Honourable State Secretary of the Ministry of Health of Mongolia, Dr Dagvadorj Ochirbat
Adviser to the Minister, Dr Luvsansambuu Tumurbaatar
Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Ladies and gentlemen
We are very honored by your presence today.
The theme of this year’s World Health Day is Healthy Beginnings and Hopeful Futures to celebrate the hope that every newborn brings and the nurturing care of women and mothers that shapes the future of our families and communities.
Today, we call on governments and the health community to raise efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.
Mongolia has made tremendous gains in maternal and child health. Maternal mortality decreased six-fold, and neonatal mortality declined by two-fold between 2000 and 2015. But neonatal mortality still accounts for more than 60% of all infant deaths.
Globally, we still face the tragic reality that around 260 000 women lose their life due to pregnancy or childbirth each year, while over 2 million babies die in their first month of life and around 2 million more are stillborn. That’s roughly 1 preventable death in every 7 seconds.
Providing the right conditions for mothers and children is a shared responsibility among us all. WHO commends the Minister, Dr Togtmol Munksaikhan for his vision of the National Initiative for Newborn Health, and his relentless efforts to anchor this programme within the context of broader system-wide reforms; strong primary health care; universal coverage for financing and efforts to make competent and well-trained health workforce available throughout the country.
We are very much encouraged by the strong commitment of the government to protect every mother and child. In all the provinces we have visited, the local health system takes care of every pregnant woman, especially those who are geographically isolated, bringing them to the health facilities around two weeks before their expected date of delivery, to ensure safety for both the mother and child during birth.
The initiative of the Minister takes a comprehensive approach that includes a range of services including newborn screening and provision of essential technologies and human resources to ensure good outcomes for every newborn.
The theme of this year’s World Health Day - Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures - is also a resounding and inspiring assurance for WHO and for global health as we face challenging times. This year, we celebrate the World Health Day at the backdrop of continuing health threats and human suffering, as it is with the recent withdrawal of support for global health and life saving initiatives that have sustained health gains for many decades. Undoubtedly, the recent events impact the capability of WHO and for so many others to fight disease and save lives in the frontlines.
But health will continue to stand on the strength of our solidarity. More than ever, WHO will work harder and closer to reach the people we serve. Along with the Member States, partners, and all of you present here today, we will continue to ensure that health will not be undermined and that our collective voice for health for all will remain as certain as every new life is brought into this world every day. WHO with your support and trust will remain steadfast, to promote, protect and provide for health in every place around the world. We will continue to be with you in the trenches, to fight disease and human suffering.
We will continue to advocate for health in every table where decisions are made. We will not lose the discourse for health, multilateralism, and humanitarianism. Our voices for health for all will loudly resonate from the frontlines to the halls of power in every corner of the world, more than ever.
We have been very much humbled and encouraged by the support of the government of Mongolia, and our international development partners, and our UN family. We thank you for your continued trust and collaboration and for the kind assurances that you send us through every day.
For every child born into this world, for every mother who nurtures her child and for every country that aspires for health for all, WHO will be here to work with the government of Mongolia and with all of you, hopeful of the future, dedicated to improving health and serving humanity.