lies within your hands to help fulfil it. One piece remains. To respond to future pandemics in time, countries must be able to quickly identify pathogens with pandemic potential and share their genetic information and material so scientists can develop tools: the tests, the treatments, the vaccines that decide who lives and who does not. The system that makes this possible, fairly and on equal footing, is the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex. It is the last piece of the puzzle, not only for the Pandemic Agreement but for everything WHO and Member States have built from the hard lessons of COVID-19. Until it is finished, the Agreement cannot enter into force. The promise stays unkept. We will not pretend the road has been easy. When Member States closed their most recent session on the first of May, they had made real progress, but agreed that more time was needed. The hardest questions, including how the benefits of shared pathogens are defined and shared, how the system is governed, and how equity is guaranteed on equal footing, are difficult for a reason. They are the very questions that went unanswered last time, while people who could have been protected were not. The world is wrestling with them now precisely because they matter so much. Negotiators will meet again from 6 to 17 July. We believe in them, and we have seen their dedication up close. But we also know there are moments when good people, doing their best around a negotiating table, need their leaders to lift their eyes to the horizon. This is one of those moments, and it is yours. So we come to you, plainly, with three requests. First, political will at the highest level. The remaining issues will not be solved by technical effort alone. They need the clear signal that only a head of government can give: that finishing this annex is a national priority, and that your negotiators may reach for consensus with courage rather than caution. Solidarity is our best immunity, but solidarity has to be chosen, and it has to be chosen at the top. We know, too, that you may be asked if the Pandemic Agreement compromises state sovereignty. It does not, and the PABS annex, as an integral part of it, will not either. Article 22, paragraph 2 says so plainly: nothing in the Agreement gives WHO any authority to direct or alter a country’s laws or policies, or to require measures such as lockdowns, travel restrictions or vaccination mandates. Those decisions remain with sovereign states. So we ask you, concretely, to instruct your negotiators to come to the July session ready to conclude, and to give them the flexibility to close the remaining gaps and finalize the annex in this round. Second, a spirit of equity. The PABS system rests on a simple, fair bargain: those who share dangerous pathogens quickly must be able to trust that the vaccines and treatments born from that sharing will reach their own people too. Every one of us has a stake on both sides of it. When Brazil held the G20 presidency in 2024, it led the G20 to recognize, for the first time, inequality as a driver of pandemics. This is not charity, and it is not only conscience. It is also strategy: PABS exists to stop an outbreak at its source, and containing a threat where it begins is far cheaper, in lives and in resources, than fighting a pandemic once it has spread to every continent. A virus left to burn anywhere will, in time, find everyone. There is a further reason equity matters, one that governments and industries everywhere will grasp at once: predictability. Today the rules for accessing a pathogen and sharing what flows from it are improvised case by case, often mid-crisis. PABS replaces that with a single framework known in advance, stable rules that let laboratories and partners across the world move at the speed an outbreak demands. Legal certainty does not compete with equity; it makes equity work. We ask you to ensure the annex carries equity in its operational detail, not only in its preamble, so that access and benefit-sharing are guaranteed in practice. Third, a sense of urgency. The next pandemic will not wait for us. Scientists estimate there is close to a one in four chance of another pandemic within the coming decade, and the ground beneath our old assumptions is shifting. Climate change, changing land use and evolving agriculture are redrawing the map of where dangerous pathogens emerge; the comfortable belief that outbreaks begin only in distant places is no longer true, and future hotspots may arise in or near your own countries. At the same time, advances in biotechnology, matched unevenly by biosafety, raise the risk of accidental or deliberate release. None of these dangers respect a border. So we ask you to treat 17 July as a deadline, not a milestone, and to say so publicly, sending your negotiators, and the world, the unambiguous signal that this is the round in which the work is finished. And we already know the price of being unready. The last pandemic took lives on a staggering scale, with estimates from WHO and others putting the toll at up to twenty million, and the International Monetary Fund estimates it cost the world economy over thirteen trillion dollars in lost output, a loss borne in every nation, in shuttered businesses, broken supply chains and a generation of disrupted schooling. Against that, the investment in a system that catches an outbreak early is small. As we write these words, an Ebola outbreak is being fought across two countries, with no approved vaccine and no cure, by responders who are risking their own lives to protect strangers. That is not a distant abstraction. It is happening now. Every month this annex stays unfinished is a month the world is less ready than it could be, and people are less safe than they deserve to be. The nations of the world, together, have stood at every great turning point in the story of human health. Together we helped wipe smallpox from the earth. We pushed polio to the very edge of history. We turned back the tide of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and in doing so helped save more lives than any of us will ever be able to count. Finishing this Agreement is not a departure from that legacy. It is its natural next chapter, and it is within reach. We made a promise to the millions we lost, and to the families who carry their absence still. Let us be the generation that keeps that promise. Finalizing this Agreement, through a shared commitment to one another, is our collective promise to protect humanity. Let us keep it, together, and in time. With respect, and in the shared cause of protecting human life, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, @LulaOficial President Federative Republic of #Brazil Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director-General @WHO

How much blood is taken during blood donation? In most countries, the volume of blood taken is 450ml, less than 10% of your total blood volume. In some countries, a smaller volume is taken. Your body will replace the lost fluid within about 36 hours #WorldBloodDonorDay

It’s like a Drop of Love🩸 @ENHYPEN joins WHO this #WorldBloodDonorDay to share the love: #GiveBlood and save lives bit.ly/2026GiveBlood

It is profoundly heartbreaking to witness another surge of xenophobic violence in #SouthAfrica this week. Hundreds have marched on Parliament, thousands of families have been displaced, and lives have been tragically cut short. These include at least five Ethiopians killed earlier in the attacks, and five Mozambicans who died in Mossel Bay. Thousands more are now fleeing for their lives. To see South Africa turn to xenophobia is a tragic betrayal of the country's struggle for independence and freedom. African nations stood united to dismantle apartheid. Ethiopia proudly supported "Madiba," Nelson Mandela, in 1962 and issued him a passport so he could travel the continent. Other countries helped in many ways, including with political and financial support. Disagreements and grievances must be addressed by the justice system and the rule of law, never through vigilante violence and collective punishment. South Africa deserves better. Africa deserves better. Stop the hate. Protect the vulnerable. Uphold our shared humanity.

