Thomas R. Frieden Quotes

The Ebola epidemic was the most frightening outbreak I have witnessed in my lifetime, and I believe it was necessary to react globally as strongly as we did.

The United States is stepping up to lead the international response to the Ebola outbreak, and Congress will ensure that the president's request is fully and quickly funded.

Anyone that's involved in development has discovered that all the good work that's been done in development has been undone by the AIDS emergency.

This is a historic moment in global public health, demonstrating the international will to tackle a threat to health head on.

While Ebola's deadly reach has proven to be a complex and unique international challenge, the many uncertainties surrounding this virus continue to threaten U.S. national security.

I am absolutely convinced there should be financial and political incentives for states to declare. You shouldn't be the pariah of the world if you say you have Ebola, but in reality this is what happens.

The fight against Ebola cannot undermine the fight against poverty.

Without an adequate response, an epidemic can develop into a pandemic, which generally means it has spread to more than one continent.

To be able to detect the outbreak of avian flu anywhere in the world is going to require a partnership of several countries that will share information and samples, but it is important to remember a threat anywhere is a threat everywhere.

I am grateful to President George W. Bush for PEPFAR, which is saving the lives of millions of people in poor countries and to both Presidents Bush for the work we've done together after the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake.

In the developing countries the United Nations doesn't mean frustration, confrontation or condemnation. It means environmental sanitation, agricultural production, telecommunications, the fight against illiteracy, the great struggle against poverty ignorance and disease.

The natives [Eskimos] were sick in almost every tent … and were in a very deplorable condition. …. The pity of it was that nothing was being done for their relief…. If nothing is done soon, the Eskimos will continue to become stupefied and utterly helpless and lie down to die.

We’re in a globalized world and the risk [of epidemics] is shared..

The Ebola epidemic is the worst health emergency there has been in modern times.

Congress did the right thing with Ebola. They funded us to protect Americans and keep us safer.

Access to humanitarian assistance and information are all the more important during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The United States is deeply concerned about the vulnerability of the North Korean people to a coronavirus outbreak.

When there were cases of Ebola in the States, I respected that people wanted to address concerns and take some sort of action, but the focus turned completely to the U.S. At one point, we started to wonder, Where is the Ebola epidemic happening? The States - or West Africa?

Young people were once considered relatively safe from HIV/AIDS. Today, their lives and futures are at risk throughout the world because of this disease. I believe it is young people throughout the world who offer us the greatest hope for defeating this deadly pandemic.

The fact that there was no catastrophic pandemic in recent history does not mean there won't be another one. And we are certainly not prepared for the next pandemic.

We are more capable of turning around our global health crisis than we think.

These numbers are staggering, in fact incomprehensible. By all accounts, we are dealing with the greatest health crisis in human history.

AIDS respects no national boundaries; spares no race or religion; devastates men and women, rich and poor. No country can ignore this crisis. Fighting AIDS is an urgent calling - because every life, in every land, has value and dignity.

No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic.

I think it's [the AIDS fight] the most important and most pressing one - I think it's a global emergency and I think in a way we all have to address it and engage with it because I think it's the biggest threat to the human race that we have ever faced.