Honourable Minister Delegate Thani Mohamed-Soilihi,
Honourable Ministers, Heads of Delegation,
Distinguished participants, dear colleagues and friends,
Bonjour à toutes et à tous,
I would like to start by sharing with you the heartbreaking scenes form Myanmar and Thailand. I hope you have seen that – the devastating earthquake. My thoughts are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. We stand ready to support as WHO. I would like to ask for a minute of silence.
I thank President Macron and the Government of France for their commitment and leadership in hosting this summit, and for all of the partners attending, as a demonstration of their solidarity.
We live in a world of plenty – for some. And we are the some.
No one in this room went to bed hungry last night, and none of us will go to bed hungry tonight.
And yet for millions of people in our world – today, right now – that is their daily reality.
They are not making plans for their careers, their holidays or their retirement. Their only horizon is today, and their only plan is for how they will feed their families and themselves today.
Last night President Macron spoke eloquently about the health-nutrition nexus.
Nutrition is the foundation of health, and therefore of thriving individuals, families, communities, societies and economies.
As has been said many times during this summit, the World Bank estimates that every dollar spent on early childhood nutrition generates a $23 return.
By contrast, where there is malnutrition of any form, disease follows close behind.
Undernutrition is an underlying factor in almost half of all deaths in children under 5 years of age – from malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and other diseases.
The other side of the coin is obesity. Even in prosperous nations, accessing healthy, affordable food is a struggle for many.
Over one billion adults are now living with obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes or hypertension.
The long-term costs of ill health due to unhealthy and insufficient diets to economies and productivity is trillions of U.S. dollars every year.
That’s why one of WHO’s top priorities is promoting health and preventing disease by addressing its roots causes in the air people breathe, the food they eat, the water they drink, and the conditions in which they live and work.
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In the face of these challenges, how do we support vulnerable communities and make progress against the preventable scourge of malnutrition?
Let me suggest three ways – again, which have been said, but I’m really glad that we’re all on the same page.
First, we need to re-energize.
Just a few days ago, the UN General Assembly extended the Decade of Action on Nutrition by five years, to 2030, with 139 countries co-sponsoring the resolution.
WHO’s Member States have also prepared a resolution for this year’s World Health Assembly, extending the global nutrition targets to 2030.
Second, we need to re-assess. Given the cutbacks to official development assistance, it is essential that we rethink our work and our goals.
That means realigning what we do, doing it more efficiently, and focusing on what works and what has the highest impact.
Third, we need to re-finance.
I thank all donors who have pledged more than US$27 billion for nutrition at this summit. Well done.
This funding is a lifeline – quite literally – for many.
At the same time, the constraints on official development assistance we face globally mean all countries, to the extent they can, must increase domestic investment in nutrition and food systems that prioritise health.
Re-energize. Reassess. Re-finance.
My thanks once again to President Macron, and to all of you for your your steadfast commitment and partnership at this critical time.
WHO is committed to working with countries to strengthen nutrition services, provide technical support, and help to transform food systems to make them what they should be – a source of health for all.
I just wanted to use this opportunity also to express solidarity with my sister Sania Nishtar and Gavi. The replenishment will be in June. I thank the European Union and the Gates Foundation for agreeing to host the replenishment. She has invited all of us to be ambassadors. I would like to repeat that ask and I would like to ask you to be ambassadors for the full replenishment of Gavi. You know what Gavi means for the survival of children.
Thank you so much again for this opportunity. I have witnessed a great partnership of governments, civil society, the private sector and academia, and that’s the way forward. The rule of the game is together.
Thank you very much.