General Assembly Session 60 meeting 58

The Acting President

I call on the representative of China to introduce draft resolution A/60/L.26.

Mr. Zhang Yishan (China)

I am honoured to introduce, under agenda item 120, for consideration by the General Assembly draft resolution A/60/L.26, entitled "Enhancing capacity-building in global public health".

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The recently held World Summit reviewed the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and adopted the World Summit Outcome. Leaders at the summit made a series of solemn commitments on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other health issues. One of the MDGs is to curb and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. That is also an important element of the World Summit Outcome. The United Nations and its Member States should strengthen their cooperation and continue their efforts to fulfil those objectives.

Currently, the international community continues to face serious challenges in the field of public health. The threat of avian influenza and other infectious diseases is far from over, and the possibility of the outbreak of a large-scale pandemic still exists. The Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes in South-East Asia and other national disasters have posed even greater threats to public health systems. And they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the global public health crisis facing humanity in the twenty-first century.

The international community should have already realized that the weakness of the public health system has become a major problem for countries in their efforts to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development against the backdrop of globalization. The issue of public health is not limited by national borders; our efforts in that regard can never be successful without close regional and international cooperation. Only by responding to these challenges through joint efforts on the part of all Member States can we build a harmonious society through coordinated and sustainable economic and social development.

The Chinese Government attaches great importance to public health. In recent years, we have invested heavily in enhancing capacity-building in public health and in improving the emergency response mechanism, and we have made vigorous efforts to prevent and treat major infectious diseases. Through our cooperation with many other countries and with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, we have accumulated valuable experience in fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, severe acute respiratory syndrome and highly pathogenic avian influenza, as well as in post-disaster rescue, treatment and disease control. We are confident that, with the international effort to enhance capacity-building in global public health, the internationally recognized health-related development goals will be achieved.

For those reasons, the Chinese delegation is for the third time introducing this draft resolution to the General Assembly under the same title. Consensus was achieved among interested parties through extensive consultations.

This year's draft embodies the health-related commitments set out in the World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1) with a view to its implementation. It reinforces itself through elements such as national capacity-building and the training of health personnel. It calls upon all countries to implement the revised International Health Regulations, expresses concern about a possible pandemic of human influenza arising from avian influenza and welcomes relevant responses by the United Nations and other appropriate international and national measures.

In addition, the draft resolution urges the international community to raise awareness about the deleterious impact of natural disasters on public health systems and to strengthen international cooperation in related areas. It requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session a report on the implementation of the resolution, which will be his first report to the Assembly exclusively on public health.

There were 167 sponsors of the draft resolution when it was first submitted. Since then, the following countries have become sponsors: Brazil, Egypt, the Gambia, Ghana, Grenada and Serbia and Montenegro. On behalf of the Chinese Government, I would like to sincerely thank all the sponsors and those who participated in the consultations. We hope that the General Assembly will adopt draft resolution A/60/L.26 by consensus.

The Acting President

We shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/60/L.26.

I shall call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of position before action is taken on the draft resolution. May I remind delegations that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

Mrs. Núñez de Odremán (Venezuela)

We wish to express the commitment of the Venezuelan State to capacity-building in the area of public health. We firmly believe that the development and implementation of public health policy are among the main mechanisms for fighting poverty and social exclusion in our population.

In that connection, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has believed that health and quality of life are the main policy axes of a new approach, as a human and social right inherent to life. Therefore, they are of great public relevance and constitute an area for intersectoral implementation based on a commitment to joint responsibility on the part of all public sectors.

For that reason, we have developed the Inner-City Mission, aimed at providing basic services to the entire population -- particularly those perpetually excluded -- as a priority of our health policy, which is guided by the principles of equity, universality, accessibility, not requiring payment, cross-sectoral implementation, cultural inclusion, participation, justice and shared social responsibility.

Furthermore, we express our support and appreciation to the delegation and the Government of China for introducing this draft resolution. We support its contents and join in the consensus. However, we wish to express our reservation about the second preambular paragraph of the draft resolution -- which is the reason why we decided not to sponsor it -- although the draft resolution is fully in line with our commitment and our domestic policy. As the General Assembly is already aware, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not recognize the outcome document (resolution 60/1) as part of the results of the 2005 world summit. Therefore, that document generates no mandate or obligation for the Republic.

Mr. Cumberbach Miguén (Cuba)

My delegation, as a sponsor of draft resolution A/60/L.26, wishes to make clear that our statement is of a general nature.

Ever since the triumph of the Cuban revolution, international cooperation has been one of the pillars of our country's foreign policy. The strengthening of this important aspect of international relations has been endorsed in the outcomes of United Nations summits and conferences, including the Millennium Summit.

For years, Cuba -- despite the fact that it is a small developing country and has been subjected for more than 45 years to the blockade policy of the United States -- has developed a cooperation programme that has placed special emphasis on helping to build the national public health capacities of the countries that have requested such aid, particularly developing nations. We have done so through the presence of health personnel on the ground and by granting thousands of scholarships to young people in many brotherly nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

That is why we wish to thank the delegation of the People's Republic of China for introducing draft resolution A/60/L.26, entitled "Enhancing capacity-building in global public health". We are convinced that that text -- which is supported by the sponsorship of more than 170 delegations -- will help to strengthen the role of the United Nations in promoting improvements in health in our world. That is an essential issue if we wish to attain the development objectives set out in the Organization's agenda, particularly those agreed at the Millennium Summit.

Moreover, the initiative recognizes the need to strengthen cooperation mechanisms in the area of public health this year, when we are dealing with the consequences of natural disasters. That question is of singular importance to the countries of the third world. Nothing could be more relevant given that we have witnessed in recent months the devastating effects of these phenomena, which are increasingly difficult to mitigate. Indeed, our country has undertaken new initiatives in that regard.

Our delegation wishes to reiterate Cuba's willingness to continue to work towards agreement on global actions in the field of public health in order to help those most in need and to contribute to creating a better world for all.

The Acting President

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position before a decision is taken.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/60/L.26, entitled "Enhancing capacity-building in global public health".

I should like to inform the Assembly that since the introduction of the draft resolution, Angola has become a sponsor.

May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/60/L.26?

The Acting President

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 120.