The World Health Organization (WHO) recently participated in a series of joint activities at the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) which took place from March 11-15, 2023 in Manama, Bahrain.
This collaborative work included the launch of the IPU-WHO Handbook on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which follows up on the 2019 IPU resolution on UHC. the manual aims to introduce parliamentarians to the concept and importance of UHC and outline the key roles that members of parliaments (MPs) can play in moving forward by offering practical and actionable recommendations.
On the launch of the manual, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros said: “Therefore, it is my great pleasure to launch the new UHC manual, a joint project of WHO and IPU, which can help guide them on the path to universal health coverage, in line with the landmark 2019 IPU resolution.”
Gaudenz Silberschmidt, Head of the WHO delegation, also addressed the plenary during the General Debate on “Promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies: Fighting intolerance”where he highlighted that the longstanding collaboration between the WHO and the IPU to improve parliamentary engagement in health has never been more critical.
During the Assembly there was also a side event on ‘UHC and health taxes’ to raise awareness of the need to further leverage the role of parliamentarians to move towards UHC and how they can strengthen their roles at country level.
WHO also presented a work plan with the IPU during the meeting of the IPU Health Advisory Group. The new work plan confirms the three priority areas of the collaboration: UHC, global health security and health promotion, especially in vulnerable groups, including the health of women, children and adolescents. It also includes two new areas: the role of parliamentarians in supporting sustainable funding for WHO and the Pandemic Agreement. In addition, the WHO and the IPU co-organized a workshop on Sexual and Reproductive Health, with a focus on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). This workshop brought together parliamentarians to share perspectives on CSE from their national contexts.
More information on WHO’s participation in the 146he IPU Assembly can be found here
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