“Working Together Globally to Combat Diabetes” by the International Association of Lions Clubs

Dr. Grimaldi,
Dr. Aggrawal,
Mrs. Yngvadottir,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you today to the Palais des Nations. I would like to congratulate the Lions with their centennial anniversary and to thank the Lions Club International for organizing this gathering in Geneva.

Lions Clubs International, uniting Lions Clubs at the local and national levels, has a long tradition of supporting the most disadvantaged people everywhere in the world. The Lions Clubs’ mission and commitment to serve communities, address humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international cooperation, reflects very much the United Nations work for a better world. You are the world’s largest service club organization. With 1.4 million members – women and men - Lions Clubs engage actively and globally for a more peaceful, just and inclusive world. I congratulate you for your engagement in promoting environmental and health projects such as planting trees, recycling, combating diabetes, or the ‘SightFirst’ program that has helped restore or improve the eyesight of hundreds of millions of people. Your support to youth programmes to help children realize their potential, develop leadership skills, learn about cultures and promote peaceful societies through education is an important contribution to our collective efforts to shape a better future.

The long-standing partnership between Lions Clubs International and the United Nations has been vividly demonstrated in the video that you are going to see later. This partnership started in 1945 in San Francisco, where Lions Club International contributed to the development of the Charter of the United Nations. And it has continued throughout the 72 years of the United Nations history until today.

The United Nations, established in 1945 and reflecting very much the governance structures and realities of then, has to adjust its way of doing business to address today’s major challenges. This is why the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has embarked on a number of ambitious reforms of the United Nations organization in an effort to make it nimble, more effective, flexible, efficient and thus ensuring its relevance. For the Secretary-General, focusing on, and strengthening, prevention is the key to success. Some of the reform projects are well advanced, including the strategy to end sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as plans to achieve greater gender parity in the UN, protect whistle-blowers, and strengthen counter-terrorism structures. The reforms of the two crucial pillars - the UN peace and security architecture as well as the development system - to become much more field-focused, well-coordinated and accountable - is currently being discussed. To underpin these efforts, the Secretary-General is also pursuing an internal management reform to simplify procedures and decentralize decisions, with greater transparency, efficiency and accountability. As he stressed recently, the test of these reforms will be measured through tangible results in the lives of the people we serve and the trust of those who support our work. Strengthening existing, and promoting new, partnerships will be crucial for the success of the reforms that our Secretary-General has launched.

Our partnership with you is certainly to be highlighted in this context. Your efforts and commitment to assist the most disadvantaged demonstrate that we all have a role to play in making this planet healthier, fairer and more sustainable. Your gathering on the shores of Lake Geneva today bears symbolic significance, as your commitments also embody the spirit of Geneva, a city open to the world. Throughout the centuries, Geneva has been a hub of international trade, a safe haven for refugees, and the cradle of internationalism. This city witnessed the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863, the signatures of the Geneva Convention, the establishment of the League of Nations in 1919 and the creation of many international organizations. Its historic path has contributed to the creation of what we now call "international Geneva". International Geneva is unique. Nowhere in the world will you find such a variety of international actors – UN Member States, international organizations and agencies, civil society, the private sector, academic and research institutions – working together to address global challenges. Nowhere in the world will you find such a combination of knowledge, expertise and operational capacities for promoting the peace, rights and well-being of every single human being on this planet. This concentration of institutional know-how on issues such as health, human rights, telecommunications, development, trade and others creates a fertile ground for the elaboration of solutions to the major global challenges of our century. Part of the synergies between all these actors, including your Lions Clubs, explains the continued attractiveness of this city for the UN and its partners.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me briefly focus on the topic of today’s event, namely the importance of working together globally to combat diabetes.

Of the 56.4 million deaths worldwide in 2015, less than a million people were killed in armed conflict or homicide, while diabetes claimed an estimated 1.6 million deaths. Sugar is deadlier than guns.

The number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million persons. The World Health Organization’s projections show that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030. As confirmed by the WHO in its 2016 report, diabetes is on the rise everywhere, most markedly in the world’s middle-income countries. In many settings, the lack of effective policies combined with the lack of access to quality health care means that the prevention and treatment of diabetes remains a challenge, particularly for people with modest or low income.

As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders have set an ambitious target to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases – including diabetes – by one third by 2030. In its progress report this year, the UN Secretary-General noted that the world is currently falling short of the rate required to meet this 2030 target. This means that stronger responses are needed not only from different sectors of government and international organizations, but also from civil society, people with diabetes themselves, and also from producers of food, medicines and medical technologies. To reach the Sustainable Development Goalss by 2030, we need to move beyond traditional actors to also mobilize the private sector, regional and local governments, as well as individuals. That is why the choice of the Lions Clubs to steer its new global service focus towards combating diabetes is really timely and pertinent. Supporting community projects to encourage people to make healthy choices, promoting awareness raising, prevention, detection, control, and research are all necessary actions to combat this disease. The partnership between Lions and WHO as well as other actors is crucial for making progress in this area.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is our common responsibility to act for future generations. At the United Nations we know that we can count on you in this endeavour. I congratulate the Lions Club International with the organization of this event and wish you success in your important work.

I wish you a fruitful discussion.

Thank you very much.