First Lady HE Emine Erdoğan attended the high-level meeting on “Aligning women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being in humanitarian and fragile settings” on the occasion of the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Having attended the meeting at the headquarter of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as a special guest of the World Health Organization (WHO), Emine Erdoğan was accompanied by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk.
Erdogan made a speech at the joint program organized by WHO, the World Bank and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), and said that everyone has to assume responsibility in a world where more than 132 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.
“We owe our success in healthcare to our ‘human first’ approach”
Pointing to Turkey’s historical tradition of attentiveness to the troubles of the world, First Lady Erdoğan said that Turkey has managed to heal the wounds of many people as a result of its decades-old cooperation with the World Health Organization.
First Lady Emine Erdoğan drew attention to Turkey’s success stories regarding the Universal Health Coverage, and said: “We owe our success in this area to our ‘human first’ approach. We say ‘human first’ and put people’s happiness at the heart of our health policies.”
“Turkey provides free healthcare to all the refugees within its borders”
In Turkey, the rate of the population with health insurance has reached 99,5 percent with the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage, said the First Lady, adding that Turkey, with over $8 billion humanitarian aid, holds the title of the “most generous” country of the World in terms of gross domestic product.
Describing Turkey as one of the rare countries that provide free healthcare to all the refugees inside its borders, First Lady Erdoğan further stressed that Turkey, which is home to over 4 million refugees, has gained significant amount of experience and knowledge in finding solutions to problems encountered in fragile geographies across the World.
Bilateral meetings of Erdogan in Geneva
Following her speech, Emine Erdoğan met with ALMA 2030 and EWEC Independent Accountability Panel Co-Chair and SUN Movement Leadership Group Member Joy Phumaphi. Phumaphi said that they always show Turkey as an example for its success in the health system.
Rashid Khalikov, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships for Middle East and Central Asia, expressed his appreciation for international assistance efforts of Turkey.
Helga Fogstad, Executive Director of the WHO Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, said that they are impressed by Emine Erdoğan's work on humanitarian aid. “You are a source of motivation and inspiration for our works with your experience and knowledge” added Fogstad.
In the bilateral meeting between World Intellectual Property Director Francis Gurry and Emine Erdoğan, the issue of endemic plant patents was discussed.
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