SPOKESPERSON ALERT

The World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, will be at the UN General Assembly in New York from September 23-26, and available for interviews in English or Dutch.

Dr Kluge will be in New York as part of WHO’s global efforts to address antimicrobial resistance, a major global health threat that is putting modern medicine, food supplies and economies at risk. Latest estimates suggest antimicrobial resistance could result in 39 million deaths globally over the next 25 years. For background, see here.

Furthermore, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is made worse in conflict situations, where it is often more difficult to ensure adequate infection prevention and control measures, and access to reliable antibiotics can be challenging.

Dr Kluge has just completed a week-long mission to Ukraine, including to frontline areas, where he assessed critical health needs in the run-up to the third winter amid war, at a time of increasing attacks on energy and health infrastructure.

Potential interview topics:

• The global fight against antimicrobial resistance (including the impacts of conflict on AMR).
• The health impacts of the war in Ukraine (including reflections on recent trip to frontlines).
• Preparing for future pandemics (including ongoing Pandemic Agreement negotiations)
• The importance of investing in health including as a means of bolstering national security
• Global mental health crisis, especially among youth

To arrange an interview while Dr Kluge is in New York, kindly contact:

Susan Ahrenst, ahrensts@who.int, +45 30 51 87 95

Bhanu Bhatnagar, bbhatnagar@who.int, +45 40 47 79 44