Discours à l’événement de haut niveau sur la couverture sanitaire universelle dans les situations d’urgence

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us at this early hour during such an intense week here in New York.
I am honored to host this event on
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in emergencies,
together with Afghanistan.

Switzerland has a longstanding humanitarian tradition and is depositary State to the Geneva conventions.
We attach great importance to Universal Health Coverage in armed conflicts,
fragile settings
and other emergencies such as disasters.

We have two main objectives today:

FIRST, to highlight the importance of Universal Health Coverage in emergencies as a component of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development;

SECOND, to mobilize political commitment for progress on this matter by promoting the
“Call to Action on Universal Health Coverage in emergencies”.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The right to essential health services is violated when parties to a conflict deliberately target
healthcare providers or patients,
and destroy health infrastructures.

Such attacks are unacceptable.
They cause immense suffering and death,
not only DURING the immediate emergency
but also LONG AFTERWARDS.
They lead to health systems that are no longer functioning for the civilian population.
For EVERY health care professional who dies or flees,
for EVERY hospital that is destroyed,
SCORES of people are denied health care.

Moreover: the right to health cannot be guaranteed when a health system collapses due to a health emergency
or a natural disaster.

During the Ebola crisis hundreds of health workers died from the epidemic. This increased the shortage of health personnel and thus impaired the health care delivery, even months after the end of the epidemic.

Safeguarding healthcare in emergencies and armed conflicts lies at the heart of the nexus between
global health and humanitarian affairs.

Concrete action requires a holistic and multi-sectoral approach that includes all relevant partners.

We need to support and strengthen national health systems to enable them to absorb external shocks.
Hence, we also need to establish a dialogue with those who are in a position to protect the health systems.

Corresponding international frameworks DO exist.
Protection of medical care is a widely accepted notion, enshrined in international law since 150 years.
More recent frameworks, such as the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development,
or resolution 2286 of the Security Council, address the issue of universal health coverage we discussed today.

Meanwhile, we also need to ensure that attacks on healthcare do not go unpunished. We need to ensure that accountability mechanisms are established.

My country, together with Canada, is co-ordinating an informal group in Geneva on the follow-up and full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2286.

Switzerland also welcomes the work by the World Health Organization with its Emergencies Programme and its “attacks on health care“ project.

It is important to better understand the extent of the problem and its impact on health service delivery and public health. We need better data and extend research in this field.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, I have the honor to launch the “Call to Action on Universal Health Coverage in Emergencies”.

We started to develop this multi-stakeholder Call this year at the World Health Assembly, together with the Minister of Health from Afghanistan.

Throughout the last months your delegations have worked on this document.
Member States,
the UN,
International Organizations,
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,
Civil Society
and academia
have collaborated to develop this initiative.

With the initial signatories, we share the commitment to accelerate progress for Universal Health Coverage in emergencies.
Our goal is to ensure the right to health for all.
Our goal is to “leave no one behind”.

We aim at developing coherent and inclusive approaches to expand Universal Health Coverage in armed conflicts, fragile settings and other emergencies.

Our political commitment is threefold:
FIRST, we commit to
help strengthen national health systems,
build resilience
and sustain core public health capacities.

SECOND, we commit to work towards the full implementation of the commitments embedded in
international humanitarian law,
human rights law,
relevant UN resolutions,
the Agenda 2030
as well as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference.

What matters in the end is what saves lives.
What matters is the implementation of those norms at all levels.

THIRD, we recognize the importance of the continuity of health care and access to medical services.
We need to discuss in more detail the continuum of care and the nexus of humanitarian and development cooperation in the field of health.
The Co-sponsors of this event have expressed their support for the Call to action. Many thanks to
the Central African Republic,
Finland,
Luxemburg,
The Netherlands,
Poland,
Somalia,
Sudan,
Sweden
as well as the WHO,
Universal Health Coverage 2030
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescient

I ask all other delegations present here to join our initiative and to sign the Call to action.

I am convinced that this strong political signal is required to achieve Universal Health Coverage in emergency settings.

I am looking forward to the High Level meeting on Universal Health Coverage that will take place in the
UN General Assembly next year.

Thank you very much for your support and your attention.