The bets are high for this year's World Health Assembly, the UN Health Forum, where officials will address a radical agenda, the preparation of pandemic and health risks related to the climate for mental health, maternal care and environmental justice. But with the geopolitical tensions that work high, international collaboration on these and other vital issues will be tested.
These are some of the key areas that will dominate the discussion:
1. 'cautious optimism': sign in a pandemic agreement
COVID-19 pandemic showed that there are marked inequalities in access to diagnoses, treatments and vaccines, both inside and among countries. The medical care services were overwhelmed, the economies were seriously interrupted and almost seven million lives were lost.
This was the motivation for countries to join to work in an agreement to ensure that the world handles the next pandemic in a more just and efficient way. When delegates arrive in Geneva on Monday, May 19, they will overcome the text of the agreement, which Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), described as “vital for future generations.”
If the agreement is adopted, it will be a great advance in the way in which the world handles pandemics and health crisis. However, negotiations are still politically delicate: several nations, including the United States, have expressed concerns about national sovereignty and intellectual property rights. Even so, in recent weeks, Dr. Tedros has expressed “cautious optimism” that can be reached.
A woman with a mask, Malawi.
2. Climate change: an existential threat
The climatic crisis is not just about increasing temperatures, but is putting lives lives. Climate outbreaks and extreme diseases are increasing, threatening the health of millions. An action plan created by WHO requires that climatic and health policies work together, strengthen resilience and guarantee financing to safeguard vulnerable communities.
A draft of the plan was published after a resolution adopted at the 2024 conference and, this year, the delegates are expected to finish the draft, which includes strategies to adapt and mitigate the health risks related to the weather.
3. Health for all: recover universal medical care on the way
Ensure that all people have affordable access to the full range of quality health services they need is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), that all UN Member States signed in 2015. However, the health objective is far away: in fact, the improvements to health services have stagnated in the last ten years.
However, Universal Health Care (UHC) will be a priority in the Assembly, where delegates will discuss strategies to strengthen primary medical care systems, ensure sustainable financing and provide attention to vulnerable populations.
4. Healthy beginnings: maternal and newborn health
About 300,000 women lose their lives due to pregnancy or childbirth every year, while more than two million babies die in their first month of life in April, which launched a one -year campaign to end the preventable deaths of maternity and newborns.
Titled “Healthy, future hopeful beginnings”, will urge governments and the health community to increase efforts to end up preventable deaths of maternity and newborns, and to prioritize the health and well -being of women in the long term.
Wait for new objectives and renewed commitments to end up preventable deaths in the Assembly.
5. Close the holes: non -communicable diseases
Non -communicable diseases (ENT), such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, kill dozens of millions of people every year. Around three quarters of these deaths are in low and medium -sized countries.
Many lives could be saved if more countries had strong national responses, providing detection, detection and treatment, as well as palliative care.
In preparation for a WHO meeting on NCDS and Mental Health in September, delegates will review the way in which the UN Health Agency collaborates with governments, civil society and the private sector to prevent and control these diseases, and address ways to improve access to essential medicines and health technologies.
6. Present finance in order
This year it has been described as one of the most challenging in the UN, which is being beaten by extreme pressures on its finances. The United States, an important donor, announced that it would leave who in January and other countries have also reduced the development and financing of help.
This year's assembly will see the Member States that negotiate a 50 percent increase in the base budget, something that has been in process since the 2022 meeting. If a financing boost is approved, it will provide a vital impulse at a challenging time. Who also seeks additional voluntary contributions, and additional promises of Member States and philanthropic organizations are anticipated.
Follow the sessions at the World Health Assembly here.
