Your Excellency Prime Minister James Marape,
Minister for Health Elias Kapavore,
Acting Secretary, National Department of Health Ken Wai,
Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock Dr Sergie Bang,
Honourable ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Gutpela morning turu olgeta. A very good morning to you all.
It is a true honour to be here with you today and I extend my heartfelt thanks to Prime Minister Marape for his unwavering leadership in championing One Health in Papua New Guinea.
We gather at a very pivotal moment – not just for PNG, but for the entire Region. The world is shifting rapidly, and so are the threats we face. Pandemics, climate shocks, unsafe food, antimicrobial resistance – these are not isolated issues. They are deeply interconnected, and they demand a united response.
That is why we’re here today. One Health is more than a concept – it’s a movement. It's a call to action. A shared commitment to protect human, animal and environmental health together, as one.
When a child falls ill from contaminated water, when a farmer loses livestock to disease, or when a virus jumps from animals to humans – we are reminded that our health systems are not separate silos. They are threads in the same fabric.
From SARS to Ebola, MERS to COVID-19, we’ve seen how fragile that fabric can be – and how vital it is to strengthen it through collaboration.
In the last 30 years, 75% of new infectious diseases have come from animals. In our Region alone, zoonotic diseases claim over 2.5 million lives each year. And climate change and biodiversity losses are only intensifying these risks.
So how do we respond? By embracing the truth that we live in One World – and must act with One Health.
This means breaking down barriers between sectors. It means coordinated action across ministries, disciplines and borders. And it means putting people, animals and ecosystems at the heart of our health strategies.
WHO is proud to stand alongside you in this journey. Through our “Weaving for Health” vision in the Western Pacific Region, we are building bridges – between governments, communities, and partners – to create resilient, inclusive health systems.
Let me share how we’re turning vision into action:
- We have launched a Bi-regional Coordination Mechanism with our colleagues in the South-East Asia Regional Office, aligning efforts under the One Health Joint Plan of Action.
- We’ve elevated One Health on political platforms, including our Regional Committee meetings, where Member States have called for sustained momentum.
- Last month, we convened over 140 representatives from across the Region to advance One Health priorities – introducing the Quadripartite coalition of FAO, UNEP, WOAH and WHO, and celebrating national achievements to inspire even greater progress.
These structures allow us to speak with one voice, and act with shared purpose.
At the recent Member State Briefing, Papua New Guinea showcased the power of its One Health Planning Committee – supporting public health actions on food safety, AMR and zoonoses.
You’ll soon hear more from Barry Ropa about these achievements, which stand as a beacon of what is possible when collaboration meets commitment.
Next year, Papua New Guinea will conduct its first Joint External Evaluation – a milestone that will require cross-sectoral teamwork to assess and strengthen your capacity to prevent, detect and respond to health threats.
Congratulations to all of you. Your leadership is lighting the way for others.
Across the Pacific, countries are making bold strides:
- Unsafe food sickens 125 million people annually in our Region – 30% of them are children under five. Through One Health, we are working with Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and the Marshall Islands to tackle this head-on.
- We are partnering with Vanuatu, Tonga and others to reduce zoonotic risks.
- Papua New Guinea led the Region in conducting risk-based workforce mapping – bringing together 50 experts from 16 sectors to identify 16 high-priority threats.
- And we are supporting implementation of the revised International Health Regulations, which demand multi-sectoral coordination and resilience.
But progress requires more than good intentions. It demands sustainable financing – predictable, aligned investments that support national priorities and avoid duplication.
We must move beyond fragmented donor support toward joint mechanisms that unite governments, partners and communities. That is how we build systems that are ready for today’s challenges – and tomorrow’s unknowns.
I want to acknowledge the incredible partnerships that have made this possible. Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and all development partners – thank you for walking this path with us.
Australia, New Zealand, GPEI and GAVI are supporting PNG’s polio outbreak response. And the DFAT-WHO-Health Department Partnership (2025-2028) marks a transformative step forward.
More recently, Australia’s support to WHO and IOM is boosting humanitarian preparedness across seven provinces –strengthening hospital safety and emergency readiness.
This is the kind of leadership our Region needs: building on what we have, strengthening national systems, and avoiding duplication.
As I close, let me leave you with a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: shared threats require shared solutions.
I often return to an African proverb that captures this perfectly: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. Let us go far, together.
One Health, One World. Together, we can prevent future outbreaks, protect our communities, and build a healthier, more resilient future for all.
Thank you, olgeta.