UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 78: CANZ JOINT STATEMENT ON ADOPTION OF HEALTH POLITICAL DECLARATIONS
5 October 2023
Statement delivered by H.E. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Australian Mission to the United Nations, on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand
I take the floor on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and my own country, Australia (as CANZ), regarding the three political declarations adopted today on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Universal Health Coverage, and the Fight Against Tuberculosis.
At the outset, I wish to thank the Permanent Representatives of Israel, Morocco, Guyana, Thailand, Poland, and Uzbekistan, and their teams, for their facilitation of these declarations.
These three political declarations are focused on advancing positive developments to help improve the health of everyone, everywhere.
Their objectives are to ensure that first, our health systems are equitable, resilient, sustainable, and better positioned to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics, and strengthen our global health architecture.
Second, that all people can access quality and equitable health services when and where they need them, without financial hardship, and consistent with human rights.
And thirdly, that an effective vaccine for TB is developed and efforts redoubled to eradicate TB everywhere.
These objectives all align with the principles we all committed to in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.
The COVID-19 pandemic had devastating health, economic, political and security impacts on our societies.
It also made obvious that our systems to prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics are inadequate.
Access to essential services faltered, including for sexual and reproductive health, and for the detection and treatment of cancer, HIV, and other serious conditions and diseases, including tuberculosis.
Climate change is also impacting the delivery of health services and increasingly frequent extreme weather events are causing disasters, death, disease, poverty, and illness.
Non-communicable diseases are rising globally, and too often people are missing out on health services due to their gender, ethnicity, or disability.
This includes support for equitable sexual and reproductive health services.
These critical, life-saving services are core to safety, good health, and empowerment, particularly for women and girls in all their diversity.
On these critical issues, I note that CANZ remains deeply disappointed by the weakened language on gender, human rights, and access to sexual and reproductive health services in the final versions of the political declarations.
We trust the adoption of the political declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response adds political momentum to the negotiations currently underway in Geneva, for a new legally binding pandemic instrument and to amend our existing International Health Regulations.
And we trust the adoption of the Universal Health Coverage and the Fight to End Tuberculosis political declarations spur action to address the uneven impact that health crises have on women, people in poverty, and the most marginalized, as well as to advance equality, inclusion, and meet the needs of all people.
Thank you Chair.