The World Health Assembly, held annually in Geneva, Switzerland, is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization. The 69th World Health Assembly, held last week, from May 23 – 28, examined some of the world’s most pressing global health issues, including the challenges that have grown far more numerous and complex. The UN Foundation and +SocialGood joined with three days of programming to discuss some of the key themes from the 69^th World Health Assembly.

World Health +SocialGood brought the Assembly discussions from Le Palais des Nations in Geneva to a global audience through live programming covering a range of issues, including antimicrobial resistance, global health and the global goals, and emergency response reform.

Missed any of the discussions? Watch World Health +SocialGood Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 now.

Here are nine key takeaways from the World Health +SocialGood discussions:

– The potential cost of AMR is immense: Hala Audi, Head of Review Team on the UK-Commissioned Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, explained that if it continues at the current rate, AMR is expected to kill 10 million people by 2050. That’s 100 trillion dollars of accumulated output that could be lost from lives lost to AMR, but even more, that’s 10 million people of all ages, including young people and children, who will lose their lives to this threat if we do not address it effectively.

– Public awareness is going to be key to solving the issue: Precious Matsoso, Director-General of the Department of Health for the Government of South Africa put it simply: “We will not win unless we have education and advocacy.” Education and awareness is key to ensuring that individuals feel empowered to tell their doctors to wash their hands, and informed to know not to demand antibiotics for illnesses like the common cold and the flu. Getting the right medications is important and must first be discussed with their registered doctor, patients will then be able to get them from websites like Blink Health if they are given the go-ahead, however, not all medications need to be distributed.

– This is an issue that impacts us all, and addressing it will require multisectoral collaboration: As Dr Keiji Fukuda, Special Representative on Antimicrobial Resistance for WHO explained, “When we lay out the issues, there’s nobody that says this is a small problem. The scope of everyone being at risk – families, relatives, everyone that you love being endangered by this issue – quickly brings everyone around the table.”

– Women will be key to success: Women are integral to ensuring that we survive, thrive, and reach our full potential. As Katya Iverson, CEO of Women Deliver explained, “There’s such an untapped potential in women. They will drive the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

– Healthy people need a healthy planet: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres addressed the Assembly on May 24 to underline the connection between health and the environment, reminding listeners that “SDG 3 [Good Health and Well-Being] and 13 [Climate Action] are so intimately related, they cannot be separated,” and World Health +SocialGood discussed how climate change exacerbates a myriad of health issues, from the spread of malaria and dengue fever to drought and food insecurity. The good news? Ambitious global action on climate change will have major positive impacts on our health. As WHO’s Maria Neira explained, “If you tackle the causes of climate change…the good news is you’ll have incredible health benefits.”

– Solving these issues will take a multi-sector, multi-stakeholder approach: From businesses choosing not to market junk food or cigarettes to children, to policymakers creating smarter cities with the infrastructure for walking or biking instead of driving, all sectors have a role to play in helping us achieve our health and development goals. As WHO’s Dr Douglas Bettcher explained, we need to bring in the best thinkers of the world and a critical mass of stakeholders to get the job done. Dr. Nata Menabe put it best when she said, “We can come together, we can do it together.”

– The evolving role of the WHO: Even recently, WHO defined itself as a technical, normative agency that was risk-averse. Today, however, WHO’s member states demand more than that, requiring the organization to take a “no-regrets approach” with a physical presence on the ground in action during emergencies. On May 24, WHO agreed to establish a new Health Emergencies Programme that will make WHO operational in all types of emergencies, from outbreaks, to conflicts, to natural disasters and other humanitarian crises. The WHO has evolved over recent years, and will continue to grow and evolve in the coming months and years. As WHO Executive Director Bruce Aylward explained, “This is just the start, where we are today is really just the beginning.”

– The importance of data: Daniel Helle, diplomatic advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross emphasized the importance good and recent data in building an effective and timely response during emergencies. Collect the data, Helle urges, and from there, invite representatives from all sectors – from clinic directors, to ambulance drivers, to ministers of health, interior, and justice – to analyze this data together to build an accurate understanding of the needs, weaknesses, and strengths of your country in emergency action.

– Learn from your failures, and share the best practices of your successes: WHO Director of Emergency Operations and Ebola Response Dr Peter Graaff was honest about the challenges and failures that the Organization experienced in their response to the Ebola outbreak, sharing “We accept that we were too late on the Ebola crisis, and we were too slow.” Initially, the Organization found it difficult to prioritize and direct the response, and this lag cost lives. Dr Graff urged that the solution lies in data, preparedness, and capacity — We need to understand better and we need a stronger surveillance system, with alerts coming out of the community and the capacity to respond.

The 2016 World Health +SocialGood panels emphasized that while we must understand and learn from our response failures, it is equally if not more important to recognize the action and responses that succeed, and share these good practices with all countries. Learning from the programs, systems, and coordination that find success can help other countries build strong responses to these emergencies – all the more important because, as WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Director Sylvie Briand explained, “International disease does not consider borders.”

Watch World Health +SocialGood now for the full discussions:
Day 1 – Antimicrobial Resistance
Day 2 – Global Health and the Global Goals
Day 3 – Emergency Response Reform