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Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have heard how our coming together here is a
result of a process under-way over the last year - a process that is
gaining rapid momentum and promises so much. Let me begin by looking
back to events during the last month.
Many of us were together two weeks ago at the World
Health Assembly. We all saw the signs of a world prepared to respond
to the health needs of poorer communities. We heard national
delegations committed to better equip health systems so that they can
scale up their response to conditions that undermine people's
well-being. We heard donor nations pledge to continue assistance for
effective health action, at country and global levels. We heard how
the UN system is pulling together to provide technical and operational
back-up so that resources for health are used to their best effect. We
heard how private companies and NGOs are participating in a renewed
movement for health action, building on the global Health for All
campaign with which we have all been involved.
Whilst the idea of creating a global fund has only
recently hit the headlines - as we have just heard from earlier
speakers - the ideas have been brewing for some time. But a consensus
has gradually developed that a single fund, initially with a narrow
focus on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria is the best starting point.
Water and sanitation, nutrition, better maternal
health, reducing tobacco advertising and improving child health are
also important for reducing poverty. But there is an opportunity to
leverage a significant increase in resources for health if we seize
the opportunity available to us now. There is, at this time, an
extra-ordinary level of political support for addressing communicable
diseases.
For the first time ever, a Secretary-General of the
UN joined us in the World Health Assembly. He repeated the call to
action that he made at the end of April at the Heads of State Summit
in Abuja, Nigeria. He told us of the emerging international plan -
massive additional support for effective national action to confront
AIDS and promote health. He indicated early signs of a significant
increase in resources to confront the threats to society and nations
posed by HIV/AIDS, by TB and by malaria. The concept of a new global
fund to confront AIDS and promote better health and well-being was
clearly laid out.
Delegates at the Assembly wanted to be sure that
new funds would not undermine, or even replace, what national
authorities do with their own limited resources, or what donors can do
through existing channels of development assistance.
The Fund will enable those wishing to invest in
world health to back effective action without establishing independent
systems to move resources to community level. By pooling investments
from a variety of sources, and drawing on the best of international
and local expertise, the Fund will ensure the best possible results
from investments made. The Fund should also help countries who do not
presently benefit from significant external resources - such as those
emerging from conflict.
The objective of establishing a new fund is to
bring additional and complementary resources to bear on
urgent health problems.
There is much more to do to make this concept a
reality. Attracting billions of dollars worth of new resources is not
an easy task.
We have to encourage public and private sector
groups to invest in the better health of communities that experience
extreme poverty and deprivation. We know what works: the challenge, as
we all know, is to get the effective interventions to those who need
them.
We have to be honest about the difficulties, yet
open-minded enough to pursue new promising options.
We have to demonstrate, to the investors, that
funds do yield results: this means linking the continued provision of
new support to effective action. At the same time, we must find ways
to sustain health benefits among poor communities - with continued
availability of funds, with support for the necessary infrastructure
and human resources at community level, and with investment in
research and the development of effective new preventive, diagnostic
and treatment tools.
During the next two days we will consider how the
Fund might best be designed so that it attracts new investment, and
enables investors to keep a watch on how their resources are used,
while - at the same time - increasing the likelihood of sustained
health benefits among the millions of people who do not receive them
at the present time. These questions of governance pose many
challenges.
A new fund - if it is strategically managed - will
help to translate the international support for health equity into
financial backing for effective action. This means a visible link
between resources provided through the Fund, and the results achieved
by those who use these resources. Another task, during the next two
days, is to find ways to turn this simple concept into a reality at
local and national levels.
Our experience tells us that the new Fund will
achieve the best results if it supports strategies that are
scientifically valid and are known to be effective within national
settings. It is most likely to have a lasting impact if such
strategies are already planned within national AIDS, health, poverty
reduction or development strategies. This means joint work at country
level to establish the optimum use of resources provided through the
Fund. This will certainly include the monitoring of what is achieved
with all resources invested in AIDS and Health, and the linkage of
such achievements to what comes in through the Fund.
This is where WHO can help, through its country
teams, its Regional Offices and its technical departments in Geneva,
as well as through its powerful links with the research community,
with professional associations, with private sector groups and with
NGOs. Other UN system and bilateral agencies will offer the same
support. During these two days we should consider how best to work
together, at country level, to access and make best use of resources
from the Fund.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Discussions during the last month have led to an
emerging consensus.
An international fund which is
attractive to, and receives income from, government and private
donors.
An innovative alliance between developing countries
and funders with the UN system closely involved at all levels.
Developing countries fully involved in the planning of the Fund from
an early stage.
A Fund that supports country-level decision-making
and leadership; that is characterised by transparency and
accountability and that involves the voluntary and private sectors in
implementing effective actions.
A Fund that focuses on outcomes through the optimum
blend of programmes within different sectors, that contributes to the
coherence and effectiveness of development assistance.
A Fund that is fast moving and innovative: that
encourages new ways of working, and ensures that funds are disbursed
both rapidly and wisely.
A Fund characterised by streamlined management: no
elaborate planning processes; review criteria that are transparent and
consistently applied.
A Fund which adapts the way it works at country
level to different national contexts, but focusing at all times on
results: successive tranches of funding should reward good
performance.
A Fund that operates in the context of
international agreements: including TRIPS and the safeguards included
in it.
As you know, this meeting had to be called at short
notice. The agenda we are working on is moving very fast indeed. We
have to build on the political momentum and maintain it to develop the
Fund over the next few weeks.
That is why we have asked so many senior people to
come to Geneva this weekend. I know this has meant disrupted
schedules, broken engagements and, of course, additional travel. But
your presence sends a clear signal to the world: new resources for
AIDS and Health, and new ways of doing business are now at the very
forefront of the development agenda. We are determined to work
together to make sure that these resources are used effectively and
yield results.
That is why the main purpose of this meeting is for
us to listen to each other - to views of those who might use the Fund,
as well as of those that may make financial contributions to it. We
need to find a way forward: from ideas and concepts toward a working
and credible entity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Political leaders have called on us to confront
some of the greatest challenges that have ever been faced by the human
race. We come together with a commitment to share ideas and be
constructive. The outcome of our efforts could well shape the destiny
of billions of people. We need to get it right. This means combining
careful work based on expertise and experience with the urgent need
for a new way of working that yields tangible and long-term results.
Thank you. |
