Plenary Statement 72nd World Health Assembly

The World Health Assembly

May 20, 2019

Geneva, Switzerland

"Last year, we marked the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed more than 50 million people. Soon after, in 1919, another significant outbreak, of typhus in Europe, led health ministers to come together to plan the health component of the League of Nations, even before the League had its first official meeting here in Geneva. Today, thanks to efforts made by many nations in this room, international organizations like the WHO, and the private sector, we are much safer from the perpetual threat of infectious diseases. But we are not as safe as we ought to be."