When: September 10 – 24, 2024 (CanWaCH attended September 22 – September 26)
Where: New York, NY
Hosted by: The United Nations
The 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) focused on urgent global challenges with a theme emphasizing “Peace, Security, and Sustainable Development.” Key discussions centered around addressing climate change, global health, poverty alleviation and conflict resolution. Leaders and delegates spotlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation, especially in responding to crises like climate-induced disasters and global health threats.
Health care workforce and crisis management
Health care as an economic and strategic priority
Climate change and health intersections
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and global health security
Women’s empowerment and cross-cutting developmental goals
CanWaCH had the privilege of co-hosting an event with MSI Reproductive Choices, SheDecides, FP2030, the Government of Canada and the Government of Nepal focused on the power of reproductive choice in a global context. Speakers included:
As we have taken some time to reflect on UNGA this year, we can’t shake the feeling of unease. The Summit of the Future spoke to the deep, existential crises that we face — climate, health, inequality and beyond. And yet, the global response felt muted. Governments, member states and decision-makers seemed paralyzed at times, almost as if they were struggling to rise to the moment. It’s not that we don’t have the answers — NGOs and grassroots organizations like ours have been training our entire lives for moments like this. We’re ready. We’ve been doing the work for decades. But we need governments to trust us and each other worldwide to truly succeed. Only then can we move forward with the urgency that these crises demand.
As we walked out of the General Assembly, we had more questions than answers. From the looks of others within our sector, we got the sense they felt the same. One of the most pressing: To what degree do we have the general public on our side in this fight? There is work to do here. Are we truly engaging the global public in our pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or is the UN simply becoming a space for elite conversations that fail to resonate with the everyday citizen? It’s hard not to feel like we are in a different time — a time when the collective belief in positive change feels less palpable than in past eras of global leadership, like during Obama’s “Yes We Can” era or Trudeau’s early “Sunny Ways”. Today, uncertainty seems to dominate the public discourse.
In 2024, half the world’s population has or has had the power to vote. What does that mean for the global landscape? What will it take for people to demand the changes we so desperately need from their governments?
Yet, in the global health community, there is a distinct sense of progress. Our sector has evolved into a sophisticated machine, and this sophistication is a direct response to the mounting crises we face. It’s both remarkable and necessary — because we have the brains, the resources and the money to address these challenges.
Take Canada’s leadership in the fight to eradicate polio as an example. It stands out as a clear testament to what can be achieved when governments, researchers and global health organizations come together. But why polio? What did this disease offer that galvanized such a unified and effective response and what aspects of this can we isolate and apply to other global health issues?
Global solidarity is the only path forward. Health diplomacy must be at the forefront of this effort. The interconnectedness of our world is undeniable, and it is more clear than ever that the health of one is tied to the health of all.
It’s equally clear that we as a sector need to continue showing up in these spaces to ensure that these issues don’t fall off the global radar. At the same time, we need to continue educating and reminding Canadians that they have good reason to care about these issues, too.
Canada has a real opportunity — to lead, to speak out, and to take bold action. Our voice does carry, and now is the time to use it. We must rise to this challenge and assert ourselves as leaders on the global stage, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because the health of our world depends on it.
