Teresa Soop of SIDA and chair of the Policy Coordination Committee,
Pascale Allotey, Director of the WHO Sexual and reproductive health department,
Dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, it's an honour to join you for this important occasion.
I last addressed you in 2017, as Director-General elect.
How the world has changed since then.
In the past six years, it feels like we have endured a never-ending sequence of emergencies:
Outbreaks; conflicts new and old; natural disasters; political and economic crisis; the ever-worsening effects of climate change; and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic - the most severe health crisis in a century.
More people than ever are in need of humanitarian assistance due to protracted conflicts or the climate crisis.
Research by the Human Reproduction Programme shows the impact of crises on access to services for sexual and reproductive health.
Women who are displaced, refugees, and those living in humanitarian, fragile and conflict-affected areas often cannot access the vital sexual and reproductive health services that can prevent death, disease, and disability.
Gender-based violence often increases during emergencies, including sexual violence as a tactic of war, leading to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections, and lasting repercussions for women's mental health.
In addition, we see deepening income inequalities both within and between countries, increasing political polarization, and trust in science and in governments are badly frayed.
The challenges we face increasingly call for cross-border solutions, but instead, narrow nationalism and internal divides are growing.
Lack of political will and action, insufficient funding and restrictive laws and policies, combined with harmful gender norms and health system constraints, are all impeding progress.
Today I would like to highlight three key areas of focus for all of us in the coming years.
The first is protecting and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian emergencies.
As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is significant focus on strengthening the global architecture for health emergency preparedness and response.
As you know, Member States are now negotiating a new pandemic accord and amendments to the International Health Regulations.
In addition, a new pandemic fund has been established, and many other new initiatives are underway to strengthen the governance, financing, workforce, supply chains and other systems and tools needed to make the world safer.
It is essential that sexual and reproductive health and rights is including in all of these discussions.
In addition, WHO remains resolutely focused on ensuring that we do everything we can to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in health emergency settings, where there is often increased risk.
WHO's Global Health for Peace Initiative is also working to build social cohesion and better address the underlying drivers of health needs in fragile settings.
Second, we must continue to support all countries to expand access to services for sexual and reproductive health, especially at the primary health care level, as part of their journey towards universal health coverage.
Crucially, that means shifting the burden of financing away from individuals, especially women and girls, towards increased domestic public funding.
We must work to support countries to see investing in family planning not as a cost, but an investment.
Fully meeting the contraceptive, maternal, and newborn healthcare needs of all women in low- and middle-income countries would cost an estimated 9 US dollars per person annually, and would result in 67 million fewer unintended pregnancies, 2.2 million few newborn deaths, and 224,000 fewer maternal deaths.
And for every one US dollar invested in meeting the unmet need for contraceptives, there is a return of 120 US dollars over the long term.
Third, we must address the institutional, legal, economic and social barriers that prevent people from accessing essential sexual and reproductive health services.
That means an increased focus on supporting accountable and inclusive governance for sexual and reproductive health.
WHO has several ongoing initiatives to expand our work with policy-makers and civil society on sexual and reproductive health issues.
This includes our work with the WHO Youth Council, which represents 22 diverse youth organizations, and our work with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliamentary Forum.
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Last month, I met with a large cross-section of civil society organizations in a dialogue on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and we are currently in the process of establishing a WHO Civil Society Commission.
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Dear colleagues and friends,
For 50 years, the Human Reproduction Programme has played an invaluable role in promoting and protecting access to services for sexual and reproductive health.
Its role is now more important than ever, in providing the evidence base to address the three areas I have outlined, and much more.
Thank you all for your continued commitment to this vital work.
I wish a very happy 50th birthday to the Human Reproduction Programme.
WHO is proud of what we have achieved together in the past 50 years, and we remain steadfastly committed to working with you in the years ahead.
I thank you.
