- Excellencies, President of the General Assembly, and Secretary-General
- Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
- Distinguished Delegates
Universal access to health care is a defining feature of the modern social contract. Good health affords people dignity and enables them to use their talents to the full.
Today, we renew our joint commitment to affordable care. No parent should have to choose between food and medicine for their families.
Innovation, domestic resource mobilisation, and international partnership are the key strategies for making healthcare accessible to everyone.
Allow me to share some examples from Rwanda’s experience.
First, we have expanded our network of Community Health Workers from two per village, to four.
That translates into one worker, for every 40 households, helping to ensure that no one is left behind.
Second, to improve equity in access, Rwanda set a target that the walk to the nearest health facility should be no more than 25 minutes. Half the country now meets this standard, and the work continues.
Third, 93 percent of Rwandan girls below the age of 13 have received the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.
This highlights the importance of gender equity, as well as the urgency of including treatment for non-communicable diseases, such as cervical cancer.
Health insurance is the foundation of our policy framework. More than 90 percent of the Rwandan population is now covered with a mixture of community-based and private schemes.
Of course, barriers to achieving high-quality Universal Health Coverage persist, in Rwanda as elsewhere around the world.
It is the responsibility of everyone gathered here, to take the lead in addressing these gaps, and leave behind a legacy of Universal Health Coverage for future generations.
I thank you.