Opening of the 69th World Health Assembly, plenary session: “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”

Ms. Vice-President,
Monsieur le Conseiller fédéral,
Director-General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates:

It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you to International Geneva and to the Palais des Nations for the 69th World Health Assembly. Geneva is the city of choice for this august Assembly, one of the biggest and most important gatherings of the international health community mandated to find solutions for the most pressing health issues. More than a place, Geneva has throughout the last 150 years developed a unique ecosystem addressing different global challenges.

As such, Geneva is the operational hub of the international system which is central to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This new agenda, adopted at the United Nations General Assembly last September, is more cross-cutting, comprehensive and universal than anything attempted in the past. It cuts across the three pillars of the United Nations agenda – peace and security, human rights and development – and integrates economic, environmental and social development agendas. For a successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the interconnectedness of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including health issues and policies, is central. This will require a completely new way of doing business for all of us, including health actors, such as WHO.

The recent Ebola crisis underlined the strong interdependence of the challenges our societies are faced with. An initial health crisis turned into a transnational security, agricultural, food, economic and financial challenge. It was clear early on, that the solution to the Ebola crisis could not only be limited to improving the health sector alone. The Ebola crisis also underscored the importance of strong cooperation between the United Nations in New York, the health cluster in Geneva, including WHO, other specialized international organizations, regional organizations, national and local entities.

Adjusting the governance of an organization to the changing environment is indispensable. WHO has made some important progress within the frame of the reform efforts over the past years. These achievements have to be completed with the last mile of the reform process, to make the organization more robust and fit for the future. Ultimately, the governance reform also has to address the trust deficit and the need for stronger accountability at the international, regional and local levels. The High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises, appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last year, and many other actors have drawn important lessons from the Ebola crisis. New crises require us to apply those lessons right away – otherwise we risk facing the same shortcomings when the next crisis breaks out.

Ladies and gentlemen, last year was a milestone year in adopting major historical international agreements such as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for Financing for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Together they represent the collective roadmap for humanity.

The implementation of this collective roadmap will be challenging, but not impossible.

Health as a cross-cutting issue is pivotal for achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the other policy frameworks adopted last year. Your decisions, distinguished Ministers and delegates, will hence be of crucial importance beyond just the health sector.

I wish you constructive discussions and much success in your deliberations.

Thank you very much.