Speaking at the agency's annual World Health Assembly, Dr. Chan said experts had "dropped the ball" in the 1970s with regards to getting a handle on disease-carrying insects.
More than 60 countries and territories now have continuing Zika transmission.
Most recently, the infection, spread by mosquito bites, reached Africa.
Experts predict the same strain could reach Europe in the summer.
According to Dr. Chan, outbreaks that become emergencies always reveal specific weaknesses in affected countries and illuminate the fault lines in our collective preparedness.
Image: European PA
"Zika reveals an extreme consequence of the failure to provide universal access to sexual and family planning services," she said.
Dr. Chan added that Latin America and the Caribbean, which have been hit hardest by Zika, have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies in the world.
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