It gives me the greatest honor and pleasure to be here today to pledge the U.S. Government’s support for the Government of Ethiopia’s unprecedented commitment to End Fistula and Transform Lives by 2020. We applaud the Federal Ministry of Health for its renewed focus on obstetric fistula and for taking the bold step of developing a Plan of Action to eliminate fistula by the year 2020.
More than 1 billion people - one-sixth of the world's population - suffer from one or more neglected tropical diseases, also known as NTDs. These diseases affect the world's most vulnerable populations - those who are poorest and have little or no means to protect themselves from illness. Their impact on individuals and communities is devastating. In addition to the over 500,000 people who die annually from the consequences of NTDs - millions suffer from chronic disability, pain, disfigurement, and social stigma that keeps them from living full, productive lives.
This is an incredibly exciting week for the global community- as we outline a new approach to working together to prevent maternal and child deaths and set ambitious goals that we hope to achieve in the years ahead.We’re thrilled that you are a part of it.
It is such an exciting time for this effort. Because for the first time in history, we stand within reach of a world that was simply once unimaginable—a world without child and maternal death.
Child Survival and maternal mortality have been a focus of the U.S. commitment to global health for decades. Every year, we commit nearly $1.5 billion to this moral mission. And today, we know that how we deploy those precious dollars has the potential to transform millions of communities that suffer from the senseless tragedy of losing children to preventable deaths.
After a very successful meeting in Mandalay at the end of March, we now have a critical mass of champions who are highly committed to moving the agenda on migrant health care further along, in whichever way we can, with whatever resources we can muster, the key operative word being partnership. Partnership between health, labor and social security, partnership between public and private sector, between government and civil society, and between the countries, to develop shared solutions to a common and complex health area. Also, partnership among development partners; we have a large group of external agencies who have come together to demonstrate our friendship and support for the cause. This meeting is a joint effort between IHPP Foundation, USAID, UNDP and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
While 92% of the Philippine population had access to an improved source of drinking water in 2010, 15.7 million Filipinos are still without access. This shortfall has serious impacts on economic growth, health and the overall development of the country. There are several reasons for inadequate water supply services, including low levels of investment; poverty linked to an inability to afford services; and policy, regulatory and financing barriers.
We know that in the critical window of a 1,000 days, we can provide the nutrition so children have the basic immune strength to protect themselves from simple diseases against which they would otherwise die, and we know that simply trying to address diseases without also making sure these children are well nourished simply won’t achieve the outcome we seek. And we know that healthy behavior such as the one being promoted in this photograph are essential to success, even if we have enough resources for the commodities, the drugs, the diagnostics that are often what we talk about in price. It’s ultimately the way people behave that determines whether or not our goal, our shared aspiration of ending child death, is actually possible.
As President Obama has said, the interests of the United States align squarely with the desires of the Ukrainian people—and we remain a committed partner as you weather this crisis and build a new future. It will take ingenuity. It will take focus.
But most importantly, it will take the courage to confront a deeply corrosive system that has embedded corruption into the fabric of Ukrainian society. From the massive impunity of the nation’s previous regime to the kind of petty bribery that supplements a civil servant’s meager salary, corruption has become a way of life.
USAID is committed to inclusive development, not only as an issue of human rights, but also because discrimination and exclusionary laws contribute to poverty. We cannot have inclusive development if LGBT populations are excluded. Their active participation is necessary for our success.
Some of the challenges we face, but also the progress we’ve made in getting important reforms through the Congress of our food aid and assistance programs, are starting to create a new and stronger American ethic around our collective responsibility to genuinely lead on the issue of ending hunger and creating food security.
We all know and you’ve heard earlier today that by 2050, the world will need to feed 9 to 10 billion people and will need to do it by driving productivity improvements—in particular, in places where productivity has been relatively low—and by bringing online much of the commercial potential of food production in places like sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia, where there is still great gains to be made.
-As prepared-
Hamjambo mabibi na mabwana. Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to launch this important project with you. Today we celebrate another achievement that will bring water and sanitation to more Kenyans, and that is truly something to celebrate.
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Last updated: October 22, 2017
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