Thank you, Dr Shah.
Your Excellency Iwaya Takeshi,
Your Excellency Lasha Darsalia,
Ms Pinsuda Jayanama,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
I thank Japan, Georgia and Thailand for their leadership under the banner of the Group of Friends of UHC and Global Health.
In times like these, we all need friends, and it’s times like these that you find out who your true friends are – thank you for being those true friends.
As you know, 4.5 billion people are not fully covered by essential health services;
And a billion people experience catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending.
And as you all know, we are facing significant challenges to multilateralism, with profound effects on global health.
Health aid is projected to decline by up to 40% this year compared to just two years ago.
The sudden and sharp cuts to foreign aid are compounding the chronic domestic underinvestment in health systems in many countries.
Already, we are witnessing the impacts: service disruptions, critical shortages in of medicines and health products, and increasing out-of-pocket payments.
Structural constraints are worsening the situation, restricting many countries’ ability to invest in health.
In 2024, 3.4 billion people globally were living in countries that spent more on debt interest payments than on education or health.
This is a watershed moment for reforming the global health ecosystem, and reforming domestic and global systems must go hand-in-hand.
Building more self-reliant national health systems is essential, but so too is addressing the underlying power imbalances and global inequities that have historically shaped our international systems.
Advancing equity requires both national ownership and more inclusive global cooperation.
In the past few months, several countries have made strong commitments to strengthen health financing and accelerate progress towards UHC.
WHO stands ready to support countries to implement these commitments.
As we navigate this changing global health landscape, we have an opportunity to emerge stronger and better prepared to achieve health for all.
First, we must prioritize health in domestic budgets as the foundation for sustainable self-reliance.
While increasing domestic revenues is essential, ensuring that these funds are effectively allocated and used is equally critical.
Proven solutions already exist: from strengthening public financial management systems, to introducing or increasing taxes on health-harming products like tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks, or leveraging pooled procurement.
Second, we must ensure all sources of financing – domestic and external – are aligned with national priorities and systems, in accordance with the Lusaka Agenda principle of one plan, one budget, and one report.
Third, we must build a more effective global health ecosystem, grounded in inclusive participation and fair representation, in line with the Accra Reset.
In this regard, we look forward to the launch of the UHC Hub in Tokyo later this year – a hub established in partnership with the Government of Japan, the World Bank and WHO.
As Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi said, the UHC Hub will support capacity building for finance and health authorities, build political commitment for investing in health, as well as generating better data to inform decision making.
WHO remains firmly committed to supporting countries in this transition away from aid dependency towards self-reliance, and to build health systems that serve everyone, everywhere.
After all, health is not a cost to be contained, but an investment in people and prosperity.
I thank you.