United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
For Immediate Release
October 5, 2023
Statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on the Adoption of the Political Declarations of the High-Level Meetings on Health
Today, the United States commends the adoption of the Political Declarations of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meetings on Tuberculosis, Universal Health Coverage, and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response.
The United States is a proud leader in global health, and we remain the largest donor to global public health efforts with over $10 billion of assistance provided annually. The United States has repeatedly reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to strengthen global health security and its recognition of the need to do more to prepare for future health threats and is committed to this end.
In pursuit of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the United States will remain devoted to the promotion and protection of human rights for all persons in all their diversity, which is fundamental to achieving universal health coverage, creating a strong pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response architecture, and combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
To this end, we must include the voices of all women, girls, adolescents, LGBTQIA+ persons, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized and under-represented populations in our decision-making. And we must meaningfully include all persons in every aspect of planning, implementation, monitoring and accountability, and we must reject policies that hinder their access to care because of bias, discrimination or stigma. These actions are essential to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, and to building a more resilient world in the face of threats such as climate change, future pandemics, and conflicts and crises around the world.
The United States remains dedicated to strengthening health systems and institutions and advancing global health security.
###
