Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Global Leaders Network Event on Maternal and Child Health

Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Chairperson of the board of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the Rt Hon Helen Clark,
Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus,
Representatives of UN agencies and development organisations,
Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are here today because we agree that the health needs of women, children and adolescents requires urgent and sustained political attention at the highest level. 

This 79th Session of the UN General Assembly is an opportunity to accelerate the actions needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.

As we approach the 2030 deadline, investment in development is declining, inequality is persisting and progress is stalling. 

This is manifest in the distressing population health and economic outcomes.

On average, across the world, a woman will spend 25 percent more time than men in poor health. This reduces productivity and earning potential.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the likelihood of dying from childbirth is 50 times higher than in Europe. 

Each year, there are 35 million unsafe terminations of pregnancy.

This is resulting in life-changing injuries for millions and the death of at least 23,000 women each year.

In 2022, 4.9 million under-five deaths were recorded, most of these from preventable causes.

Low- and middle-income countries are the most affected. 

They continue to face the challenges of fragile health systems and inequitable access to health and health-related products.

In 2022, an estimated 13 percent of adolescent girls and young women across the world gave birth before the age of 18.

And yet, we see a downward trend in donor aid for reproductive health and maternal, newborn and child health. 

Countries are struggling with domestic funding allocations to cover essential needs. 

The Global Leaders Network provides a platform for leaders to work together to address these persistent issues.

I thank Her Excellency Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, His Excellency President William Ruto of Kenya, His Excellency Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and His Excellency President Joseph Boakai of Liberia for joining this call to action.  I thank His Excellency Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Mr Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa of the United Republic of Tanzania and His Excellency Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal for lending their support to this initiative.

We also appreciate the support of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNFPA as we move the Global Leaders Network.

Together, women, children and adolescents comprise more than 65 percent of the global population.

Addressing their challenges can fundamentally shift the global health landscape.

The Global Leaders Network will advocate for sustained and enhanced financial investment, contributing to the growth of nations and enabling individuals to reach their potential. 

According to a report by a leading health economics institution, by addressing the health gap between men and women, we could boost the global economy by at least USD 1 trillion annually by 2040.

By addressing the health gap, 137 million women could access full-time employment by 2040, lifting millions of women out of poverty.

We must engage the G7, the G20, BRICS and other blocs to carve out a focused agenda that ensures the necessary investments flow into women, children and adolescent health. 

The Lusaka Agenda, which enhances coordination and accountability in the health financing architecture, can be used to track investments.

In September last year, governments and philanthropies committed to increasing investments to end the shortfall of funding for life-saving family planning supplies. 

These commitments must be upheld.

We need to give greater attention to ending gender-based violence.

We have also seen that the high rates of unintended pregnancies contribute to maternal mortality. 

The United Nations and the African Union, through the Maputo protocol, recognises the right to bodily autonomy, especially for girls and women.

Yet, we continue to grapple with the question of termination of pregnancy at the political level.

This is the case even though the WHO has presented evidence that “where abortion is legal… and where safe services are accessible, both unsafe abortion and abortion-related mortality and morbidity are reduced.”

The Global Leaders Network advocates for life-saving interventions and sexual and reproductive health rights.

As South Africa, we know this from experience. 

The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, which we adopted in 1996, contributed to a decline of termination of pregnancy-related mortality by 90 percent between 1994 and 2021.

The Act was passed through a democratic process amidst robust debates and significant pushback. 

But in the end, scores of women’s lives have been saved.

Prevention of unintended pregnancies, comprehensive sexual education and preventing violence against women and girls are still priority interventions. But complementing these with sexual and reproductive health rights saves more lives.

We understand that countries have the sovereign right to make determinations on issues of termination of pregnancy. 

The Global Leaders Network is called to protect the rights of vulnerable populations and present evidence that demonstrates a reduction in morbidity and mortality.

We therefore issue a call to action.

We call on Heads of State and Government to take women, children and adolescent health seriously and join the Global Leaders Network. 

We call on countries, donors and commercial and development investors to carve out a specific financing agenda for women, children and adolescent health. 

We call on countries across the world to collaborate to meet the financing targets for organisations that support women, children and adolescent health.

These include the Global Financing Facility, UNICEF and the UNFPA.

We call on stakeholders in the women, children and adolescent health sector to target those countries with the highest maternal, neonatal and adolescent mortality rates. 

We call on academics and civil society to continue to provide evidence and compelling arguments for urgent political attention and greater investment.

We call for equity in manufacturing, in access to sexual and reproductive health products and in quality health services for women, children and adolescents.

We call for health systems strengthening programmes that address health outcomes for women, children and adolescents.

As the chair of the Global Leaders Network, I thank everyone who is involved in this critical initiative.

By mobilising the world in support, we can save millions of lives.

We can reduce poverty and inequality, improve productivity, develop economies and transform communities across the globe.

I thank you.