In closing remarks to 73rd World Health Assembly, WHO DG says we must rethink how we value health
The virtual 73rd World Health Assembly concluded today with the closing remarks of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General. Following are excerpts from his speech:
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the consequences of chronic under-investment in public health.
This health crisis has ignited a socio-economic crisis that has impacted billions of lives and livelihoods and undermined global stability and solidarity.
Returning to the status quo is not an option.
We don’t just need more investment in public health. We must also rethink how we value health.
The time has come for a new narrative that sees health not as a cost, but an investment that is the foundation of productive, resilient and stable economies.
To start building that narrative, today I am proud to announce that we are establishing a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, to focus on the links between health and sustainable, inclusive and innovation-led economic growth.
The council will comprise leading economists and health experts, and will be chaired by Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Professor of the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at the University of London, and the Founding Director of the university’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. The Council is expected to hold its first virtual session in the coming weeks, and will discuss its work plan and mode of operation.
Global system for sharing pathogen materials
The pandemic has also shown that there is an urgent need for a globally agreed system for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples, to facilitate the rapid development of medical countermeasures as global public goods.
It can’t be based on bilateral agreements, and it can’t take years to negotiate.
We are proposing a new approach that would include a repository for materials housed by WHO in a secure Swiss facility; an agreement that sharing materials into this repository is voluntary; that WHO can facilitate the transfer and use of the materials; and a set of criteria under which WHO would distribute them.
I would like to thank His Excellency Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Thailand, and His Excellency Roberto Speranza, Minister of Health of Italy, for their support for this concept, and for their willingness to provide materials under this new framework, and to be pioneers of this approach.
I would also like to thank His Excellency Federal Councillor Alain Berset, Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs of Switzerland, and the Swiss Confederation, for offering a BSL 4 lab to support this initiative.
Other countries have expressed interest in the idea, which we look forward to discussing with Member States, alongside other initiatives including the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, and the Council of Economics of Health for All.
Productive despite challenges
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
I wish to thank all Member States for their flexibility, goodwill and pragmatism in adapting to the constraints of dealing with a large agenda virtually, across multiple time zones.
I would also like to thank our staff who have worked incredibly hard to make this Assembly happen and overcome many technical and logistical challenges, and especially the moderators, who managed the flow of interventions and ensured everyone was heard.
Despite the challenges, this Assembly has been very productive, as you would agree with me.
You have approved a comprehensive resolution on:
- emergency preparedness;
- a new roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030;
- a new roadmap for neglected tropical diseases;
- a resolution on scaled-up action on epilepsy and other neurological disorders;
Through a written ‘silence procedure’ you have also adopted:
- the Immunization Agenda 2030;
- the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a public health problem;
- the Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation;
- the Decade of Healthy Ageing;
- the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property;
- And resolutions on eye care and food safety.
Each of these represents an urgent health priority that affects the lives of millions of people, and which increases the demands on, and expectations of, WHO.
We look forward to working with all Member States in the coming weeks and months to build a WHO with increased capabilities and the resources to meet these demands and expectations.
