– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
23 September 2019
Heads of State and Government
Secretary-General
Director-General, World Health Organization
President, World Bank Group
High-level champion of UHC
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates
I am delighted to welcome you to this morning’s High-Level event on Universal Health Coverage and look forward to hearing your thoughts on this critical subject.
Access to quality health services must be a universal right and not a privilege. That investment in health will deliver significant economic benefits to individuals and societies is well known and we must do our utmost best to ensure that nations around the world can benefit from each other in medical training, provision of medical infrastructures, among others, if we are to achieve our agreed to SDGs.
The objective of the Universal Health Coverage is to strengthen our health systems, beginning with primary health care. We must continue to work to guarantee healthier lives for everyone, by ensuring that people have access to, among others, affordable preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services. We must thus continue to focus on disease prevention and accessibility and availability of diagnosis, medicines and vaccines.
While each nation has its own unique priorities and needs, these needs are better met with strong international co-operation. Co-operation, like the one led by the World Health Organization and its partners, has delivered outstanding results. Governments around the world need also encourage local organizations that are working to bring healthcare benefits to the populace. In doing that, it is important that focus is on quality and financing of healthcare to ensure that the services delivered lead to healthier societies. This is essential to bolstering the economy, particularly through the healthier human capital it guarantees.
Excellencies,
distinguished delegates,
Member states must continue to support each other to attain quality health services, including access to integrated, efficient, safe and people-centered care. Without doubt, the eradication of smallpox remains one of mankind’s greatest triumphs. The campaign to immunize children in developing nations against the dreaded diseases of childhood – notably diphtheria, whooping cough and poliomyelitis – has been an outstanding achievement. Perhaps the biggest impact has been the influence on public health medicine, particularly the emphasis on community solutions, which affords greater flexibility than, but supports, hospital-based healthcare. This has led to a revolution in the design of health services world-wide.
There is no doubt that new challenges have emerged that complicate those that already exist. There are demographic shifts – the aging population accompanied by a massive rise in the number of infants presents fresh tests that we must attend to. In addition, social and environmental factors such as water quality, pollution, poor housing and provision of medicines have profound effects on lives and must be addressed.
The effect of Climate change and its implications for health provision are massive and must get deserved attention. Increasing resistance to antibiotics and the emergence of so-called super-bugs are also deeply concerning. Indeed, there is a growing view that the aforementioned may ultimately present an even greater threat to humanity. The urgency of action, therefore is paramount and we should not fail to do what is right.
Genuine Universal Health Care can only be properly realized if we continue to cooperate and do the needful. This includes achieving improvements in infrastructure, including transport infrastructure, to allow people reach medical centers with relative ease. The opportunities granted by advances in technology as well as the information revolution must also be fully utilized in both health education and health provisioning.
The old medical adage prevention is better than cure holds true today, perhaps even more so. We must, therefore, continue to invest in research to better equip us in preventing diseases, among other benefits.
In conclusion,
The objective of the Universal Health Coverage is to strengthen our health systems, beginning with primary health care. We must continue to work to guarantee healthier lives for everyone, by ensuring that people have access to, among others, affordable preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
the challenges we face are profound and must not be underestimated, but I am confident that if we continue and strengthen international co-operation and seize the opportunities already available while creating even more opportunities, we can overcome them – TOGETHER.
I thank you
