Shigeru Omi
Shigeru Omi
Shigeru Omiis the current Regional Director of the Western Pacific Regional Office for the World Health Organization. He was born in Tokyo in 1949 and currently lives in Manila...
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These excellent results mark a major achievement by a country that used to have a high incidence of neonatal tetanus. All countries in the WHO Western Pacific Region have made progress towards neonatal tetanus elimination. Viet Nam has shown that government commitment, hard work and partnerships lead to results. We are hopeful that several other countries in the region will soon follow Viet Nam's example.
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The situation is worsening with each passing month and the threat of an influenza pandemic is continuing to grow.
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The situation is very serious and getting worse. It is still within our power to change the course of this epidemic.
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They acknowledged the need to strengthen the capacity particularly at the grass roots level.
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Even if you control avian flu, the next one is coming,
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We know that implementing the convention will not be easy, as smoking is an ingrained habit in China, but the government has made clear its commitment to take action.
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This situation is not yet a serious public health threat, but if you compare this one with the two laboratory-acquired cases in Taiwan and Singapore, and also if you compare this one with the four SARS cases (in Guangdong, China) which happened during the first part of this year ... the situation needs more attention,
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We must try to ensure that we will be ready to respond instantly with all the weapons at our disposal should the early signs of an influenza pandemic appear. If we fail, the consequences for societies, economies and global public health could be immeasurable.
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We must keep in mind that we are likely to encounter in the coming years many other new emerging diseases,
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We need to realize that there is very little incentive for farmers to report suspected outbreaks,
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While we still have a window of opportunity, we must do everything we can to avert an influenza pandemic as we simultaneously prepare for a worse-case scenario,
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We have to step up improvement of the primitive farming practice in China's rural regions, especially the backyard feeding of chickens and ducks in many rural households.
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Unlike the influenza pandemics of the past, this time the world has been given a warning that one may be on its way.
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I believe the momentum that is now building up will give us a chance to change the course of history and head off a pandemic caused by the H5N1 virus.