18 May 1999
(Speaks before World Health Assembly) (950) U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala says that the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) -- poised on the threshold of a new millennium -- must continue to fight against infectious diseases, battle non-communicable diseases, and respond to emerging public health challenges such as bioterrorism. Speaking May 18 before the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Shalala said that in addition to fighting diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, health officials must find ways to protect children from the dangers of tobacco, calling it a "new epidemic." "By the middle of the next century, tobacco is predicted to be the leading cause of disease burden in the world -- causing about one-in-eight deaths," she said. Shalala said health officials must also be ready to address challenges that are just beginning to emerge, such as bioterrorism, which she called "one of the thorniest problems of the post-Cold War era." Following is the text of Shalala's speech: (begin text) Dr. Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the 52nd Session of the World Health Assembly, Palais des Nations, Geneva May 18, 1999 (as prepared for delivery) Madam President, Madam Director-General, distinguished delegates: It is an honor to once again address the World Health Assembly in our 52nd session. Not long after our first session, American historian Arthur Schlesinger wrote that leadership is the ability to give direction. If that's true, then we've certainly witnessed strong leadership in the work of WHO Director-General Gro Brundtland. Over the past year, she has set a new direction for WHO that has the potential to make this organization the pre-eminent global force for health in the 21st Century. Her administration has initiated structural changes that have made WHO more responsive and more focused. It has forged new international partnerships to fight international threats like malaria and tobacco. And it has put health firmly on the global agenda. Dr. Brundtland's initial work proves that we have a new Director-General who is seizing the opportunity to change things for the better. But we gather here not just to celebrate past accomplishments -- but to chart a course for the future. Today, WHO is poised on the threshold of a new millennium, and we must ask ourselves -- what will be our agenda for public health? In what direction will we go? I believe the answer is threefold: We must continue the fight against infectious disease; we must find new ways to battle non-communicable disease; and we must be ready to respond to emerging public health challenges. When it comes to battling infectious disease, we know what we must do. We must recognize that diseases respect no border or boundary; we must form global partnerships and strengthen global systems; we must link up our national and regional surveillance systems; we must harness health experts from every organization and nation into effective teams led by WHO. And we must hasten the exit of killers like malaria and tuberculosis from the world stage. The United States is firmly committed to working in partnership with WHO to achieve our goal of polio eradication and ensure the success of the new "Roll Back Malaria Campaign" and the "STOP TB Project." But it's not just infectious diseases that pose significant public health challenges -- non-communicable diseases continue to be the leading cause of death and disability. We must find new ways of educating our citizens to prevent them. We must find ways to ensure that women have full access to health services across the entire arc of life -- while not neglecting the important issue of maternal mortality. And we must also find ways to protect our children from the dangers of the new epidemic -- tobacco. By the middle of the next century, tobacco is predicted to be the leading cause of disease burden in the world, causing about one-in-eight deaths. In the United States, we're redoubling our efforts to curb childhood tobacco use. And we're pledged to working with WHO to achieve the goals of its recently inaugurated "Tobacco Free Initiative," and to participating in the negotiations for the Global Framework Convention. In addition, we're prepared to share with the world our data base on the health affects of tobacco -- and this will eventually include tobacco industry documents. But as we tackle the public health challenges of today -- like tobacco -- we also must be ready to address those that may emerge -- challenges like bioterrorism. An obscure threat just a few years ago, bioterrorism has only recently emerged as one of the thorniest problems of the post-Cold War era. The threat has undeniably changed and evolved -- so we must be ready to change and adapt our response. And since microbes spread across boundaries of culture, language, and territory, we must work together to prepare for an incident that, we hope, will never happen. Bioterrorism is just one more world health problem that requires a world health solution. Because we all share a common future, we must all stand on common ground. So the challenge of leading WHO into the millennium -- of leading it in the right direction -- does not only belong to the Director-General, or to the able staff of WHO. It belongs to all of us -- to every nation, to every organization, to every individual. Rich or poor. North or South. Together, let us pit our wits and our wills to the task at hand, and help ensure that the new century will be a time of health and hope for every man, woman and child in our global family. (end text)