PARIS, France, (WHO) – World Health Organization (WHO) and international advocacy organization Global Citizen on Thursday, signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on joint global advocacy initiatives aimed at promoting and protecting health for all people over the next three years.
The main objectives of the collaboration will be to support global efforts to overcome inequities that millions of people face in accessing health services and attaining the highest levels of physical and mental health, and addressing the health-related challenges posed by climate change.
WHO, the United Nations’ specialized agency for health, and Global Citizen, the international advocacy organization working to end extreme poverty, signed the three-year MoU in Paris at ‘Power Our Planet: Live in Paris event’, held during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact.
WHO and Global Citizen have joined forces on multiple activities in the past, including the international broadcast special, One World: Together At Home, held at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to support healthcare workers. The event raised almost US$128 million in commitments from corporate partners and philanthropists and supported efforts of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO, powered by the UN Foundation, and regional foundations.
“WHO has long valued the collaboration it has enjoyed with Global Citizen to raise global awareness, and drive action, to improve the health of people around the world,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “By joining forces through this MoU, WHO and Global Citizen will scale up global and grassroots advocacy for health and engage more and more citizens, with a particular focus on reaching the world’s youth, to advance the mission of health for all.”
“We are pleased to continue our fruitful collaboration with WHO and Dr Tedros,” said Michael Sheldrick, Global Citizen’s co-founder and chief policy, impact and government relations officer. “The impact of climate change on the health of the world’s most marginalized populations is a devastating reality that warrants urgent and concerted action, and we look forward to redoubling our efforts together.”
Under the MoU, Global Citizen and WHO have agreed to undertake global advocacy initiatives to advance the priorities and objectives of WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13) and the health-related aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other activities focused on health equity, addressing the deep interconnectedness between climate change and health, and related subjects.
Through impactful advocacy initiatives, the two organizations will raise awareness on the importance of evidence-based health advice for improving public health; identify areas where action is needed to improve people’s health, including on advancing health equity, mitigating the health impacts of climate change, scaling up immunization, and promoting women’s and girl’s health; and promote the importance of, and how to scale up needed support for, local health providers to deliver essential care and services at country level.
