The Honourable Minister Dr Tinte Itinteang,
The Right Honourable Patricia Scotland,
Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, dear colleagues and friends,
It is an honour to have the opportunity to share some thoughts with the members of the Commonwealth, which brings a unique voice to multilateralism and global health.
WHO and the Commonwealth share a commitment to achieving universal health coverage and strengthening global health security.
In light of the multiple overlapping crises facing the world, I welcome your emphasis on small island developing states, or SIDS, and other vulnerable nations.
These countries face significant health challenges, including high burdens of noncommunicable diseases, mental health conditions, and increased vulnerability to health emergencies and the impacts of climate change.
We need to support the SIDS in their efforts to strengthen their health systems, including through improved access to development assistance and financial and technical support.
This will be discussed next week at the Fourth International Conference on SIDS, which will set priorities for the SIDS development agenda for the next ten years.
WHO has been pleased to engage with that process and we will be on the ground with a delegation led by the Deputy Director of PAHO.
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I would now like to address several of the key priorities being discussed today.
First, on climate change and health. Your Excellency, the President of the Seychelles, has just delivered an excellent speech [on this issue].
The climate emergency is already a health emergency.
Around the world, the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events is driving migration, hunger, water scarcity, and the spread of infectious diseases.
While small island developing states and other vulnerable nations contribute little to climate change, they are some of the most affected countries.
WHO estimates that by 2030, the direct costs of climate change on people’s health around the world will reach between US$ 2 and 4 billion per year.
Despite this grave threat, at the moment, only 2% of climate adaptation funding, and 0.5 percent of the available multilateral financing on climate, is allocated to health programmes.
This shortfall in funding especially impacts resource-constrained countries.
These countries have repeatedly identified insufficient finance as the greatest barrier to implementing their national climate and health strategies.
WHO calls for increased climate financing for health for vulnerable countries so they can protect and promote the health and well-being of their populations.
We also call for a strengthening of the climate resilience of health systems around the world and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution generated by those systems.
These investments make sense for health, for the planet, and for a more sustainable and resilient world economy.
The second issue is the health workforce.
Progress towards universal health coverage and global health security is hindered not just by insufficient health system capacities but by long-standing gaps between the demand for, and supply of, health and care workers.
As the COVID-19 pandemic so vividly, and tragically, demonstrated, a strong health workforce is the absolute foundation of health systems. Without health workers, health systems collapse.
Today, 11 of the small island developing states have critical health workforce gaps and are in need of ethical migration measures and protections from active international health worker recruitment.
Other SIDS have vulnerable supply and absorption capacities, and face persistent challenges in attracting, producing, recruiting, and retaining health and care workers.
Let us therefore commit to protecting and investing in the health and care workforce, including in their education, their jobs and their decent work conditions.
The third issue is noncommunicable diseases.
Small island developing states have disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory conditions.
Pacific island countries account for nine out of the top ten countries in the world with the highest prevalence of obesity among both women and men.
Commercial and trade-related forces create persistent barriers to access healthy, safe and sustainable diets. Tobacco use and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are also prevalent.
It is imperative to strengthen capacities and resources within SIDS to enhance the promotion, prevention, early detection, management and control of noncommunicable diseases.
It is also crucial to prioritize the integration of noncommunicable diseases and mental health into primary health care package of services.
Last year, SIDS Ministers of Health adopted the Bridgetown Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health and committed to a set of ambitious actions to address these challenges.
Most countries have since made specific national commitments, as well.
We’ll look forward to working with the Commonwealth to end these crises in the SIDS once and for all.
Excellencies,
Let me turn to the historic intergovernmental processes underway in the context of WHO and the World Health Assembly.
I thank all Ministers in this room for their countries’ engagement in the negotiations on the pandemic accord and the amendments to the International Health Regulations.
I recognize that these have been time-consuming, and at times, challenging processes, with many countries having had to make compromises.
As you know, countries have already agreed in principle on a ground-breaking package of IHR amendments, building on over 300 proposals.
On the pandemic accord, negotiations still continue but I remain confident that consensus will be found and the process will move forward. But as you know, there are still bottlenecks and challenges where progress has not been made.
I urge you to adopt these agreements, so we give the people of the world, the people of your countries, the people you represent, a safer future.
We also seek your support for the WHO Investment Round, which formally begins tomorrow [followed by] the launch of the Investment Case.
Excellencies,
The leadership of the Commonwealth will be critical in the months and years ahead as we work together to promote, provide and protect the health of the world’s people.
WHO values highly our partnership with you, and we remain committed to working with you closely to fulfil the shared commitments in our Memorandum of Understanding.
Thank you for your leadership, my dear sister, Baroness Patricia Scotland.
Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October, I also reiterate our support for the implementation of the Commonwealth leaders’ commitments on universal health coverage, noncommunicable diseases, cervical cancer, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases.
Excellencies, thank you once again for all for your commitment to a healthier and more sustainable future for all of us. I wish you a productive discussion.
I thank you.