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Health4Life - During the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, on 22nd September 2022, the Aspen Global Innovators Group and Health4Life Fund announced a groundbreaking collaboration to transform global health financing through participatory, inclusive, and country-led approaches.
“As we work to support the leadership of local governments to accelerate achievements in meeting or exceeding the Sustainable Development Goals, it is critical that country governments have access to flexible financial mechanisms. This groundbreaking public-private partnership with our UN agency colleagues and investors does just that,” indicated Lola Adedokun, Executive Director, Aspen Global Innovators Group and Co-Chair, Aspen Forum on Women and Girls.
The Aspen Global Innovators Group and Health4Life Fund convened key stakeholders, including funders, activists, and representatives from global health governance institutions, to discuss the implications of this partnership. During the convening, a panel of global leaders engaged in an enriching discussion moderated by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Tlaleng Mofokeng.
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Panelists included:
“The inclusive and participatory systems of global health governance and financing can only be built if we believe in them, if we conceive of them, if we create them and if we invest them,” said Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan in her pre-recorded remarks. “It is now time for action.”
Aboubacar Kampo, Director, Health, Programme Group, UNICEF, delivered keynote remarks in which he highlighted the significant albeit less visible threat that NCDs and mental ill-health pose to low- and middle-income countries, especially underserved children and adolescents.
Usha Rao-Monari, Under-Secretary General and Associate Administrator, UNDP, provided an inspiring call to action underscoring the need for smart investments in people-centered NCD and mental health responses as part of trengthening human security and advancing sustainable development.
During the announcements portion of the evening’s program, the Aspen Global Innovators Group announced a commitment to fundraise $5 million over the next three years on behalf of the Health4Life Fund and Unexia, a blockchain infrastructure for global health, committed $50 million to the Fund to accelerate inclusive and democratic innovations in global health financing. On the occasion of this event, Soroptimists International Africa Federation also committed to joining the Health4Life Fund partners to advocate and raise funds specifically for the Fund’s aspirational pillar devoted to the elimination of cervical cancer.
"The world is facing multiple intersecting crises with implications for people's health and development. ’Business as usual’ will not enable us to meet the SDG targets - we must have the courage to innovate. These partnership respond to this challenge through an inclusive and participatory approach to international health and development financing," noted Nick Banatvala, Head of Secretariat, Health4Life Fund.
The shortcomings of global responses to overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the perilous effects of climate change on human health, reinforce the imperative of promoting global solidarity while restoring confidence in the ability of multilateral efforts to drive equity, resilience and sustainability. Heath4Life Fund embraces a transformational model of health financing with key stakeholders, including funders, governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society partners.
Originally published on www.who.int