In 3 weeks in #DRC, I witnessed the #Ebola response take hold, as @WHO supports the government-led response. Despite challenges, I saw solidarity, survival, leadership & expertise. Together, this outbreak will be brought under control and then ended.

One blood donation can save up to three lives. This #WorldBloodDonorDay, @WHO is joining forces with our @ENHYPEN friends in recognising the life-saving impact blood donors around the world have — thank you! #GiveBlood #ENHYPEN

Met with #SouthSudan's Labour Minister Anthony Lino Makana to discuss the ongoing #Ebola response, and @WHO's work to support neighboring countries on preparedness efforts. We will continue to work together to provide needed training and equipment for health workers in South Sudan, in addition to strengthening surveillance and lab capacity, especially in border areas.

Honored to join @MinofHealthUG PS @DianaAtwine & @WHO DG @DrTedros at today’s high-level Ebola meeting. Uganda’s swift & proactive response sets the standard. Together with @WHO & @AfricaCDC, the EU stands firmly behind an African-led response - strong partners save lives.🇪🇺🤝🇺🇬

Had a very good meeting with Ambassador Seongmee Yoon about @WHO’s work in health emergencies, especially the ongoing #Ebola response and #hantavirus. I thanked the Ambassador for Republic of #Korea’s strong partnership and support for global health security, including on the Pandemic Agreement annex negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing. I used the opportunity to brief the Ambassador about our ongoing collaboration with @ENHYPEN to promote #WorldBloodDonorDay this upcoming Sunday.

My heartfelt condolences to Thai Royal Family and all Thai people following the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the Princess Rajasarini Siribajra. x.com/thaienquirer/status/20…

Strong responses are built when partners, governments, and communities work together. Thank you @DrTedros for your presence and commitment. @WFP continues to support the frontline health response and work with communities so no one has to choose between health and hunger.

I know how committed @WHO is to supporting the #Ebola outbreak response in #DRC. But the entire @UN system is equally committed.  Take our sister agency @WFP, who I call “The Wings of the Response,” thanks to their UNHAS flights that bring experts and humanitarians to the field.  In Bunia, capital of Ituri Province, I have also seen how WFP is implementing local solutions to access to nutritious food, helping local restaurants provide local food to the local communities. Thank you WFP for all you do. x.com/wfp/status/20650331325…

🩸D-3 to #WorldBloodDonorDay 14 June! You got it right! This year we are celebrating this important day with @ENHYPEN We are as excited as you are, and #ENHYPEN are ready with some surprises, pouring their hearts for you. Stay tuned! #GiveBlood, give hope and save lives bit.ly/2026GiveBlood

Cumar Artan ma gaarin #FIFAWorldCup oo keliya. Wuxuu taariikh dhigay isagoo noqday garsoorihii kubadda cagta ugu horreeyay ee Soomaaliyeed ee halkaas gaara, isla markaana ka mid ah garsoorayaasha ugu wanaagsan #Afrika. Guushaas cidina kama qaadi karto, wax kasta ha dhacaane. Cumar, aad baan uga xumahay waxa dhacay. Waxaad gaartay heerka ugu sarreeya ee xirfaddaada, waxaadna dhiirrigelisay jiil dalka jooga adigoo halkaas gaaray. In lagaa hor istaagay fursaddii aad u qalantay ma beddelayso taas. Tani ma noqon doonto halka ay ku dhammaato sheekadaadu. Dunidu way ku garab taagan tahay, waxayna kuu rajaynaysaa samir, adkaysi, iyo in aad mar kale garsoorto kulamo waaweyn oo caalami ah. Waan ku garab taaganahay, Cumar. #Somalia

#Hantavirus update: the UK government has reported a confirmed case in Tristan de Cunha, in a person who was previously considered a probable case with exposure on MV Hondius. As of 10 June, the total number of cases remains 13, including three deaths. No new deaths were reported in over a month, since 2nd May.

A moment of hope in the #Ebola response. Today, in Mongbwalu, Ituri, the province at the centre of the outbreak in #DRC, the first survivor there was discharged from care and reunited with his community. In Nyankunde, eight patients were released today, too. Their recovery is a testament to their strength and the dedication of health workers providing lifesaving care under challenging conditions. It is also a reminder that many people can survive Ebola when they receive care early and safely.

Thank you @DrTedros for visiting the @WHO Uganda country office. Your warmth, leadership and compassion inspire us to stay the course. We will continue to be steered by our common goal... #HealthForAll. We are #ProudToBeWHO

Des décennies de conflits, une crise humanitaire persistante. C’est dans ce contexte que l’épidémie frappe. Dans la continuité de notre visite en février, nous poursuivons nos échanges avec les parties au conflit pour faire avancer les engagements humanitaires sur le terrain.