Dear friends from the Rotary Club,
I am pleased to greet the Rotary International Assembly, and I thank you for your support for the United Nations and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rotary has been an important partner since our Organization’s founding in 1945.
You were among a select group of NGOs invited to participate in the negotiation and signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco.
Since then, you have worked alongside us to build a more equal and peaceful world.
Rotary’s commitment to the global community, especially in the health sector, is even more necessary in these challenging times.
Your humanitarian work around the world, particularly your efforts to eradicate polio, is an inspiration.
You have shown that when we unite forces it is possible to make a difference.
With your global reach, we now count on you to help the world overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our best prevention tool in the face of such global challenges is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
But today, we are far off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Progress had been made in some areas, such as improving maternal and child health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women’s representation in government.
Yet these advances were offset elsewhere by growing food insecurity, deterioration of the natural environment, acceleration of climate change, and persistent and pervasive inequalities.
And the past 18 months have wiped out five years of SDG progress, exacerbating existing disparities, and plunging millions into extreme poverty.
That is why we have launched the Decade of Action as a call for everyone – civil society partners such as Rotary, business leaders, governments and youth – to drive transformational change and build more inclusive and sustainable communities.
I know Rotarians will continue to support this global effort to improve the lives of the most vulnerable.
I wish you the very best for your Assembly.
Thank you.