63rd Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference titled “Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDGs.”
The United Nations-Global Health and the MDGs
Since its inception, the United Nations has been concerned about international collaboration in the health field to ensure that people all over the world are able to have access to and achieve the highest possible level of health. The World Health Organization was established in 1948 to promote technical cooperation among nations and carry out programmes aimed at controlling and eradicating disease and improving the quality of life of people around the world.
Some 57 years later, international health was again among the global challenges on which world leaders took action in 2005 at the World Summit. They committed themselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals-including the three critical health goals-by 2015. With five years left to achieve the goals set for child health, maternal health, and the continuing fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.
Role of NGOs in achieving global health
“Health is the tie that binds all of the Millennium Development Goals together. If we fail to meet our target on health, we will never overcome poverty, illiteracy, achieve universal education and meet the other MDG challenges.”
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon and WHO Director General, Margaret Chen
It is with this in mind that the DPI/NGO Conference has chosen to focus on global health. More specifically, we will examine critical issues such as:
* bridging the health gaps that still exist and encouraging equity of treatment and access
* addressing failed maternal and child health strategies
* promoting civic activism around health and wellness
* and strengthening an integrated approach to achieving health for all.
Though progress on achieving global health has been steady much more can be achieved and many more lives saved. NGOs are indispensable partners to UN in the twin goal of advancing global health and achieving the MDGs. It is hoped that the three-day exchange of ideas and best practices in Melbourne will leave a lasting legacy not only to Australia, but the rest of the world. NGOs must leave Melbourne inspired and reinvigorated so that they in turn can advocate with governments, businesses, researchers and the wider public to galvanise each of us to better contribute to meeting the Millennium Goals and improving global health.
Workshops
Workshops have been an integral part of the DPI/NGO Conference since its early days. Organized for NGOs by NGOs, they continue to be among the most sought-after events during the three-day Conference. They serve as vehicles for peer-to-peer discussions, to exchange ideas and experiences and share approaches to common problems. The ultimate goal is to have participants take home information and knowledge for use in their own activities. The subjects of the Workshops are chosen to enhance the conference themes and to represent thematic as well as regional balance. They are designed to be interactive, and to foster lively audience participation under the leadership of facilitators and expert speakers.
A sub-committee representing different areas of the NGO community, including NGO partners in New York and Australia, have assisted in the selection of this year’s offerings. From the large number of Workshop proposals received from many regions across the world, we realize that there is keen interest by NGO participants to exchange experiences, find common ground and share their stories with others working in the field of global health. The sub-committee will work hard to accommodate as many of the thought-provoking proposals that have been submitted as possible, especially from NGOs and partners new to this process. Some Workshops will also offer the opportunity to hear presentations by speakers from the plenary session, in a more intimate setting and with more chances to ask questions.
We invite all conference attendees to take advantage of this opportunity and join us each day for a look at grassroots efforts to “Advance Global Health” and “Achieve the MDGs”.
