Migiro urges better coordination of efforts to advance global public health

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has called for all those working to make inroads in global public health to pool their efforts, stating that the world already has the resources and the know-how to enable people to lead long, healthy lives.

Despite the unprecedented involvement of health agencies and partnerships, the global health sphere is increasingly complex and fragmented, with no systemic approach, Ms. Migiro said yesterday at a meeting on global health with international leaders and top-level experts from academia, philanthropy, civil society, the private sector and United Nations entities.

“We need to work in a more coordinated manner, each according to our comparative advantage, to strengthen health systems,” she said in a message, delivered on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “We must move from building silos to building systems. And systems that work for the poorest and most vulnerable.”

The Deputy Secretary-General called global public health “one of the greatest challenges of our time, but with an enormous scope for solutions.”

“We know what works. We know how to help women deliver babies safely; we can help children live well beyond their fifth birthday; we can prevent the spread of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis,” she stated.

Ms. Migiro welcomed the “unprecedented attention” global public health was currently receiving from an array of actors. National governments are working to direct health assistance more effectively to some of the world’s poorest countries and most vulnerable populations. At the same time, donors and philanthropists are working with experts on targeted diseases and thematic areas.

All of this heightened activity carries some risks, she pointed out, emphasizing the need to better coordinate efforts among all those involved.

She also highlighted the need to address a number of issues, such as how countries can work together better on diseases that cross borders and threaten everyone, as well as how to ensure that the many initiatives and foundations supporting global health are accountable to not only those who finance them but also to those who are meant to benefit from their efforts.