Joint communiqe by The Ministers of Health of the Foreign Policy and Global Health Initiative

The Ministers of Health of the Foreign Policy and Global Health (FPGH) Initiative, comprising Brazil, France, Indonesia, Norway, Senegal, South Africa and Thailand, met on the sidelines of the 63rd World Health Assembly in Geneva today to discuss current global health challenges, particularly the importance of achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ahead of the upcoming MDG Summit in New York in September 2010.They highlighted the strategic linkage between health and foreign policy on the international agenda.

The Ministers reiterated their commitment to accelerate both individual and collective efforts in keeping the achievement of the health-related MDGs on track. They stressed that the global community must work together to overcome existing challenges and constraints. At the international level, they stressed the need to maintain the political impetus for mobilizing adequate international resources to help needy countries in meeting their health challenges and maintain the momentum of scaling up the HIV/AIDS response as well as addressing the rising prevalence, morbidity and mortality of communicable and non-communicable diseases worldwide.

The Ministers exchanged views on possible joint actions of their countries for accelerating achievement of MDGs 4 and 5 to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. They identified the shortage and mal-distribution of skilled health workforce as one severe bottleneck in achieving the health-related MDGs, which is an important issue being discussed at this year’s World Health Assembly. The Ministers further reiterated that global shortages of health workers and access to them are amongst obstacles that must be overcome through enabling international policies. The solution to this particular challenge goes far beyond the health sector and has foreign policy implications. The Ministers underscored the importance of providing political and strategic leadership in promoting human resources for health in the global agenda, and appealed to all member states for a fast adoption of the code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel. They also stressed the importance of promoting universal health care coverage as an important mechanism in achieving the health-related MDGs. In this regard, they collectively appreciate the World Health Report 2010 which will be on universal health care coverage. We also welcome the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in October 2011.

The Foreign Ministers of the mentioned seven countries launched the “Foreign Policy and Global Health Initiative” in September 2006, aimed at making foreign policies responsive to health as well as dealing with foreign policy aspects of health in order to reach the MDGs. 

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