November 2020
Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al-Hussein of Jordan (HRH) provided the keynote address for the opening of the resumed session of the 73rd World Health Assembly.
HRH Princess Muna al-Hussein, WHO Patron for Nursing & Midwifery, called for investments in health, health systems and health and care workers and thanked all health workers, including all nurses and midwives for their service and dedication. During the opening session the Director-General bestowed her the WHO Director-General’s Health Leaders Award for outstanding leadership in global health for her “dedication and service to health and humanity” and her “tireless support over six decades for nurses and midwives”.
The Kingdom of Tonga’s Nurses’ Choir performance for the opening of the resumed session of the 73rd World Health Assembly.
The Director-General conferred the WHO Director-General Award to the choir, who “lifted our spirits and touched our hearts”, through their video performance at the opening of the Assembly, to mark the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
In his opening remarks, Dr Tedros called for predictable and sustainable WHO funding, the launch of a Universal Health and Preparedness Review and the need to “reimagine” global leadership and “forge a new era of cooperation” reflecting
the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his closing remarks, Dr Tedros cautioned that we still have a long way to go in the fight against COVID-19, the establishment of a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, and recognizing the urgent need for a globally agreed system for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples, for which he announced a proposal that would include a repository for materials housed by WHO in a secure Swiss facility.