Social disconnection is as deadly as smoking and heart disease. The WHO now has a plan to help countries fight back.
![According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), from 2014 to 2019, loneliness was associated with more than 871,000 deaths annually - equivalent to 100 deaths per hour.[UIG/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/loneliness-1753438582.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Social disconnection is as deadly as smoking and heart disease. The WHO now has a plan to help countries fight back.
![According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), from 2014 to 2019, loneliness was associated with more than 871,000 deaths annually - equivalent to 100 deaths per hour.[UIG/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/loneliness-1753438582.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The facts are clear and the stories are harrowing. What is missing is more action.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control remains as relevant today as it did when it entered into force 20 years ago.

This week’s Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children is an opportunity to invest in our future.

Invest in the World Health Organization for a healthier, safer world for all.
![The World Health Organization (WHO) logo is seen near its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 2, 2023 [File: Denis Balibouse/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2024-08-16T062607Z_498023022_RC213Z9IMEC1_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-MPOX-PAKISTAN-1723793768.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
World leaders in New York just made a commitment to take action to ensure the future of modern medicine.
![Colistin is one of very few antibiotics that can still treat certain drug-resistant infections [TBIJ/BSAC/Saiyna Bashir]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/8D8A5516-1727365228.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
On World Humanitarian Day, we must take a stance against the intensifying attacks on healthcare in conflict zones.

We call on all governments to limit or ban trans fat in all foods.

The treaty being negotiated is a life-saving tool that will ensure no one is left behind when the next pandemic strikes.

After a year of milestones and challenges in global public health, our quest to achieve ‘Health for All’ continues.
![A Palestinian injured in an Israeli air strike is treated at Nasser Medical Complex on December 19, 2023 in Khan Younis, Gaza [Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1867505520-1703053778.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)