This is the opening speech of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization on 20th of May 2019 at the 72nd World Health Assembly.

The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States, and it focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.