65 Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. N’Djamena, Chad. 23 -27 November, 2015 th
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Statement of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations on the Progress on Health-Related Millennium Development Goals and the Post-2015 Health Development Agenda
Honourable chair, distinguished delegates, We, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, welcome the adoption of the United Nations Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, which seeks to improve the lives of millions of individuals and future generations by tackling the world’s greatest challenges. As a Federation we have been actively engaged in the processes, such as the RIO +20, the working groups and many others, building knowledge among medical students, advocating for more importance on health issues in the sustainable development. We acknowledge the crucial role of youth as the future generation which will be shaping the global agenda. In IFMSA, we recognize that a healthy population is necessary to pursue sustainable development and that a healthy environment is a prerequisite for good health. We underline that health is not restricted to the Goal 3, but is crosscutting throughout all the goals. That is why a holistic approach is needed to reach the targets that have been set. We would like to call the Member States to adopt the “health in all policies” approach; Invest in health promotion, which would encourage the pursuit of healthy lifestyles and highlight the importance of social determinants of health; Recognise the importance of planning health workforce, which would be able to manage the demands of national health systems; Acknowledge the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights, mental health among others. For the success of the SDGs, there is a need to politically declare the commitments, outline the means of implementation, as well as strengthen the health systems and the means of data collection in order to provide a stronger monitoring and evaluation. To ensure adequate financing, an inclusion of the private sector in the national processes must be fostered. IFMSA is looking forward to continue engaging with the World Health Organization and member states to tackle some of the most pressing health issues of today. The Federation commits to pursue its collaboration with multi-sectoral actors so to shape a healthy and sustainable future. Finally, we, as young people, call on WHO, Member States, and the global health community, to ensure that our actions speak louder than our words and “Health for All” happens in our generation.