Chair, Honourable Minister May Chomali,
Honourable Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
Regional Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa,
Dear colleagues and friends,
I’m sorry that I cannot be with you in person as I had wanted to be for my final Regional Committee meeting as your Director-General.
I had planned to join you in Washington after the UN General Assembly in New York last week, but the arrangements for this year’s Regional Committee and PAHO Directing Council made it impractical for me to do so.
I thank the Regional Director for his report, which shows that despite the many challenges you face, there are many reasons to be hopeful.
Health emergency preparedness and response has been strengthened across the Region, with enhanced surveillance, improved laboratory capacity, and expanded emergency medical teams.
The Americas has also continued to make progress on disease elimination.
I congratulate the Bahamas and Brazil for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV;
Turks and Caicos for becoming the first territory in the Region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and hepatitis B;
Chile for becoming the first country in the Americas to eliminate leprosy;
And El Salvador for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem.
It’s also pleasing to see the continued recovery in immunization coverage;
And the Region has also demonstrated leadership in addressing noncommunicable diseases.
The number of patients receiving treatment for cardiovascular disease through the HEARTS initiative increased by 21 percent in just one year;
And mental health has received renewed political attention.
I welcome the PAHO Regional Suicide Prevention Initiative and efforts to integrate mental health services into primary health care in 22 countries and territories.
I am especially encouraged by progress in reducing maternal mortality, with 10 of the 12 priority countries recording reductions in maternal mortality since 2022.
The Americas are also demonstrating global leadership in digital health.
Costa Rica and El Salvador became the first countries in the world to issue digital yellow fever vaccination certificates aligned with international standards.
This Region also continues to lead in innovation and production.
Technology transfer agreements are strengthening regional manufacture of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines.
And the Regional Revolving Funds remain one of the world's most successful examples of solidarity in action, supporting greater access and lower prices.
My congratulations to all Member States and staff for these achievements.
They reflect political leadership, the commitment of health workers and communities, and the enduring value of regional cooperation.
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At the same time, we know the Region faces significant challenges.
Noncommunicable diseases remain responsible for millions of deaths every year.
Measles and yellow fever outbreaks have exposed persistent immunity gaps.
The Region lost its verification as free from endemic measles transmission, and measles vaccination coverage fell further below the level needed to prevent outbreaks.
Climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent and severe.
Mental health conditions affect an estimated 160 million people in the Region.
Population ageing is accelerating, while inequities in access to health services remain too large, both between and within countries.
We also meet against the backdrop of profound changes in global health financing.
Many countries have experienced sudden reductions in external support.
Programmes have come under pressure, and health systems have been forced to adapt quickly.
And as you know, the past year has also been one of change for WHO itself.
Although the funding cuts we faced were a shock, they were a shock we had predicted and prepared for.
When we began WHO's Transformation in 2017, we identified our reliance on a small number of donors as a major risk.
We proposed a plan, approved by Member States in 2022, to increase assessed contributions from 20 percent to 50 percent of the base budget.
The first increase came in 2023, the second in 2025, and three more are planned for 2027, 2029 and 2031.
We also broadened our donor base through our first Investment Round and the WHO Foundation.
These measures helped to cushion the shock we faced last year, although they could not insulate us fully.
We have now completed the process of prioritization and realignment.
We have stabilized, and we are moving forward as an Organization that is leaner, more focused, more independent and better equipped to serve Member States.
By many measures, WHO is in a stronger position than ever.
Our reserves are double what they were nine years ago;
Our base budget is 23 percent larger;
And we have already mobilized 95 percent of the resources needed for the current biennium.
Of course, challenges remain.
Most voluntary contributions remain earmarked, leaving pockets of poverty in parts of our work.
At the same time, WHO is only one part of the broader global health architecture.
The financing shocks of the past year exposed weaknesses across that architecture that can no longer be ignored.
At the World Health Assembly in May, Member States tasked the Secretariat with hosting a joint reform process that is country-centred, inclusive and transparent.
A Task Force has been established and will report later this year.
WHO approaches this task with humility, as a convener of equals.
Our role is to listen and to support Member States in shaping a system that is more effective, more coherent, more accountable and more responsive to country priorities.
Meanwhile, we are getting on with the job of supporting all countries to promote, provide and protect health, in line with the 14th General Programme of Work.
For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO has the largest on-the-ground presence of any organization, and is supporting the government to respond to the Ebola epidemic, in close partnership with Africa CDC, and ensuring coordination of the response.
Likewise, earlier this year WHO played a central role in stopping the outbreak of hantavirus on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, working with multiple countries and partners, in line with the International Health Regulations.
I thank Argentina and Chile for their support with the epidemiological investigations, and for donating reference material to labs in 15 countries.
The outbreaks of Ebola and hantavirus underscore the ever-present risk of epidemics and pandemics to all countries, regardless of income level.
That’s why the WHO Pandemic Agreement is so important, and why finalizing the PABS Annex cannot wait – because the next pandemic will not wait.
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Madam Chair, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Let me conclude with five requests.
First, I ask all Member States to conclude negotiations on the PABS Annex, so the Pandemic Agreement can be opened for signature, begin the ratification process and enter into force as international law.
Second, I ask you to approve the next increase in assessed contributions at next year's World Health Assembly.
The first two increases helped to make WHO more resilient and independent. We must continue on that path.
Third, I ask you to engage actively in the reform of the global health architecture, and shape a system that works for your countries.
Fourth, I ask you to continue investing in strong primary health care systems as the foundation of universal health coverage and health security.
And fifth, I ask you to build on WHO's Transformation and continue shaping an Organization focused on its core mandate and on delivering results where they matter most: in your countries.
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As I mentioned earlier, the arrangements for this year’s PAHO Directing Council and WHO Regional Committee prevented me from joining you in Washington as I had wanted to.
I hope that in the future, we can return to the decades-long practice of holding both meetings concurrently.
This practice has been a strong sign of the close and productive relationship between PAHO and WHO, which was established in the WHO Constitution 80 years ago.
Of course, I am concerned that this year’s arrangements could be seen as calling into question the strong and productive relationship between PAHO and WHO envisaged in the WHO Constitution.
However, I welcome the Chair’s comments earlier that this year’s arrangements in no way compromise that constitutional relationship, nor the consensus that was reached at this year’s World Health Assembly, in relation to the notifications of withdrawal of two Member States from the Americas.
Indeed, the countries of this Region played an important and constructive role in achieving that consensus – and I especially thank my friend Dr Victor of the Dominican Republic, and I thank all of you for that good outcome.
Nothing we do here should be taken as affecting that decision.
I continue to believe that WHO, and global health, are strongest when every nation is at the table, working together for the highest attainable standard of health for all people.
Together, we must choose unity over division. Unity and solidarity are our best immunity.
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As you know, this is my final Regional Committee meeting as Director-General before I finish my tenure in August next year.
When I first addressed this Committee in 2017, I said that results do not happen in Geneva or in regional offices. They happen in countries, on the front lines.
Nine years later, I remain convinced that the future of global health depends on countries leading their own health agendas and working together in solidarity.
The Americas have consistently demonstrated that spirit.
You have shown leadership in disease elimination, digital health, local production, primary health care and health equity.
You have helped to shape important decisions for WHO and global health.
And in difficult times, you have shown that consensus is still possible.
I thank all Member States, and all colleagues in the regional and country offices, for your support over the past nine years.
I got great support, and I’m very grateful.
It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve you as Director-General.
I look forward to your continued support in the year ahead, and I wish all of you every success.
I thank you.