GENEVA — Leading health officials from around the world converged today in Geneva, Switzerland, for the start of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA), which will focus on the goal of universal health coverage. MCCL Global Outreach (GO) encourages delegates to fulfill their commitment to achieving this goal while "leaving no one behind."
"It is important for leaders to truly deliver when they say 'leave no one behind,'" says MCCL GO Executive Director Scott Fischbach, who is attending the WHA meeting. "All members of the human family must have access to health care—from the youngest unborn child to the oldest of our elders. No human being should ever fall victim to abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia."
The WHA is the governing body of the World Health Organization. Some of the documents decided during the session will be forwarded to New York for the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on universal health coverage in September.
This year's WHA will discuss the importance of scaling up primary health care (PHC). As it does so, MCCL GO urges the WHA to honor its commitment to national sovereignty. The Astana Declaration, which nations agreed to last October, specifically states: "PHC will be implemented in accordance with national legislation, contexts, and priorities."
"The World Health Organization can be a tremendous force for good in the world if it keeps its commitment to health for all and strives to leave no one behind," says Fischbach. "It is our hope over the next 10 days that delegates will focus on their life-affirming mission as they go about making policy."