AS WRITTEN

WORLD SUMMIT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

                     Statement by DR HIROSHI NAKAJIMA

               DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

                      Copenhagen, 6 March 1995



 Your Majesty, Mr Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, Ladies and 
gentlemen,

 Development is an integrated social process which must provide a framework 
for equitable relations: between countries; between people; and between 
humanity and the environment. Money, power and culture - including science, 
information and technology - are all major factors which influence these 
relations. The public policies and individual practices our societies 
establish or allow at these three different levels reflect the value we 
attach to human beings, the meaning we give to human endeavour and the kind 
of world and civilization we want to create for ourselves, our children and 
future generations. Social development is a worldwide  - challenge which 
requires a decisive response from  every society at all three levels. In 
the end, it is all a  matter of ethics and responsibility, involving both  
governments and civil society, and where rights must  be balanced against 
obligations, in a spirit of justice,  mutual respect and solidarity.

 There can be no social development or sustained  economic growth without 
health. To put it in its  simplest terms, the healthy development of a 
child  will ensure that she or he is able to grow up, attend  school and 
acquire skills, find gainful employment,  achieve personal autonomy and 
live a self-fulfilling  and productive life within the family and 
community.

 The health of women and children is at the core of  WHO's programmes. WHO 
has launched a global  campaign to make sure that poliomyelitis can no  
longer kill or disable our children anywhere in the  world. WHO is also 
intensifying its efforts to help  countries reduce the suffering and death 
caused by  neonatal tetanus, measles, diarrhoea diseases and acute 
respiratory infections. WHO's family health  approach includes education on 
such matters as hygiene and nutrition, immunization, and reproductive 
health care services. Improving women's health is crucial for the well-
being of families and social development in general.  For millions of 
people, poverty remains the main obstacle to health development. In terms 
of health and in spite of global improvements, the gap is widening between 
the rich and the poor. Relative poverty alleviation and eradication of 
absolute poverty can be achieved only by access to proper food, water and 
shelter together with full access to and utilisation of safe, effective and 
quality health care. Equally important, poverty is often caused or 
perpetuated by ill-health.

 We have made considerable progress in the control of river-blindness in 
Africa, but diseases such as malaria continue to kill people and hinder 
human and agricultural development. Worldwide, environmental and 
occupational hazards, together with the growing incidence of 
noncommunicable, lifestylerelated diseases such as cancer, diabetes and 
cardiovascular diseases, induce serious disabilities. They affect the 
autonomy, potential and quality of life of the individuals concerned and 
place a heavy burden on national health infrastructure and social support 
systems, especially in the area of care of the elderly.  Infectious 
diseases still take a heavy toll in developing countries and are quick to 
flare up wherever economic, health and social infrastructures break down 
because of economic adjustment and accelerated political and economic 
transition or complex emergencies. Wherever they occur, infectious diseases 
represent a danger to all.  The mere threat of cholera, plague or 
diphtheria outbreaks is enough to disrupt national economic systems and 
international trade. The spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is both a human 
tragedy and a challenge to all our societies. It is laying irreplaceable 
human resources to waste, and calls into question the relevance and 
sustainability of national health care and support services while dimming 
future development prospects.

 On all these fronts, WHO is supporting research, pioneering new policy and 
development strategies and mobilizing resources to implement them. We are 
doing this in close cooperation with our Member States at all levels, from 
national government to local community-based organizations.  Today health 
is becoming a central political issue in all countries, as both a societal 
and an economic challenge. Health has emerged as a key public concern, and 
the health sector itself represents a major economic partner, stimulating 
both consumption and production, and contributing to employment.  
Governments have a prime responsibility to recognize and meet the demand 
and expectations of their citizens and especially to protect the poorest 
and the most vulnerable among their populations. Any society which neglects 
or rejects part of its own people does so at the risk of its own health, 
cohesion and political future. Even where the right to such necessities as 
health care, employment and social recognition may not be legally binding, 
they must be acknowledged and upheld by governments as a political and 
ethical obligation.  The aspiration to health and well-being is universal. 
At the same time, health care systems, solidarity networks and perceptions 
of health vary from culture to culture. We must learn to reconcile this 
unity and diversity. At global level, we must ensure unity of purpose and, 
within our Plan of Action for social development, agree on common goals, 
strategies and practical indicators to monitor progress .  Health is 
fundamental to the achievement of social development goals and provides 
common ground for political agreement. Strategies that integrate health in 
development must be at the core of our action to prevent poverty and 
unemployment and promote social cohesion. Health is a powerful tool for 
promoting social integration and solidarity at all levels. Health needs 
peace and security to develop, but it can also be an instrument for peace. 
It cuts across all fields of human endeavour and provides a unifying theme 
for international cooperation. A strong political commitment is necessary, 
which must then be translated into action.  The vision of "health for all" 
provides us with a generous and much needed ideal, which can be pursued 
with a strong sense of solidarity by local, national and international 
communities alike. It expresses humanity's aspiration to a form of justice 
which upholds every individual's claim to well-being and dignity.