.png?sfvrsn=6d0e27cd_1 "Partnership for Change - v7 (1)")
Dear colleagues,
April has been a month of significant movement across the global health landscape.
From the outset, the One Health Conference set the tone for a more integrated and systems-based approach to global health, reinforcing the importance of linking human, animal, and environmental health in an increasingly complex world. Shortly thereafter, the G7 political declaration on the reform of the global health architecture, adopted in Lyon, offered an important political signal, explicitly recognizing the role of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) within broader reform efforts. This is a welcome step, though the challenge now lies in translating commitment into implementation.
Momentum continued at the World Bank Spring Meetings, where the Global Leaders Network (GLN) launched a Joint Ministerial Communique on Sustainable financing for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, underscoring the urgency of protecting and prioritizing these investments in a constrained fiscal environment. At the same time, the Global Financing Facility successfully mobilized US$800 million towards its US$1 billion replenishment target, a strong demonstration of continued commitment, even amid tightening global resources.
At the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), PMNCH convened a well-attended side event that brought together partners to reinforce the centrality of SRHR and WCAH in development agendas. Notably, South Africa delivered a strong statement from the floor on behalf of the GLN, calling for sustained political and financial commitment. At the same time, an op-ed by Liberian Minister of Health Louise M. Kpoto and myself in Health Policy Watch looked at how digital tools can be used to improve WCAH, centering health in the CPD agenda. Yet, despite these efforts, CPD concluded without an outcome document, highlighting the increasingly complex political environment surrounding these issues.
Encouragingly, we are also seeing continued engagement from parliamentarians. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) elected a new Secretary-General, and the first symposium of the Network of Parliamentarians on Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health convened, marking an important step in strengthening legislative leadership and accountability for WCAH.
Taken together, these moments reflect a global health landscape in transition, where important political signals are emerging, but where sustained advocacy and coordination remain essential to ensure that women, children and adolescents are not left behind.
As we look ahead to Women Deliver, the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Africa, the World Health Assembly and other key milestones, PMNCH will continue to work with partners to advance financing, accountability, and the protection of SRHR within global health reform.