Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19

2:52pm May 05, 2023

The World Health Organization today lifted its Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19. That declaration went into effect three years ago on Jan. 30, 2020.

A South Korean child masks up to ride a scooter on Feb. 27, 2020 in Seoul.

On 3/11/20, WHO declared a pandemic. These quotes and photos recall that historic time

4:28pm March 10, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Three years ago, the novel coronavirus swept the world. Here are 24 quotes and 13 photos that sum up the reaction in the weeks before the World Health Organization's declaration of a global pandemic.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaks in Brussels on Feb. 18. Ethiopia's government is criticizing Tedros' statement that the crisis in the country's Tigray region is "the worst disaster on Earth" and his assertion

World News

Ethiopia denounces WHO head for saying crisis ignored because of Tigrayans' skin color

11:56am August 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

Ethiopia's government is criticizing as "unethical" the statement by the World Health Organization's director-general that the crisis in the country's Tigray region is "the worst disaster on Earth."

Volunteers unload food aid in Chena, Ethiopia, one of many parts of the world where conflict has fueled hunger.

Ukraine crisis raises question: Does food aid go equally to 'Black and white lives'?

5:52pm April 18, 2022

by Nurith Aizenman

That's what Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization and others ask in the wake of the outpouring of money to help Ukrainian victims of the war amid record levels of global hunger.

Queue Listen Now

World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned against what he describes as "vaccine nationalism."

U.S. Won't Join WHO-Led Coronavirus Vaccine Effort, White House Says

12:28pm September 02, 2020

by Scott Neuman

A Trump administration spokesman says Washington will continue to engage the rest of the world in vaccine development but won't be "constrained" by the "corrupt" World Health Organization.

A mural in Chennai, India, celebrates workers on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic. The global case count crossed the 20 million threshold on Monday, with the U.S., Brazil and India in the lead.

World News

Global Coronavirus Case Count Surpasses 20 Million

9:49pm August 10, 2020

by Rachel Treisman

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 20 million people worldwide have tested positive for the virus. The milestone comes almost exactly five months after the WHO declared it a pandemic.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a meeting last week at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Tedros says the coronavirus "thrives on division."

Lack Of Unity Is A Bigger Threat Than Coronavirus, WHO Chief Says In Emotional Speech

3:56pm July 09, 2020

by Bill Chappell

"How is it difficult for humans to unite and fight a common enemy that is killing people indiscriminately?" WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asks.

(From L) World Health Organization leaders at a press briefing on COVID-19, held on March 6 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. From left: emergencies program director Michael Ryan, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and technical lead Maria Van Kerkh

What Is WHO And What Does It Do?

6:15pm April 28, 2020

by Pien Huang

The organization at the eye of the coronavirus pandemic is taking heat from U.S. critics. Here's a look at its history, its mission and its role in the current crisis.

Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, center, after his speech to delegates at the World Health Assembly on May 23 in Geneva.

World Health Organization Elects First Director-General From Africa

11:16pm May 23, 2017

by Jason Beaubien

The new leader, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, will be expected to reform the bureaucratic agency and deal with the world's growing health problems.

Queue Listen Now