WHO Director-General hopes for historic agreement on approach

On May 21, the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) opened in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on "saving lives and improving health for all".

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that 2023 is the 75th anniversary year of the organization, and the 76th WHA will determine the immediate and long-term future of WHO, starting with the draft budget for the next two years, important decisions on sustainable financing and changes to improve WHO's processes and accountability.

During the 10-day meeting, delegates will discuss WHO’s vital role in the global health emergency system. The meeting will also review WHO’s achievements and challenges over the past year, and future priorities based on its key pillars: Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Emergencies, and Promoting Health and Well-Being.

In a video address to the opening of the session, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that "achieving the best health for all people everywhere requires cooperation". Mr. Guterres said that since the WHO was founded 75 years ago, human health has improved significantly, adding that global life expectancy has increased by 50%, infant mortality has decreased by 60% and smallpox has been eradicated. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that has stalled and even reversed progress in the field of public health, threatening to erode the great achievements of the past decades and set back the Sustainable Development Goals, Mr. Guterres called on the world to "continue to work together and support WHO to achieve the highest standard of health for all".

In his opening speech at the 76th WHA, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled the important achievements the organization has made over the past 75 years. He stressed that the WHO faces complex challenges as the world's expectations of the organization have increased significantly.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that WHO member states have begun negotiations on an international agreement to ensure the world is better equipped to prevent or respond more effectively in the event of another pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it must be a "historic agreement" that would mark a dramatic change in the approach to global health security after the Covid-19 crisis. He said the negotiation process for the agreement is still in its early stages but the goal is to achieve results by the time of the next WHA meeting in May next year. This was also the message of a series of other high-level speakers on the same day.

News and photos: VNA

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