Grand Hospitaller Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, representing the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, spoke at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) entitled “All for Health, and Health for All” held yesterday in Geneva.
During the Assembly, delegates from around the world endorsed a four-year $11.1 billion global health strategy to promote, deliver and protect the health and well-being of all people, focussing on climate change, ageing, migration, pandemic threats and equity, adapting it to an era of rapid geopolitical, scientific and technological change. The Assembly also hosted a series of strategic round tables. During these sessions, delegates, partner agencies, civil-society representatives and WHO experts had the opportunity to discuss current and future priorities for public health issues of global importance.
“Since its establishment, the Order of Malta has dedicated itself to the health and social care of people in need with a network that today has over 13,500 members, 95,000 volunteers and 52,000 doctors, nurses and paramedics in some 120 countries. On Thursday, May 16, I entered the Gaza Strip accompanying the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, H.B. Cardinal Pizzaballa, who was reaching his people in Gaza City for the first time since the war began. It is very difficult to understand what I have seen while keeping in mind the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms health as a fundamental human right,” said Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, Grand Hospitaller of the Order of Malta. “Our projects aim to protect children and vulnerable people, strongly supported by our Grand Master and Government, and our priority is to ensure clean water, good food and medical care to millions of people worldwide. Unfortunately, in Gaza, and not only there, humanity is lost,” De Franciscis concluded.
In addition to the Grand Hospitaller’s address to the Assembly, he had important bi-lateral meetings with Ministers of Health of various countries where the Order is active, like Togo, Palestine, Benin, Senegal, Lebanon, etc. Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis also held talks with the Secretary-General of the IFRC, the Vice-President of the ICRC, the Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the WHO.
