Your Excellency Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation,
Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, dear colleagues and friends,
Let me begin by thanking the Russian Federation for its leadership on non-communicable diseases and mental health, and particularly your support of the Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs.
Thank you also to Bahrain, Norway, Philippines, the European Commission, the Gulf Health Council, UNDP and UNODC for co-sponsoring this meeting.
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for the global health and development community, particularly when it comes to NCDs and mental health.
We know that people living with NCDs and mental health conditions are more susceptible to COVID-19 and at greater risk of severe disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic has badly disrupted the delivery of NCD services for diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
Over 75% of countries have reported interruptions in care due to the pandemic, affecting millions of people.
It is clear that COVID-19 is going to make it even more challenging to meet the NCD-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
At the same time, the pandemic provides an opportunity to innovate and rethink, and to step up our game.
The Task Force members have demonstrated that work on NCDs and mental health can continue online.
This includes conducting a range of joint programming and investment case missions and follow-up actions to countries.
Special thanks to the Russian Federation, the Gulf Health Council, the European Union, and the Government of Italy for their generous support. These efforts allow the Task Force to carry out its work.
I would like to highlight The Access Initiative to Quit Tobacco, which assists countries in providing comprehensive smoking cessation services.
The supporters of this initiative include private sector partners such as Soul Machines, Johnson & Johnson, and Cipla.
Scaling up action against NCDs is not possible without adequate funds.
While countries must increase their domestic financing for the prevention and control of NCDs and improving mental health, catalytic support from the international community is also crucial.
I am therefore delighted that WHO, UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme have established the Multi-Partner Trust Fund to support action on NCDs and mental health, and we will be hearing from both agencies later today.
The Trust Fund will be country-led, with a focus on equity and impact in our collective drive towards universal health coverage.
I call on all development partners to support the Trust Fund, a critical initiative whose time has come.
Together, we are committed to drive cross-sectoral action that by 2030 is designed to lead to 8 million lives saved;
80 million healthy life years gained;
350 billion US dollars of economic benefits for low- and middle-income countries;
And countries building back better in their response to COVID-19.
We have come a long way since Heads of State and Government adopted the first Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs a decade ago.
There have been many successes since then, but much work remains if we are to meet the SDGs targets. There is no time to waste.
I’d like to leave you with three priorities:
First, continue to support the Task Force in its crucial work;
Second, direct resources to the Trust Fund, which is certainly a health sector best buy;
Third, to my colleagues across the UN system, we must all coordinate more closely, and redouble our efforts to mitigate the growing burden of NCDs and mental health conditions.
I thank you. Spasiba bolshoi.