Statement by H.E. Mrs. Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s, President of the 73rd<\/sup> Session of the UN General Assembly<\/h3>\nDelivered by Kwabena Osei-Danquah, Chef de Cabinet<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n4 April 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2019\/04\/Capturecdc-300x146.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Mr Werner Obermeyer, Executive Director Ad Interim of the World Health Organization Office at the UN,<\/p>\nYour Excellency, Ms Inga Rhonda King, President of the Economic and Social Council,<\/p>\n
Your Excellency, Mr Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN,<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n
I am delighted to deliver remarks this evening on behalf of Her Excellency, Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s, President of the 73rd<\/sup> session of the General Assembly.<\/p>\nDear friends,<\/p>\n
I am very sorry that my travel schedule did not permit me to join you for this important event on universal health coverage for everyone, everywhere. I congratulate the WHO for choosing this theme for World Health Day 2019, and I thank the Government of Kazakhstan for its leadership on primary health care.<\/p>\n
The WHO has spearheaded some of the UN\u2019s biggest achievements, from eradicating smallpox to reducing dramatically the number of new HIV infections in the first decade of this century. The Millennium Development Goals on malaria and TB were among the most successful.<\/p>\n
But alongside these targeted campaigns \u2013 indeed, because of them \u2013 we have seen a growing push to strengthen primary care services and health systems, culminating in the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, in which we resolved to achieve universal health coverage by that year.<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
I\u2019m afraid we have a mountain to climb. [As we have heard] at least half the world\u2019s population still has no access to essential health services. Health expenses push over 100 million people a year into extreme poverty. Many are forced to make impossible choices: food or medicine? Education or treatment?<\/p>\n
This is wholly unacceptable and profoundly sad. It runs counter to our commitment to leave no one behind. It is also economically unsustainable. The macro-level impact of poor health services is enormous \u2013 estimated at trillions of dollars every year in lost productivity, long-term impairment and short-term expenditure. Malaria alone is thought to cost African countries around $12 billion a year.<\/p>\n
As the saying goes, health really is wealth. It is also security \u2013 by which I mean human security as well as security in more traditional terms. Health services can reduce levels of mortality during war. They can contribute to post-conflict reconciliation and peacebuilding processes.<\/p>\n
They can reduce the risks \u2013 actual and perceived \u2013 of human mobility. They can soften the impact of epidemics, minimising the risk of instability. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 demonstrated the importance of robust and inclusive primary health care.<\/p>\n
Dear friends,<\/p>\n
If we look at the full impact \u2013 and cost \u2013 of poor health services, the case for prioritising universal health coverage is clear. This September, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting aimed at accelerating progress on coverage, including financial risk protection, access to essential services and access to safe, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines. To prepare for this meeting, I will convene an interactive multi-stakeholder hearing on 29 April in the General Assembly Hall, in partnership with the WHO and UHC2030.<\/p>\n
I very much hope you will participate and exchange views with Member States but also parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, academia, youth and professional associations.<\/p>\n
Now, I understand there is cake, and I don\u2019t want to keep you from eating it! So thank you very much. And see you on 29 April.<\/p>\n
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REMARKS BY\u202fTHE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,\u202f\u202fMARI\u0301A FERNANDA ESPINOSA GARC\u00c9S\u202f- World Health Day 2019 – Universal Health Coverage: everyone, everywhere
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World Health Day 2019 - General Assembly of the United Nations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Health Day 2019 - General Assembly of the United Nations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"REMARKS BY\u202fTHE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,\u202f\u202fMARI\u0301A FERNANDA ESPINOSA GARC\u00c9S\u202f- World Health Day 2019 - Universal Health Coverage: everyone, everywhere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"General Assembly of the United Nations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-04T17:32:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-26T15:48:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2019\/04\/Capturecdc.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"905\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"441\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Denise Kling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Denise Kling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Denise Kling\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/#\/schema\/person\/af470bea9354ed1b453ade6d22b5c9ee\"},\"headline\":\"World Health Day 2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-04T17:32:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-26T15:48:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/\"},\"wordCount\":623,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2019\/04\/Capturecdc.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Speeches\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/04\/world-health-day-2019\/\",\"name\":\"World Health Day 2019 - 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4 April 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Mr Werner Obermeyer, Executive Director Ad Interim of the World Health Organization Office at the UN,<\/p>\n Your Excellency, Ms Inga Rhonda King, President of the Economic and Social Council,<\/p>\n Your Excellency, Mr Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN,<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n I am delighted to deliver remarks this evening on behalf of Her Excellency, Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s, President of the 73rd<\/sup> session of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n I am very sorry that my travel schedule did not permit me to join you for this important event on universal health coverage for everyone, everywhere. I congratulate the WHO for choosing this theme for World Health Day 2019, and I thank the Government of Kazakhstan for its leadership on primary health care.<\/p>\n The WHO has spearheaded some of the UN\u2019s biggest achievements, from eradicating smallpox to reducing dramatically the number of new HIV infections in the first decade of this century. The Millennium Development Goals on malaria and TB were among the most successful.<\/p>\n But alongside these targeted campaigns \u2013 indeed, because of them \u2013 we have seen a growing push to strengthen primary care services and health systems, culminating in the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, in which we resolved to achieve universal health coverage by that year.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n I\u2019m afraid we have a mountain to climb. [As we have heard] at least half the world\u2019s population still has no access to essential health services. Health expenses push over 100 million people a year into extreme poverty. Many are forced to make impossible choices: food or medicine? Education or treatment?<\/p>\n This is wholly unacceptable and profoundly sad. It runs counter to our commitment to leave no one behind. It is also economically unsustainable. The macro-level impact of poor health services is enormous \u2013 estimated at trillions of dollars every year in lost productivity, long-term impairment and short-term expenditure. Malaria alone is thought to cost African countries around $12 billion a year.<\/p>\n As the saying goes, health really is wealth. It is also security \u2013 by which I mean human security as well as security in more traditional terms. Health services can reduce levels of mortality during war. They can contribute to post-conflict reconciliation and peacebuilding processes.<\/p>\n They can reduce the risks \u2013 actual and perceived \u2013 of human mobility. They can soften the impact of epidemics, minimising the risk of instability. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 demonstrated the importance of robust and inclusive primary health care.<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n If we look at the full impact \u2013 and cost \u2013 of poor health services, the case for prioritising universal health coverage is clear. This September, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting aimed at accelerating progress on coverage, including financial risk protection, access to essential services and access to safe, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines. To prepare for this meeting, I will convene an interactive multi-stakeholder hearing on 29 April in the General Assembly Hall, in partnership with the WHO and UHC2030.<\/p>\n I very much hope you will participate and exchange views with Member States but also parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, academia, youth and professional associations.<\/p>\n Now, I understand there is cake, and I don\u2019t want to keep you from eating it! So thank you very much. And see you on 29 April.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" REMARKS BY\u202fTHE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,\u202f\u202fMARI\u0301A FERNANDA ESPINOSA GARC\u00c9S\u202f- World Health Day 2019 – Universal Health Coverage: everyone, everywhere [et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\"][et_pb_row][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speeches","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/p>\n
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