Your Excellency Dr Ahmed Robleh, Minister of Health of Djibouti and Vice Chair of the 68th Regional Committee,
Honourable ministers and heads of delegation,
Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Bonjour à tous. Good afternoon to all of you.
When I addressed you virtually last year, I said that I hoped it would be possible to meet face-to-face this year.
So I'm delighted to be here with you today.
The fact that we are once again able to meet in person is testament to how far you have all come in the fight against COVID-19.
It's very pleasing to see that reported cases and deaths in the region are near their lowest since the pandemic began.
As I have said over the past few weeks, we have never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health emergency.
After two-and-a-half years in a long, dark tunnel, we are just beginning to glimpse the light at the end.
But we're not at the end yet - we're still in the tunnel, and there are many obstacles that can trip us up if we don't tread carefully.
Across the region, around one third of health workers and older people remain unvaccinated, with large inequities between Member States.
These vaccination gaps, combined with low surveillance, testing and sequencing, and lack of access to antivirals in some countries, puts the entire region at risk.
We continue to urge all Member States to prioritise the vaccination of all health workers, and all older people, on the way to achieving the target of 70% coverage in all countries.
WHO has recently published a set of six short policy briefs, which outline the essential actions all countries can take to reduce transmission and save lives.
We urge you to use these briefs to reassess and readjust your policies to protect those most at risk, treat those who need it, and save lives.
The pandemic is always evolving, and so must the response, in every country.
And even as we continue to respond to COVID-19, we must maintain momentum on building a stronger architecture for health emergencies.
As you know, Member States are now negotiating a new, legally binding international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
I urge Member States of this region to engage more actively in these negotiations. It is in your own interests to make sure that the final instrument reflects your circumstances and needs, as individual Member States and as a region.
This instrument is a vital part of the new health emergency architecture, but by no means the only part.
A new Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response has now been established at the World Bank, with WHO providing technical leadership.
We urge all Member States to invest in the fund to support catalytic and gap-filling financing to implement the core capacities of the International Health Regulations.
Meanwhile, a new peer-review mechanism to evaluate country preparedness is now being piloted, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review.
I thank Iraq for becoming the first EMRO Member State to pilot the UHPR this year, and I encourage other Member States to participate.
As one of the regions most affected by health emergencies of various kinds, you have the most to benefit from a stronger health security architecture.
COVID-19 is far from the only crisis we face.
In Pakistan, although the flood waters have stopped rising, the danger is only increasing.
More than 1,500 lives were lost in the floods, but many more could be lost to disease in the coming weeks, without a massive and urgent international response.
WHO's Executive Director for Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan, has just led a team to Pakistan to assess the needs.
Approximately 10% of all of Pakistan's health facilities have been damaged, leaving millions without access to health care.
Stocks of essential medicines and medical supplies are limited or have been washed away;
Damaged roads and bridges are impeding access to services and supplies;
And disease surveillance and referral mechanisms have been severely disrupted.
There are now outbreaks of malaria, cholera and dengue, an increase in skin infections, and we estimate that more than 2000 women are giving birth every day, most of them in unsafe conditions.
In August, WHO released 10 million US dollars from our Contingency Fund for Emergencies, but this massive and unprecedented disaster needs a massive and unprecedented response.
Last week we issued an appeal for 81.5 million US dollars to support WHO's response.
We urge all Member States to support the people of Pakistan in their hour of need.
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The floods in Pakistan are also making our work to eradicate polio more difficult.
Last year saw the fewest cases on record, with just six cases of wild poliovirus, including one in Pakistan, four in Afghanistan and one in Malawi.
Unfortunately, we have lost ground this year, with 20 cases in Pakistan, two in Afghanistan and 6 in Mozambique.
For circulating vaccine-derived polio, our principal concern in the region remains the lack of an agreement to conduct any vaccination campaign over a 12-month period in northern Yemen, where more than 200 children have now been paralyzed.
I call on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to solve this situation immediately.
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Meanwhile, In the Greater Horn of Africa, the worst drought in more than 40 years, combined with the impact of the Russian Federation's war in Ukraine on prices for food and fuel, is exacerbating food insecurity for millions of people.
Again, the Contingency Fund for Emergencies has released 16.5 million US dollars, but for our response in the seven worst affected countries requires 124 million US dollars for the next six months.
We urge you as a region to support these needs as a statement of regional solidarity.
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Even as we respond to the drought in the Horn of Africa and floods in Pakistan, we must all work to address the climate crisis, fuelled by the consumption of fossil fuels, that is making weather-related disasters more frequent and more extreme.
The COP27 meeting in Egypt this year will be an important opportunity for all countries to make concrete commitments to safeguard the health of our planet, on which all life depends.
Every Member State must play its part.
And engaging young people is crucial, because the future of our planet belongs to them.
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Excellencies,
I thank you all for putting your trust in me to serve you as Director-General for another five years.
At the World Health Assembly in May, I outlined five priorities for the next five years, as we work together to recover from the setbacks of the pandemic, and drive progress towards the "triple billion" targets and the Sustainable Development Goals:
First, promoting health, by addressing the root causes of disease and creating the conditions for good health and well-being;
Second, providing health, by reorienting health systems towards primary health care as the foundation of universal health coverage;
Third, protecting health, by strengthening the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, response and resilience;
Fourth, powering health, by harnessing science, research, innovation, data and digital technologies;
And fifth, performing for health, by building a stronger WHO that delivers results, and is empowered to play its leading role in global health.
It's important to underline that these five priorities do not replace the 13th General Programme of Work or the "triple billion" targets.
They are more about how together we will reach those targets.
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The five priorities have much synergy with your agenda this week.
I thank all Member States for the historic commitment you made at this year's World Health Assembly to gradually increase assessed contributions to 50% of the base budget over the next decade. This was a very historic decision; the first time there has been such a large increase since WHO was founded.
Maintaining momentum is vital, as the first step towards sustainability comes with the proposed 20% increase on assessed contributions in the 2024-25 budget.
As you know, even before the pandemic, we had already made major improvements in effectiveness and efficiency through the transformation journey that we have been on over the past five years.
Building on the lessons of the pandemic, we are committed to continuing that journey, and to making WHO even more effective and efficient.
In particular, our focus in the coming years is to significantly strengthen our country offices to support greater country capacity and greater country ownership - especially by strengthening the health workforce of every Member State.
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Excellencies,
Your agenda this week reflects the wide range of challenges you face as a region.
I give you my commitment that your WHO will continue to support you, through our country and regional offices, and at headquarters, to promote, provide, protect, power and perform for health.
But the one essential medicine for good health is one that WHO cannot deliver, and nor can any hospital, clinic or health worker.
It is peace.
In a region with so many conflicts, and so many people forced from their homes, you know this better than any of us.
We can only hope for a healthier, safer and fairer world in a more peaceful world.
And so I plead with all of you, in whatever way you can, to work for health for peace, and peace for health.
Peace, peace, peace.
I thank you. Merci beaucoup. Shukran jazeelan.
