President Kagame made the remarks in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday while addressing the 71st World Health Assembly that took place at the High-Level segment on Universal Health Coverage.
Addressing the assembly, President Kagame commended WHO on the work they are doing in Africa and in Rwanda in particular and promised full support from the Government of Rwanda.
“The World Health Organization is aligned with Africa and with my country Rwanda. It is a trusted source of technical advice and helps keep our people safe from harm,” he said.
“We should return that trust by ensuring that the World Health Organization has the resources needed to carry out the missions that Member States have assigned to it.
This means diversifying funding sources so that costs are more equitably shared. It also means reducing earmarks in favor of untied contributions.”
President Kagame also maintained the crucial role of the organization in maintaining lives around the world.
“As it embarks on its eighth decade, the World Health Organization is as essential and central as ever. It has a unique role in developing important new norms and standards and sharing life-saving tools and technologies. It works at the country-level where for example we need the World Health organization’s support to increase Africa’s emergency preparedness by meeting the International Health Regulation core competencies,” He said
President Kagame praised the World Health organization for the quick and effective response to critical health emergencies in Africa over the past year and more recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to all the front-line health workers and advocates around the world whose heart and spirit of selfless service make our world safer and more just,” he said
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