Dear HIFA colleagues,
Below I share extracts of WHO's Global health achievements 2023, and a comment from me. Read online: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/global-health-achievements-2023
In 2023, we celebrated 75 years of the World Health Organization (WHO). It was a year to reflect on 75 years of global health achievements, while facing the multiple and complex challenges affecting our health today.
This milestone anniversary served as a powerful reminder of how working together in global solidarity has enabled us to rise to complex challenges in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.
Working together for Health for All
Despite multiple health-related crises, there were many reasons for hope in 2023.
Although faced with record numbers of climate-related health challenges, and crises from new and expanding conflicts, millions of health and care workers continued striving: to protect more people from illness and suffering, to build resilience and preparedness in an increasingly turbulent world, to achieve a common goal: to give everyone everywhere the best possible chance at a safe and healthy life.
Here are just some of the global health highlights that offered hope in 2023.
Eliminating diseases...
Delivering vaccines...
Preventing and responding to emergencies...
Placing health at the heart of climate action...
Protecting people from noncommunicable diseases and mental health disorders...
Reducing deaths from accidents and injuries...
Advancing sexual and reproductive health...
Access to medicines and health products...
Political commitments for health...
Embracing new frontiers with digital health...
Looking ahead: 2024...
We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), an initiative to provide universal access to life-saving vaccines for children worldwide. Vaccines have been one of humanity's biggest achievements, saving countless lives. Yet in recent years, coverage with childhood vaccines has been stalling. The anniversary will provide an opportunity for decision-makers to reprioritize vaccines as a life-saving cornerstone of public health.
At the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024, countries will consider a new international agreement known as the pandemic accord. The purpose of the accord is to prevent a repeat of the devastating health and social impacts seen as a result of COVID-19 in the event of a future pandemic.
In September 2024 there will be a UN General Assembly High-Level meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), one of the top global public health threats. AMR makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of severe illness and death. Countries will be urged to make bold commitments to tackle this threat, accelerate action and work towards internationally-agreed targets...
COMMENT (NPW): All of the above are dependent on the availability and application of reliable healthcare information. HIFA looks forward to continue working in official relations with WHO in 2024. We shall continue to urge WHO to implement the key finding of our recent global survey: we call on WHO to explicitly commit to universal access to reliable healthcare information and convene all stakeholders to develop a global strategy to accelerate progress.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
