LIVE | Press Conference on Global Health Issues with Dr Tedros

Why It Matters

These developments accelerate real‑world access to transformative prevention and treatment tools for obesity, HIV and cervical cancer—conditions that drive huge morbidity and mortality—potentially shifting national strategies, donor procurement, and manufacturing priorities to expand equitable reach.

Summary

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros and senior officials updated on three major public‑health advances: new WHO guidance and country support to integrate GLP‑1 therapies and broader obesity services through an acceleration plan covering 34 countries (1.3 billion people) aiming to cut obesity prevalence 5% by 2030; rapid roll‑out and WHO prequalification of long‑acting HIV prevention drug lenacapavir, with nine countries already implementing it and South Africa moving to scale local manufacture; and major HPV vaccination drives—highlighted by India’s announcement of a free campaign targeting roughly 12 million 14‑year‑old girls—advancing global cervical cancer elimination goals. The briefing also noted WHO efforts to speed access by issuing guidelines and prequalification in parallel and to support health‑system integration of these tools.