From May 27th – June 1st of this year, the World Health Organization held its 77th annual World Health Assembly: “The World Health Assembly is the main decision-making body of WHO and is comprised of 194 Member States. Every year, generally in May, delegates from all Member States come together to agree on the Organization’s priorities and policies.”
This year, Covenant House Vancouver’s CEO, Deb Lester, attended the Assembly. The following is a letter that Deb shared with the Marketing/Communications team at Covenant House, about her experience.
Throughout my career in public/global health, I have had the great opportunity to partner with UN agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is the UN agency focused on health and safety promotion for all communities. I have always believed in the power of partnership, and that together we are stronger. In 2015, I began to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and it began with the launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are 17 goals, with multiple targets that were created with the aim of peace and prosperity for all people and the planet, for now and for the future. It’s been nine years since its launch, and globally, we are not on track to reach the goals. Moving forward, broad ownership and intention is required to close the critical gaps.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva precedes UNGA, and May 27th–June 1st was the 77th WHA session. The WHA is the decision-making body of the WHO, with a focus on the health agenda. This year’s theme is All for Health, Health for All. It’s interesting when I talk about this work, because often the perception, when at the WHO, is that you are working on “problems” that are focused somewhere far away. The reality is that it takes all of us to come together, united in our common goals, to bring much needed change — think global, act local. The how of our individual work might look different, but the why is united — All for Health, Health for All.
At Covenant House Vancouver (CHV), we have been supporting young people in our community for 27 years, and as part of an international federation, Covenant House International (CHI), many decades more. Since joining CHV as the CEO, last year, I attended the UNGA, and this year I attended the WHA, whose focus was on adolescent and youth health. Once again, I began thinking about partnership for impact and joining others in the goal of promoting health and well-being for young people.
At CHV, we give our very best to the young people we serve, with a full continuum of programs and services to meet their needs wherever they are in their journeys to health and well-being. Another important part of what we do is to focus work upstream, so that at the same time we can be working on health promotion and prevention in the social determinants of health. It is through this work that we can put the steps in place to ensure: that mental health services are easily accessible for all and that mental health is seen as health; that services are in place to support the prevention of substance use and to support programs for those that do use substances, including harm reduction; that we prevent homelessness in the communities in which we live; and that we continue our work on the prevention of human trafficking.
Coming together, we can learn from each other, and we can increase our impact, globally, by advocating and informing policy and uniting for change. Federal governments from around the world are in attendance at the WHA, and it’s a time of focus and intention.
Is the process perfect? Not even close, but it doesn’t mean that we stop trying. The young people in our communities around the world deserve our support and so do their future generations. I am continuously inspired by the work that is happening, the dedication of so many, and to see the progress that has been made. As the saying goes, don’t let perfection stand in the way of progress.
Also inspirational to me is the connectedness of those involved in this work, and the idiom that it’s a small world has never been truer. When I reached out to my global community and told them about the work that we would like to do, they instantly ushered me into all of the right places. Most of my time at the WHA was spent at the WHO, where I met with world leaders over three areas of focus: mental health and substance use, social determinants of health, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH). The latter is the world’s largest alliance for the well-being of women, children, and adolescents, with over 1,400 partner organizations and 10 constituency groups that include governments, donors, nonprofits, the private sector, professional health organizations, and academic institutions. The area that we focused on was adolescent health and well-being. It is estimated that 1.8 million young people, age 10–24, globally, do not have their health needs met. The Partnership is a platform for meaningful youth and adolescent engagement, with a mission to increase political commitment and financing for multi-sector, rights-based action.
The promotion of child and adolescent mental health is a priority for the WHO. There is a particular emphasis to protect and promote human rights, to empower people with lived experience, and to ensure a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder approach. The health sector contributes significantly to this by embedding promotion and prevention within all health services.
I also attended a meeting hosted by the WHO and the Global Commission on Drug Policy called Charting Paths, Strengthening the Present and Navigating the Future of Harm Reduction. This was a multi-sector gathering that included global government representatives. Due to the emergence of Fentanyl, it is imperative that we look at this toxic drug crisis as a public health emergency. Harm reduction is a key component of a public health approach. The WHO urged governments to implement measures to eradicate the taboo on harm reduction in current drug policies.
I attended so many other meetings and gatherings with current and new partners. I arrived back home ready to double down on our commitment to our community, to deepen our partnership for impact, and to bring the voices of the young people we serve to all tables that are dedicated to their future health and well-being.
All for Health, Health for All.
– Deb