Margaret Chan Quotes
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We are not in a pandemic situation. It is still an animal disease.
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I have a reputation for being a straight-talker.
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A human influenza pandemic will be a big problem. But by working together we can respond effectively.
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Until we see further evidence, we are still at Phase 3 of the pandemic alert.
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It is meant as a fire blanket to contain damage if we receive signals and evidence from the ground that we are moving into the beginning of a pandemic.
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We cannot think of the old days when we were dealing with SARS. It's a totally different ballgame now.
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We must understand that when one country is not safe, the world is not safe. Pandemic influenza, by nature, will go around the world, so it is important for us to work as an international community to get a better handle on the issue.
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WHO has a country office in nearly every developing country, usually located close to the Ministry of Health. Staff in these offices need to do much more to help ministries of health strengthen their national health plans and strategies and then negotiate with development partners to support these priorities and follow these plans.
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Based on assessment of all available information and following several expert consultations, I have decided to raise the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5.
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New and emerging infections keep coming back and the world needs a collective defense system, and that requires international cooperation and collaboration, in the name of global solidarity.
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We are taking very drastic actions to reduce the risk of avian influenza to animals and birds.
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[we have]taming of an ancient disease [malaria] that over the centuries has killed untold millions of people.
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The unique nature about the influenza virus is its great potential for changes, for mutation.
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For the first time in history we can track the evolution of a pandemic in real time. Influenza viruses are notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behaviour.
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At a time of multiple calamities in the world, we cannot allow the loss of essential antimicrobials, essential cures for many millions of people, to become the next global crisis.
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I must stress that it is still a suspected case at this stage and the experts are still investigating.
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A health system that lacks commodities for managing high-mortality infectious diseases and the main killers of mothers and young children will not have an adequate impact. By the same token, even the best-stocked delivery system will have an inadequate impact if it fails to reach the poor.
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If the country has invested in the training of doctors or nurses or midwives for that matter, people are beginning to say, 'Should we not ask them to serve a number of years in the country who invested in their training?' I think this is now coming to be an interesting discussion.
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Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere in the world. We are losing our first-line antimicrobials. Replacement treatments are more costly, more toxic, need much longer durations of treatment, and may require treatment in intensive care units.
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We need to empower women. Give women a voice in the decision-making process. Give women a political voice where they can champion, for their own welfare. And, of course, for us. United Nations - organizations, agencies - we need to do our part.
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While we cannot predict when or if the H5N1 virus might spark a pandemic, we cannot ignore the warning signs, ... For the first time in human history, we have a chance to prepare ourselves for a pandemic before it arrives.
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Some experts say we are moving back to the pre-antibiotic era. No. This will be a post-antibiotic era. In terms of new replacement antibiotics, the pipeline is virtually dry. A post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child's scratched knee could once again kill.
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When is the next time? We don't have a time frame. I suspect it will likely to be November, if history is anything to go by.
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What amazes me most is that the media and I have fostered a close relationship.