Good morning and welcome dear Excellencies, Ministers of Health and Education, Regional Directors and UN colleagues.
I thank you for joining me today to accelerate much-needed progress on two important and interlinked objectives, both significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic:
First, health and well-being for all at all ages – Sustainable Development Goal 3.
And second, access for all to inclusive, equitable and quality education – Sustainable Development Goal 4.
In the South-East Asia Region and across the world, prolonged school closures have led to enormous and unsustainable education loss.
Such loss could have serious long-term impacts on the economic potential of young people, especially those from poor and marginalized backgrounds.
Prolonged school closures have significantly impacted the health and well-being of young people, including from lack of access to school meals, social isolation and increased screen exposure.
Need it be said: Young people are our future.
The South-East Asia Region is home to more than 360 million adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years.
In South Asia, a massive 36% of the population – some 627 million people – is under the age of 18.
Young people must be at the heart of Region-wide efforts to “build back better” and accelerate action to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases – one of the Region’s eight Flagship priorities.
In 2021, WHO, UNESCO and other partners issued global standards and implementation guidelines on how to create health promoting schools, highlighting a series of evidence-based tools that can be implemented at very little cost.
Last month, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia held its annual Regional Committee meeting, at which Member States unanimously adopted a resolution on revitalizing school health programmes and health promoting schools.
Today, in support of that resolution, UN agencies – including WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA and WFP – will issue a joint statement on strengthening school health programmes and making every school a health promoting school.
We have before us a historic opportunity:
First, to generate high-level political commitment across sectors to make every school a health promoting school, enhancing the health and well-being of students, staff and surrounding communities.
Second, to help policy makers and administrators in all countries of the Region sustain and scale up existing school health programmes.
And third, to ensure policy makers and administrators are provided maximum multilateral support to implement health promoting school standards, leveraging the full power of the UN system and its specialized agencies.
I thank Excellencies for their leadership, reflected in their soon-to-be-issued “Call to Action”.
I thank partners for their ongoing collaboration and commitment, captured in their forthcoming joint statement, finalized at yesterday’s Regional Directors’ Summit.
Together, let us make the most of this opportunity – because this generation must be the first of many generations to experience health and well-being for all at all ages, and access for all to inclusive, equitable, quality education.
I wish you productive deliberations and look forward to the outcome.
Thank you.