HIV AIDS is a disease with stigma. And we have learned with experience, not just with HIV AIDS but with other diseases, countries for many reasons are sometimes hesitant to admit they have a problem.
Margaret ChanRead
A health system that lacks commodities for managing high-mortality infectious diseases and the main killers of mothers and young children will not have an adequate impact. By the same token, even the best-stocked delivery system will have an inadequate impact if it fails to reach the poor.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Effective health systems must have essential resources and reach underserved populations to be impactful.
Margaret Chan emphasizes that a health system cannot positively influence health outcomes if it lacks the necessary resources to manage critical health issues, particularly those affecting mothers and children. Additionally, even the most well-equipped healthcare systems will fall short if they do not effectively serve the poor and marginalized communities, highlighting the importance of accessibility and equity in healthcare delivery.
Themes
HealthAccessibilityEquityDiseasePoverty
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a presentation about global health initiatives.
More from Margaret Chan
All quotes →Some experts say we are moving back to the pre-antibiotic era. No. This will be a post-antibiotic era. In terms of new replacement antibiotics, the pipeline is virtually dry. A post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child's scratched knee could once again kill.
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I want us to be judged by the impact we have on the health of the people of Africa and the health of women. Improvements in the health of the people of Africa and the health of women are key indicators of the performance of WHO. This is a health organization for the whole world... But we must focus our attention on the people in greatest need.
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The way I look at - speaking as a woman - I understand what it means to be a daughter, and to be a wife, and to be a mother, and also to be a career woman. The multiple roles that women can play in a society if given the opportunity is really a tremendous asset.
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