1.3
DECISIVE YEAR FOR GLOBAL HEALTH
By Amina J Mohammed, deputy secretary-general, United Nations
E veryone has a right to health and medical care – a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the World Health Organization. Yet hundreds of millions of people, in rich countries as well as poor, do not have access to the care they need. This jeopardises their health, undermines their rights and deepens inequalities. And it makes it more difficult to meet the with costly, fragmented and poorly integrated care systems that fail to uphold their health and well-being. Such fragmentation can be fatal, leading to complications, duplications, and delayed or discontinued care. Even where health care is accessible, access can be fragile, as the Covid-19 pandemic illustrated. More than 90% of countries reported that the pandemic disrupted essential health services. Some 25 million children under the age of five missed out on routine immunisation. Each of us needs timely, affordable access to comprehensive, quality health care, staffed by people we trust. Accessibility of health care is vital to ensuring no one is left behind. That means integrating health care into other services and sectors, supported by systems and environments that promote health and well-being. Tuberculosis, diabetes and many other conditions are preventable through societal and environmental changes – improved hygiene, nutrition and air quality, for example. We need to recognise that we are not islands; our health is intertwined Sustainable Development Goals. Far too often, people are faced with the well-being of our planet and our societies. We need to create health systems that invest in managing disease as well as in promoting good physical, mental and social well-being, prioritising interventions that address major risk factors. We also need to redesign infrastructure and systems to promote health and social cohesion, ensuring they support everyone equally and respect our environment. Think of a mother, a nomad, in the deserts of the Sahel, who awakes in the night, alarmed by her baby’s high temperature. She needs good roads so
Health at the heart of sustainable development Millions of people around the world are being denied their human right to health and medical care. Only by placing universal health coverage at the core of sustainable development efforts can we truly ensure the health and well-being of all people – for our shared prosperity and for the planet that sustains us
10
Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online