WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 13 January 2026

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Happy New Year, and welcome to WHO's first media briefing for 2026.

Last Friday marked one-thousand days of Sudan's civil war. Almost three years of continuous violence have turned Sudan into the worst humanitarian crisis globally.

An estimated 33.7 million people will need humanitarian aid this year, and 13.6 million people are displaced, making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Poor living conditions, overcrowding, lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and a breakdown of routine immunization are fuelling disease outbreaks.

WHO is supporting the response to outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria, and measles.

But just when the people of Sudan need it most, the health system has been severely damaged, through attacks on health care, lack of essential medical supplies, and shortages of health workers and funding.

Despite sustained efforts by WHO and partners to restore and revive health services, more than one third of health facilities remain non-functional.

WHO calls for unrestricted and safe access to all areas of Sudan to restore access to health services;

We call for the protection of civilians from attacks, including health and humanitarian workers and patients.

And we call for an end to the conflict by all parties in Sudan.

As always, the best medicine is peace.

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Now to our main news of the day.

As you know, over the past year, sudden and severe cuts to aid have caused severe disruptions to health systems and services in many countries.

WHO is supporting countries to maintain essential health services in the short term, while mobilising domestic resources to make the long-term transition from aid dependency to sustainable self-reliance.

One of the best tools for doing that is health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.

Health taxes have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems.

At the same time, they generate an income stream that governments can use to invest in health, education and social protection.

Last year, WHO launched the "3 by 35 initiative", which aims to support all countries to use health taxes to increase the real prices of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks by 2035.

However, health taxes are not a matter of "set it and forget it". To be effective, they must be designed carefully and adjusted regularly.

Since 2008, WHO has published regular data on tobacco taxation in our biennial report on the global tobacco epidemic. Today we are publishing new reports on taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks.

They show that in most countries, these taxes are too low to be effective, poorly designed, not adjusted regularly, and rarely aligned with public health objectives.

As a result, alcohol and sugary drinks have become more affordable, even as the diseases and injuries associated with their consumption continue to place growing strain on health systems, families and budgets.

Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they are not simple. They can be politically unpopular, and they attract opposition from powerful industries with deep pockets and a lot to lose.

But many countries have shown that when they are done right, they are a powerful tool for health.

For example, in the Philippines, a major tax reform on tobacco and alcohol in 2013 increased revenues by more than five times, which supported the expansion of national health insurance to more than 15 million poor families.

In Lithuania, a major tax increase on alcohol in 2017 was associated with an almost 5% reduction in all-cause mortality the following year.

In the UK, a tax on sugary drinks introduced in 2018 reduced sugar consumption, generated 338 million pounds in revenue in 2024 alone, and has been associated with lower obesity rates in girls aged 10 and 11, especially in the most deprived areas.

Many more countries are following the example these countries are setting.

Last year alone, Malaysia, Mauritius, Slovakia, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam were among countries that introduced or increased taxes on tobacco, alcohol or sugary drinks, or all three.

And already this year, India introduced a new excise duty on tobacco and Saudi Arabia introduced a tiered excise tax on sugary drinks, with higher taxes for higher sugar content.

WHO looks forward to supporting more countries to design and implement health taxes to protect health and to transition away from aid dependency towards sustainable self-reliance.

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Finally, this month marks World Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet it still takes the lives of many women, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.

We have the tools to make cervical cancer the first cancer to be eliminated: vaccines to prevent it, tests to detect it, and therapeutics to treat it.

That's why, in 2018, I issued a global call for action to eliminate cervical cancer, which was followed in 2020 by a Global Strategy with the 90-70-90 targets:

90 percent of girls vaccinated;

70 percent of women screened;

And 90% of women with cervical cancer or pre-cancerous lesions treated, all by 2030.

Since then, nearly 60 countries have introduced HPV vaccination, and 162 countries, now include the vaccine as part of their national immunization schedules.

Sixty-five percent of girls globally now live in a country where HPV is in the vaccine schedule. That proportion is expected to rise to more than 80% in the coming months as more countries include HPV in their schedules, including India.

Many countries at all income levels are showing that by integrating vaccination, screening and treatment, elimination is within reach.

Late last year, Australia announced it had no cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in women under 25 in 2021. Several countries in Europe are close behind.

Rwanda set itself the goal of achieving the 90-70-90 targets by 2027, three years ahead of schedule, and already has vaccinated 77% of girls, screened 31% of women and treated 81% of women with cervical cancer or pre-cancerous lesions.

From Bhutan to Brazil, Chile to China, Pakistan to Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone to St Vincent and the Grenadines and Timor-Leste to Tanzania, dozens of countries are expanding vaccination, screening and treatment.

They are showing that eliminating cervical cancer is not a pipedream - it's achievable.

Christian, back to you.