Thank you, Mr Serageldin,
Your Excellency Ilham Aliyev,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
It is an honour to be with you today.
Let me start by thanking the Nizami Ganjavi International Center in Baku, and Secretary-General Rovshan Muradov, for inviting me to share a few thoughts with you on “The World After COVID-19”.
I was very pleased to welcome the Secretary-General and members of the board of NGIC to WHO a month ago. We had a very good discussion and agreed to work together on advocacy for vaccine equity.
My thanks also to His Excellency President Aliyev for Azerbaijan's financial support for WHO, its global leadership through the Non-Aligned Movement, and its generosity in sharing vaccines with other countries.
My congratulations also to Azerbaijan for reaching 60% vaccination.
The pandemic has demonstrated the vital importance of multilateralism and solidarity to confront global health threats.
However, despite our multilateral efforts, inequities persist. Some require urgent action; others entail long-lasting structural changes.
The vaccine crisis is Exhibit A.
In high-income countries, almost two-thirds of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine, while in low-income countries, less than 5% have received a vaccine.
This is scandalous and unacceptable.
WHO’s target is to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year, and 70% by mid-2022.
Excellencies, we seek your support to achieve these targets, end the pandemic and accelerate the global recovery.
We encourage countries that have already reached the 40% target to give their place in the vaccine delivery queue to COVAX and the African Vaccines Acquisition Trust.
And we urge manufacturers to prioritize and fulfil their contracts with COVAX and AVAT as a matter of urgency, and be far more transparent about what’s going where.
At the same time, it's important to remember that vacines alone will not end the pandemic. We must continue to use every tool to suppress transmission, save lives and end the pandemic.
The longer the pandemic drags on, the longer the social and economic turmoil will continue, and the higher the chances that a new, more dangerous variant, could emerge.
Even as we work to end this pandemic, we must learn the lessons it is teaching us, and prepare for the next one.
I believe there are four critical areas for action, as we build the world after COVID-19.
First, we need stronger governance that is inclusive, equitable and accountable.
That’s why we believe the time has come for a legally-binding treaty or international agreement, to provide an overarching framework for global health security.
We seek the support of all countries for such an agreement, which will be the subject of a Special Session of the World Health Assembly at the end of this month.
Second, we need better financing for global health security.
We need a substantial increase in domestic investment, including in primary health care, and in international financing to support low- and lower-middle income countries.
Third, we need better systems and tools to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond rapidly to outbreaks with epidemic and pandemic potential.
And fourth , we need a strengthened, empowered and sustainably financed WHO at the centre of the global health architecture.
The pandemic has challenged the very core of multilateralism and the principles that underpin it.
Today’s complex global challenges, including the intertwined crises of COVID-19 and climate change, require effective multilateral governance and solidarity-based international cooperation.
That is why better pandemic preparedness and response is crucial. And this goes hand in hand with strong health systems.
We must ensure our health systems become more resilient and that they can continue to provide essential health services, even in times of crises.
In 2018, I had the honour of visiting Azerbaijan and meeting His Excellency President Aliyev, and I remember being very impressed by his commitment to universal health coverage.
That is key for responding to the current pandemic, future crises, and for laying a foundation for social and economic stability.
Excellencies,
The pandemic has demonstrated beyond doubt that health is not a luxury for the rich, or simply an outcome of development; it’s a fundamental human right, and the basis of social, economic and political stability.
And that’s what this pandemic has taught us – the centrality of health.
I thank you.