.png?sfvrsn=6d0e27cd_1 "Partnership for Change - v7 (1)")
Geneva, Switzerland 18 May 2025
Marking an engaging start to the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, a high-level dialogue hosted by PMNCH and the Government of South Africa, set the tone for a critical week for global health advocacy. The event, “Doing Better With Less: Rethinking the Approach to Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health,” brought together ministers, policymakers, civil society, and partners in global health to take stock of progress and chart a bold, collective path forward.
With just five years to go until the 2030 SDG deadline, recent global crises, including conflicts, climate shocks, and geoeconomic shifts, have severely disrupted progress, while declining aid, growing inequality, and anti-rights movements are further weakening the health and well-being of the world’s most vulnerable.
The event therefore focused on the power of partnership in addressing these challenges and paving a path forward with solutions to target the health of women, children and adolescents.
Rt Hon. Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair, welcomed participants with a powerful reminder that women, children, and adolescents are not just a health issue, but a shared societal responsibility. She challenged the speakers to bring solutions to the table and ask, “How we will govern, How we will lead, How we will prioritise”. Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General at WHO, speaking to the global health funding shifts, reinforced the need for preparation in advance of the newest pandemic, “a pandemic of collapsing ODA.”
| In the images above: Rt Hon. Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair (on the left) and Dr. Bruce Aylward (on the right). |
In the keynote address, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi (pictured below), South Africa’s Minister of Health, made a compelling case for solidarity and stronger national leadership. Drawing on South Africa’s experiences, he urged countries to show strong leadership, and made the bold call on behalf of the government for a standing item on women’s, children’s and adolescents health at the African Union Summit.
During the high-level ministerial panel, moderated by Yasmin Ali Haque of UNICEF, the Honorable Minister of Health Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim of Sudan and high level speakers from Malawi, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, exchanged insights on compelling evidence-based and contextualized solutions. Countries also shared innovative approaches to addressing systemic challenges, including improved commodity access and digital solutions to strengthen supply chains.
In the image above, from left to right: Dr. Kamil Shoretire, Director of Health Planning, Research & Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria; Emily Chirwa, Deputy Director of Planning & Policy, Ministry of Health, Malawi; Dr. Abdulkedir Gelgelo, Director General, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency; Dr. Issak Bashir, Head, Directorate of Family Health, Ministry of Health, Kenya; Hon. Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Health, Sudan; and Ousmane Cisse, Senegal.
The power of partnership was underscored by country speakers, including Dr. Issak Bashir, Head Directorate of Family Health, Ministry of Health, Kenya, who highlighted the importance of partnership in equitable health financing approaches, as well as the need to integrate women’s, children’s and adolescent's health within primary health care and universal health coverage frameworks.
Dr. Abdulkedir Gelgelo, Director General of Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency, Ethiopia, outlined the strength of multi-stakeholder partnerships and the role of parliamentarians in advocating for better health and reinforced the importance of a renewed focus on addressing maternal, newborn, child and adolescent's health. “The health of women, children and adolescents is both the foundation of our economy and our basis for social development.”
The second panel of the evening brought together leaders from Gates Foundation, PATH, WHO/HRP, Eli Lilly, and Temasek Foundation to spotlight innovations and partnerships that are delivering real results. Highlighting the strengths of public-private partnerships, as well as the power of leveraging philanthropic capital to pilot bold solutions, speakers acknowledged the need to celebrate the many successes that had already been achieved but remain vigilant in ensuring progress continues. “Everyone here today shares an optimism about the future,” noted Dr. Sanjana Bhardwaj, Deputy Director, Program Advocacy and Communications, Gates Foundation, “we have the tools, we have the data on the problems and the solutions. We just need to use them.”
In the image above, from left to right: Usha Viswanathen, Director, Health and Well-Being Programme, Temasek Foundation; Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO/UN’s Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP); Bernard Aryeetey, Senior Director, Policy, Advocacy and Influence, PATH; Dr. Sanjana Bhardwaj, Deputy Director, Program Advocacy and Communications, Gates Foundation; Saba Husain, Senior Director, Global Health Partnerships, Eli Lilly and Company; and Kathleen Sherwin, Chief Strategy & Engagement Officer, Plan International.
Reiterating the strong country examples outlined in the high-level panel, the speakers agreed that country leadership was a crucial ingredient for success. This included calls to work more closely with local governments and to better use advocacy to support decision makers at national and sub-national level.
Speaking to the need for agile approaches in the new global health architecture in his closing words of the event, Rajat Khosla, PMNCH Executive Director (pictured below) left the crowd with a salient reminder that, “Partnerships truly are the key to improving the lives of women, children and adolescents globally.”
This event marks the start of an engaging week of WHA78 and more information on women's, children’s and adolescents’ health can be found here. The event was supported by PATH, The Global Financing Facility (GFF), African Union, Gates Foundation, World Health Organization (WHO), UNFPA, UNICEF, AlignMNH, Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE), Africa CDC, Global Leaders Network, Child Survival Action Initiative (CSA).
The image above captures the audience during the opening session of the dialogue.