Executive Director Inger Andersen,
Director-General Monique Eloit,
Deputy-Director General Maria Helena Semedo,
Dear colleagues and friends,
On behalf of WHO, I extend my sincere gratitude to our sister and colleague, Inger, and to the United Nations Environment Programme for hosting this meeting.
I commend UNEP for its successful leadership of the Quadripartite over the past year, and for its commitment to One Health.
Last year, WHO had the privilege of hosting the first in-person Quadripartite Executive Annual Meeting.
Our four organizations reconfirmed our commitment with the signing of the Call to Action, for greater collaboration among countries and sectors to translate the One Health approach into policy action and impact.
We must frankly acknowledge that we have a lot of work ahead of us to translate the vision of One Health into reality.
I would like to outline four key priorities to drive our discussions over cross-sectoral collaboration in the coming days.
First, we need a relentless focus on implementing the One Health Joint Plan of Action in countries. We have already converged on this.
This is a cornerstone of our shared efforts, and must be the measure of our success.
The Plan of Action implementation guide is an important and practical tool for supporting countries to translate theory into action.
The two regional workshops have also helped to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity-building.
Second, implementing the Plan of Action in countries will require investment, so we must strengthen our collective efforts to mobilise the necessary resources.
Third, we must ensure science and evidence guide all One Health interventions.
The work of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel and other Quadripartite research initiatives will help in that regard.
We must also leverage the lessons learned from COVID-19 to support countries to better prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks.
That means a transformative change is needed in the global approach to our relationship with the environment and how we tackle disease emergence, spillovers and spread.
And fourth, we must maintain political engagement and advocacy for One Health, in a world where epidemics and pandemics are a constant threat.
We need sustained political will to ensure One Health principles are embedded in national and international policies.
In that regard, we are pleased that Brazil has endorsed the concept note for the high-level event on One Health to be held prior to the G20 Health Ministers meeting in October.
Implementation in countries; resource mobilisation; science and evidence; and political will. These are the four priorities that we must pursue together in the year ahead.
And the key word is “together.” None of us can affect the change that is needed alone. If we hope to see multisectoral collaboration between countries, we must practise what we preach.
Close coordination and collaboration between our four organizations must be the norm, leveraging our combined strength, while recognizing the unique expertise that each of us brings.
Finally, my congratulations to Monique and the World Organisation for Animal Health as it takes over chairing the Quadripartite for the coming year.
I am confident that under your leadership, and with the support of the other Quadripartite organizations, One Health will continue to gain momentum as we work together to build a healthier, more sustainable future for all.
I would like to assure you of our full support for your leadership.
As our sister Inger said, the leveraging of multilateral spaces is very important. We need a collective space to bring our Member States together.
I thank you.
