G7 Health Ministerial Session Thursday 16 and Friday 17 May 2019
G7 Health Ministers’ Declaration
Paris, Ministry of Solidarity and Health
11, avenue Lowendal – 75007 Paris
FOR AN INCLUSIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED AND SUSTAINABLE G7 ACTION IN GLOBAL HEALTH
1. With a view to supporting the forthcoming G7 Biarritz Summit on 24 to 26 August 2019, and the Sixth Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Replenishment Conference on 10 October 2019, we, the G7 Health Ministers and the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, met in Paris, on 16 and 17 May 2019, to reaffirm that primary health care is a cornerstone of a sustainable health system for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health-related Sustainable Development Goals, to reduce inequalities and contribute to the improvement of well-being and socio-economic development, as well as social stability and security in all countries. We were joined by the Health Minister of Burkina Faso, the G5 Sahel Permanent Secretary, and Heads of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank Group, Unitaid and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as representatives and high-level experts from the civil society.
2. The G7 has been playing a major part in keeping health issues high on the global policy agenda: the Okinawa and Genoa Summits, in 2000 and 2001 respectively, resulted in the launch of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the Hokkaido-Toyako Summit in 2008 helped strengthening health systems; the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health was created at the 2010 G8 Summit; more recently, efforts focused on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, making progress towards achieving UHC, global health security and pandemic and emergency preparedness and response, polio eradication, antimicrobial resistance and the impact of environmental related factors on health. We reiterate the commitment made by the G7 leaders in Elmau in 2015 to offer assistance to countries to implement the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005). We will continue to offer assistance to 76 partner countries and regions, building on countries’ expertise and existing partnership, for this implementation, in particular to strengthen and maintain core capacities required; and therefore, to help reduce the vulnerability of countries to public health emergencies. We will keep working together to support countries struggling to combat infectious disease outbreaks, such as the current Ebola virus outbreak. We note with great concern the increasing threat posed by antimicrobial resistance, the burden of which falls disproportionately on resource-poor health care systems, and we reiterate the need for accelerated national and global action in a “One Health” approach. We welcome the forthcoming 2019 Comprehensive Accountability Report, which takes into account the progress of G7 leaders’ development-related commitments. We also look forward to a specific stocktaking report of G7 assistance related to building IHR (2005) capacities, to be published in 2020, highlighting progress made on our commitment along with recommendations for further action developed in coordination with the WHO. Today, regarding the persistence of health inequalities worldwide, and following the Astana Declaration in 2018 and in view of the upcoming United Nations High Level Meeting on UHC in September 2019 in New York, we recognize the need for more inclusive, evidence-based and sustainable G7 cooperation in health for all, including on strengthening primary health care for achieving UHC.
4. We support strategic actions maintaining global health as a high-level political priority, between G7 countries and low- and middle-income countries, such as African countries, including G5 Sahel countries, for mutual benefits. We encourage mobilization and coordination of the entire international community, including among international organizations and financing facilities, representatives of patients and the public, health professionals, academics, non-governmental organizations, and all other relevant stakeholders of the civil society, from public and private sectors to improve primary health care as a lever for fighting health inequalities.
5. To accelerate primary health care strengthening in all countries, there is a momentum to improve coordination of knowledge on primary health care, facilitate its use by policy makers and share experiences on primary health care implementation, with a specific attention to gender equality and women’s empowerment, in accordance with national contexts, laws and priorities. We welcome the G7 Primary Health Care Universal Knowledge Initiative, led by France, that aims at exploring options for a web-based knowledge- sharing platform. It would allow gathering and coordinating existing expertise, and encouraging cross-country learning on primary health systems among interested G7 countries, as well as with low- and middle-income countries, such as African countries, including G5 Sahel, for mutual benefits. The Initiative should have strong and strategic links to existing and new efforts for improving coordination towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 for Good health and Well-being (SDG3), as appropriate, including consideration of future planning tools for coordination, such as regional plans and the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All. We thank the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) the World Bank Group, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for their commitment, by signing a joint statement, to provide a joint report, including options for working with other organizations on the web-based platform, to be submitted by the end of the G7 2019 French Presidency. Pending the outcome of the report, we also envision the establishment of a time-limited G7 technical task force led by France to further shape the platform, if needed. We urge these organizations to work collaboratively to inform the outcomes of the report with other organizations and actors, such as UNICEF and Unitaid.
6. To keep global health issues at a high level on the policy agenda, as well as to reinforce the importance of regular, sustainable, inclusive and evidence-based G7 cooperation on health, we encourage, at the discretion of each G7 Presidency, a continued dialogue and information exchange on health among members of the G7 Health Experts Working Group. The outcomes of this dialogue could contribute to G7 Ministerial Meetings, and Leaders’ Summits, or to other discussions independent of a specific G7 health track.
7. We commit to support the success of the Sixth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, that France is pleased to host in Lyon, on 10 October 2019, which has the ambition to reach at least 14 billion USD to fight the three diseases for the 2020-2022 cycle. Ending the three epidemics, achieving UHC and the SDGs related to health by 2030, and improving global health security, will not be possible without a mix of financing sources, including from traditional and new donors and partners from public and private sectors and encouraging implementing countries to mobilize domestic resources. While maintaining a clear and enduring focus on the three diseases, we reaffirm our support to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the Global Fund’s programs, including through investments in strengthening health systems, in particular primary health care. We also highlight the role of innovation and the importance of addressing health threats such as increasing drug resistance, supporting community systems and integrated approaches. Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as promoting, protecting and fulfilling human rights, and ensuring no one is left behind, should be accelerated through Global Fund actions and beyond.