Borderless medical care key to global well-being

The following is an excerpt from a speech made by Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, president of the Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia and former director-general of the World Health Organization, at the forum held in June.

It is well acknowledged that health is borderless. Health contributes to and benefits from the safety, development, and well-being of each and every individual, family, community, region and country. Health has long been regarded as one of the basic rights of every individual. "Health for all" doesn't only express the shared wishes of all humankind for peaceful development and better lives, but is also a mission that requires all to fight for its realization. This accounts for WHO's growing commitment to "universal health coverage", and this is also why the United Nations identifies "ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages" as one of its sustainable development goals.

Yet the world is still faced with multiple global health challenges. The first major challenge arises from the damaging inequality of health at a global level. Second, several health crises continue to be globalized. Therefore, countries should further their cooperation and coordination, pooling more resources, capacity and political will to jointly resolve the health problems facing the entire world.

The purpose of the Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia is exactly to establish a high-level integrated platform for dialogue and practical cooperation, in order to achieve the ambitious goal of "health for all" worldwide, and to provide everyone involved with opportunities for regional and international cooperation. Focusing closely on the 2030 sustainable development agenda, the GHF first conference suggested "health beyond health" as the topic for broader discussion and has received an encouraging response and recognition from a variety of stakeholders.

Finally, please allow me to appeal to each and every individual, family, organization, city and country to commit to global health undertakings. Let's seize the opportunity and work together to promote our ambitious goal of "health for all".

(China Daily 06/20/2019 page12)