WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 76th Session of the Regional Committee of WHO for the Americas – 30 September 2024

Honourable Minister Fernando Boyd Galindo,

Regional Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa,

Honourable Ministers and heads of delegation,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

Buenos días. Bonjour. Bom dia. Good morning.

I apologise that I cannot be with you in person this morning.

Let me begin by expressing deep condolences to the United States of America and the families of those who lost loved ones to Hurricane Helene last week.

This follows the loss of life and destruction that Hurricane Beryl caused to many Member States in July, and Hurricane Lidia last year, as well as wildfires in Canada, Chile and the United States, floods in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Brazil, and drought in Suriname.

As Dr Barbosa notes in his report, the Americas is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, with more frequent and extreme weather events, and economies dependent on agriculture and tourism, especially small island states.

These disasters are a double whammy for health - they damage health infrastructure at the same time as putting a huge burden on health systems.

They're another reminder that the climate crisis is a health crisis.

So I'm pleased to note that at this year's Regional Committee you will consider a policy for strengthening equity-oriented health sector action on climate change and health.

As you know, climate change is also driving the spread of infectious diseases, including avian influenza, cholera, dengue, yellow fever, Oropouche and more.

This compounds other emergencies, such as the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, which has been overshadowed by the many other crises in our world, and is not getting the attention it deserves.

But WHO and PAHO have not forgotten Haiti, and we will continue to work with our partners and the government to support the health system and the people it serves.

But what the people of Haiti need most of all - like the people of Gaza, Israel Lebanon and Sudan - is peace and stability.

Detecting and responding to health emergencies depends on strong early warning systems, which is also on your agenda this week.

This is one of the key lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why we established the WHO Hub for Epidemic and Pandemic Intelligence in Berlin.

Although based in Europe, the Hub is a global centre, and we urge all Member States of the Americas to work closely with the Hub to strengthen your own national and regional health security, and to contribute to global preparedness and response.

As you know, Member States made significant steps towards strengthening health emergency preparedness, prevention and response at this year's World Health Assembly.

The adoption of a set of amendments to the International Health Regulations, and the agreement to conclude negotiations of the WHO Pandemic Agreement before next year's Assembly, or sooner, are major achievements.

Although Member States have made progress on the Pandemic Agreement, some of the most crucial issues remain unresolved.

I urge all Member States to continue listening to each other - within the region and beyond - to continue to seek common ground, and to conclude a strong agreement by the end of this year if possible. It is in your shared interest to do so.

Two key features of the Pandemic Agreement are equitable access to medical countermeasures, and the importance of a One Health approach - the same features that are also central to one of the other most pressing health threats of our time: the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

As Dr Barbosa notes in his report, AMR has been a focus for the region for more than two decades.

At the High-Level Meeting on AMR at the UN General Assembly last week, world leaders approved a strong political declaration with concrete targets and commitments.

I would particularly like to thank Her Excellency Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados for her leadership of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial resistance, and Ambassador Francois Jackman of Barbados for co-leading negotiations on the declaration with his counterpart from Malta.

The declaration includes strong commitments to slow the spread of AMR, to reduce the deaths it causes, and to spur the development of new antimicrobial medicines.

I urge all Member States to take immediate action on those commitments.

Addressing AMR is vital for addressing the threat of sepsis, and I welcome the strategy and plan of action on sepsis that you will consider this week.

I also welcome the other items on your agenda this week, on integrated emergency, critical and operative care; strengthening essential public health functions, health information systems, long-term care, tobacco control and more.

All of these priorities are well aligned with those of the 14^th General Programme of Work, which all WHO Member States adopted at this year's World Health Assembly.

GPW14 incorporates lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and our aspirations for the future.

It's based on a clear mission to promote, provide and protect health and well-being for all people, in all countries, and to save 40 million lives over the next four years.

To support the implementation of GPW14, we have launched the first WHO Investment Round, which aims to mobilize the sustainable and predictable resources we need to do our work.

I thank Member States from the Americas for the leadership you have demonstrated in advocating for sustainable financing for WHO, and for the Investment Round.

We look forward to your participation at tomorrow's Investment Round event.

Every Member State can contribute something, within its means.

And every contribution makes a difference, whatever the amount.

At the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil in November, His Excellency President Lula will announce the results of the Investment Round.

I thank President Lula for his support, as well as the co-chairs and the many countries which have already pledged, and I ask all countries to join them.

The Investment Round, GPW14 and the Pandemic Agreement are all outcomes of the WHO Transformation, which we began in 2018, with a mission to make WHO more efficient, effective, accountable, transparent and results-oriented.

Based on ideas from Member States, partners and our own staff, the Transformation is the most ambitious set of reforms in WHO's history, with more than 50 initiatives.

We have made significant changes to our business processes, our operating model, our approach to partnerships, our culture and more - and we're not done.

One of our key priorities now is to strengthen our country offices, as Dr Barbosa indicated.

Together with Dr Barbosa and the other regional directors, I am committed to consolidating the Transformation, and building this Organization into the WHO the world needs and deserves.

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Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

I leave you with three requests:

First, I urge all Member States to engage actively in negotiations for the Pandemic Agreement, and to complete it by the end of this year, if possible.

Second, I urge all Member States to implement the 14^th General Programme of Work

And third, I urge all Member States and partners to participate in the WHO Investment Round.

Thank you all once again for your commitment to promoting, providing and protecting health, for all the people of the Americas.

Muchas gracias. Merci beaucoup. Obrigado. I thank you.

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