President Milanović at 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović participated in the opening session of the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, saying he was pleased to address the gathering on the very day when Croatia marks the 30th anniversary of its membership in the United Nations. In his address, the President reminded of the importance of Croatia’s cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Exactly 30 years ago, the Croatian flag was proudly raised in front of the UN Headquarters on the East River and in other United Nations hubs. The adherence to the World Health Organization in this context, for the young independent state where war was raging was of special importance. This was our debut on the global scene, where we looked for assistance, but also offered the lessons learned and the goodwill to work together for the common global good,” said President Milanović.
The President of the Republic underscored that the theme of this year’s Assembly, ‘Health for Peace, Peace for Health’, resonates loud and clear with Croatia. “It brings back deep memories of the shelling of hospitals, health facilities and ambulances transporting victims during the war in Croatia in the 90s, as well as the health emergency stemming from a large number of civilian casualties. Even children’s hospitals were not safe havens at the time. Furthermore, this situation indirectly worsened chronic disease in the population. Several limited epidemics of infectious diseases were also reported,” President Milanović recalled.
The President emphasized that Croatia deeply sympathizes with all people going through hardship in the face of war and its consequences. “I watch with immense sadness and disbelief that attacks on hospitals and health care facilities remain the terrifying contemporary feature,” said President Milanović.
It is tragic, the President continued, that Ukraine is not the only emergency the world is currently facing. “I believe it is clear that peace is a precondition for inclusive, equitable access to health as part of other inclusive and equitable access to other social services,” said President Milanović, adding he was looking forward to the results of this high level debate because its goal was to build a healthy and peaceful planet.
In his address, President Milanović looked back two years, saying that when this Assembly met there was a single subject dominating the agenda – the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has damaged health worldwide in direct and in many indirect ways. The pandemic has been a severe disruption to health systems, economies and society worldwide. Its consequences affected progress in health-related targets in SDGs and undermined the overall health of the world population,” the President underscored, adding that mental health remains a particular concern and new generations have been impacted in particular.
“The resilience and preparedness of the national health systems have been seriously challenged. In Croatia, during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave, two devastating earthquakes further stretched the health system,” said President Milanović, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted profound weaknesses in the global governance of health. “We should build stronger and more inclusive global health architecture to mitigate the health and socioeconomic damage of the ongoing challenges and to prepare for the next major global threat to health,” he told the audience.
In this regard, President Milanović said that Croatia fully supports the World Health Organization’s leading and central role in this process and its role at the heart of the new global health architecture. “Predictable and sustainable financing is fundamental for fulfilling the WHO core mandate with the independence, technical expertise and ability to do long-term planning,” said the President, adding that Croatia is actively advocating for the ‘Pandemic Preparedness and Response Agreement’.
“I would like to add my voice in calling for continuous focus on better preparedness. This week’s report by the WHO Panel came out with a serious conclusion that governments around the world are no better prepared today to address a new global disease threat than they were just before the coronavirus outbreak began in late 2019,” President Milanović emphasized. He assessed that the success we have had in fast and successful development of COVID-19 vaccines was a positive outcome of the pandemic, however, as he put it, “access to vaccines, on the other hand, drew attention to the issue of equality and equitable opportunities.”
Concluding his address, President Milanović reminded of the heritage of the first President of the first World Health Assembly, a Croat Dr. Andrija Štampar, who showed his broad understanding of public health. “He argued that diseases are caused not only by physical and biological factors but also by economic and social conditions. His principles encompass the vision of health as a state of overall well-being and society as the key responsible health care provider. Dr. Štampar called for action to enable all people to enjoy good health in the widest sense of that word. This way, he said, the WHO would ‘become a powerful pioneer of world peace and understanding among nations’,” President Milanović recalled, saying in conclusion that the 75th World Health Assembly is a historic opportunity for us to make a difference by taking right, responsible and determined decisions.
Prior to the session of the 75th World Health Assembly, President Milanović held a bilateral meeting with the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek