2024-10-14 18:02:00
The “World Health Summit” held in Berlin currently brings together thousands of participants from all over the world. It concerns health, research, climate, politics, society and even money. And Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken out in favor of greater international cooperation in the health sector.
For the World Health Organization, the largest donor event to date for its funding round is a success: Pledges totaling $700 million were made Monday evening. Furthermore, 300 million US dollars have already been promised in advance by, among others, the European Union and the African Union. The funds now guaranteed total one billion dollars, currently approximately 917,300,000 euros.
Die Geberveranstaltung “All for health, health for all: Exclusive event for the WHO investment round” fand im Rahmen des World Health Summit (WHS) took place in Berlin in 2024 – and it was top-notch busy. In addition to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the WHO, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Bill Gates, President of the Gates Foundation, took part.
The event was opened by the Health Ministers of the three co-organizing countries, Germany, Norway and the French Health Minister. Also involved were the Prime Minister of Montenegro, representatives of the governments of Greece, the Netherlands and Finland, as well as CEOs of non-profit organizations, such as Sania Nishtar of the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the private sector. Among others, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Norwegian Prime Minister and his Estonian counterpart participated via video message.
The financing round is intended to… WHO help fulfill their “Health for All” mandate. With the funds now raised, WHO wants to prevent 40 million preventable deaths caused by diseases over the next four years, it said in a statement.
In his speech on Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz underlined the importance of the WHO: “What the WHO does benefits us all, to do this it needs “sustainable financing that allows planning security and flexibility”. Scholz also spoke out in favor of greater international cooperation in the health sector. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that this is necessary. “We therefore continue to support the conclusion of an international pandemic instrument,” Scholz explained. This must improve pandemic prevention and enable governments to “react more quickly to pandemics and work more closely with other countries”.
As part of the donor round, Bill Gates highlighted the importance of financing global health in order to achieve a healthier future for all: “Global challenges require global solutions.” .
Doctor John-Arne Røttingen, chairman of the board of directors of the non-profit foundation, underlined the importance of strong multilateral actors Welcome Trust: “The challenges that states face today are more than ever shared challenges, often not only with their immediate neighbors, but with entire regions of the world or with the entire world.” The foundation mainly supports research in the healthcare sector, on infectious diseases as well as on the corresponding climatic or psychological consequences.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that when health is at risk, everything is at risk,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Investments in WHO are therefore not just investments in the protection and promotion of health, but also investments in more just, stable and secure societies and economies.” In his WHS 2024 keynote speech on Sunday evening, he recalled the suffering of war zones, described a visit to Sudan and said: “The best medicine is peace. We can’t just talk about health. There is no health without peace and there is no peace without health.” Simply put: peace is the best medicine.
At the World Health Summit 2024, under the motto “Building trust for a healthier world”, over 3,500 participants and representatives from science, business, politics, civil society and international organizations from all over the world are present in Berlin . Topics included challenges posed by artificial intelligence and improving women’s health. On Tuesday, the third and last day of the meeting, the focus will be on topics such as Mpox and the health effects of climate change.
with AP
#funding #Berlin #billion #dollars #World #Health #Organization