The World Health Assembly, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), is the highest health policy setting body in the world and is composed of 194 ministers of health. The policies agreed upon during this important event inform funding decisions at country levels that affect the health and wellbeing of billions of people around the globe every day.
In May, PerkinElmer had the privilege of attending the 74th annual World Health Assembly, in Geneva, Switzerland along with other private sector organizations, NGOs, multilateral agencies, and academic institutions. With more than 30 resolutions and decisions adopted over the course of the week-long event, this year’s Assembly was historic for a number of reasons. Furthermore, many of the agreed upon items deeply resonate with PerkinElmer, given our mission of innovating for a healthier world as we work with scientists, clinicians, and researchers around the globe.
A ground-breaking resolution for pandemic preparedness
This year, the theme of the Assembly was: “Ending this pandemic, preventing the next one.” Unsurprisingly, discussions and resolutions around this topic took center stage. There was a call for countries to embed pre-emptive crisis planning and management into their structures, resulting in member states (i.e., governments) approving a milestone resolution to strengthen WHO preparedness and response for global health emergencies.
It was agreed that unless countries invest in emergency preparedness and commit to sharing data, information, and other resources moving forward, globally we will still face the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic. Throughout COVID-19, we have seen again and again where coordination and collaboration across sectors, geographies, and data sets has been instrumental in accelerating the development of testing, vaccines, and therapeutics solutions and actions.
We believe this increased spirit of collaboration will continue in various forms and levels as we tackle existing and new health and science challenges together.
Increasing acceptance of a “whole of government” approach to health
For almost a decade, there has been a push by WHO to create a whole of government approach to health. This approach involves prioritizing health – including interventions to achieve a healthier population – in government policies that are backed by multiple government departments (e.g., departments of energy and environment, labor). It is only now that this approach is catching on, with more governments coming to the realization that an investment in health is wealth.
For example, maternal mortality is one such issue that could be reduced by a whole of government approach. According to WHO data, in 2017 more than 800 women died each day due to preventable diseases, the vast majority of which (94%) were in low- and lower middle-income countries. In these geographies, many expectant mothers face poverty, live great distances from hospitals, and may lack access to information about proper prenatal care. Improvements in public services beyond health care, such as transportation, education and labor, could have a tremendous positive impact in these women’s and their families’ lives.
Particularly in a post-pandemic world, detecting and studying disease, viruses, and conditions from the earliest days of infancy through the final stages of life – and how in turn, we may prevent, combat, and treat them more effectively – is a powerful approach that countries and organizations can leverage.
Renewed focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Another highlight from this year’s Assembly was the reiteration that attaining universal healthcare coverage will be key to improving health outcomes in any given country, and in achieving progress toward the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Furthermore, the WHO continues working toward its own key goals including:
- One billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage
- One billion more people better protected from health emergencies
- One billion more people enjoying better health and well-being
WHO is working closely with countries to achieve these targets alongside the monitoring of the SDGs and the results have the ability to be truly lifechanging when combined with the power of science.
Health priorities for the future
Other key themes spotlighted this year include: the global strategy for women, children, and adolescent health; prevention and control of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer; and the expansion of access to medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, and other health technologies.
Notably, comparisons were made between tuberculosis and COVID-19, as individuals who remain undiagnosed could be spreading these diseases. It is a reminder that all infectious diseases must remain priorities for all countries, as any one outbreak could lead to another pandemic. Strong diagnostics and therapeutic discovery and development technologies play an important role in helping detect and treat the health threats that we know of and those that may be ahead.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, stated that, “Pandemics are a threat to all of us. So, we must work together to build a healthier, safer, fairer future – for all of us.”
The Assembly was a poignant reminder that the breakthrough work that our scientists and researchers do every day in our labs and organizations matters and makes a powerful and direct difference in lives of people every day.
Gisela Abbam is the senior director of EMEA government affairs at PerkinElmer.