Margaret Chan Quotes

Author Image

Margaret Chan

Profession : Public Servant

Birth : August 21, 1947

We cannot think of the old days when we were dealing with SARS. It's a totally different ballgame now.

Margaret Chan

For a pandemic of moderate severity, this is one of our greatest challenges: helping people to understand when they do not need to worry, and when they do need to seek urgent care.

Margaret Chan

Mexico is a safe, as well as a beautiful and warmly gracious, place to visit.

Margaret Chan

The World Health Organization did a world health report in 2006. In the whole world about 60 countries are in dire situation in terms of having enough doctors. And many of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa. You know, that part of the world alone needs one million doctors.

Margaret Chan

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.

Margaret Chan

We need to empower women. Give women a voice in the decision-making process. Give women a political voice where they can champion, for their own welfare. And, of course, for us. United Nations - organizations, agencies - we need to do our part.

Margaret Chan

At a time of multiple calamities in the world, we cannot allow the loss of essential antimicrobials, essential cures for many millions of people, to become the next global crisis.

Margaret Chan

I have a reputation for being a straight-talker.

Margaret Chan

New and emerging infections keep coming back and the world needs a collective defense system, and that requires international cooperation and collaboration, in the name of global solidarity.

Margaret Chan

Doctors and nurses, with their training and their experiences, they would be able to detect unusual patterns of disease. That's why we say it is important for every country to have a proper surveillance system. The function of the surveillance system is to detect unusual patterns of diseases.

Margaret Chan

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.

Margaret Chan

When WHO works with the private sector, the Organization takes all possible measures to ensure its work to develop policy and guidelines is protected from industry influence.

Margaret Chan

All experts on WHO advisory groups for developing norms, standards and guidelines are required to disclose interests regarding the advisory committee's area of work. If a declared interest is potentially significant, then the expert is either excluded from the meeting or given a restricted role.

Margaret Chan

The unique nature about the influenza virus is its great potential for changes, for mutation.

Margaret Chan

Pandemic influenza is by nature an international issue; it requires an international solution.

Margaret Chan

The WHO is the lead agency in health in the United Nations system, and clearly we have very important functions to play.

Margaret Chan

SARS was a very important event... And many countries have learned from SARS... The SARS event sort of gave them additional impetus and the sense of urgency for them to really revise the International Health Regulations.

Margaret Chan

When you're dealing with new and emerging diseases, you have no idea and you can't predict in advance what would happen.

Margaret Chan