Good evening and welcome to this Forum on Child Health and Malaria, part of the Access Challenge Universal Health Coverage Conference 2018. 

I am Toyin Ojora Saraki, your moderator for this discussion. As Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives, and Special Adviser to the Independent Advisory Group of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, I am deeply committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030 and I will bring that experience to bear as we discuss Child Health and Malaria as part of that agenda today. 

We will first focus on input from our experts here on the panel and will then pass over to you – the experts in the audience. Allow me to introduce you to:

Mr. Kevin Watkins – CEO, Save the Children UK

Dr. Kesete Admasu – CEO, RBM Partnership to End Malaria

Dr. Katharina Lichtner – Managing Director of the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation

Ms. Joy Phumaphi – Executive Secretary, African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA 2030)

Dr. Stefan Swartling Peterson – UNICEF, Chief of Health Section

Dr. Henry Mwanyika – PATH, Digital Health Regional Director for Africa

Of course, we all attend many events here at UNGA – all of them no doubt brilliant – but I have to say this format strikes me as the most productive one. Across the four forums – Maternal Health, Child Health and Malaria, NCDs and NTDs in Africa – a shared dialogue will be created, with written input contributing towards a Universal Health Coverage Policy Report, thus creating an essential tool in our joint mission to achieve UHC, with equity at its core. Congratulations to Kate and her team for their work in assembling us all together and for their commitment to UHC. 

As we construct our dialogue today, I would like all of us to have these key goals in mind: 

• Identify the most effective methods of improving diagnosis and prevention of disease in low resource settings
• Highlight the importance of African leadership in driving and directing domestic investment in child health
• Agree the elements of a functioning PHC system in developing countries
• Shape policy objectives that would contribute to the achievement of the UHC 2030 agenda

I know that time is against us, so without further ado let us begin. 

Dr. Katharina Lichtner and Dr. Kesete Admasu:  Partnerships and alliances are key to the UHC agenda. How can we break down silos to better channel investment in the prevention and treatment of diseases affecting children? 

Expected answers: 

1). People working in the global health space should foster cooperation by learning each sectors’ ‘language’

2). At the implementation level this is crucial, particularly in terms of knowledge sharing

3). Changing language can change approaches to partnerships

4). Building partnerships beyond the health sector to promote a multisectoral approach

Mr. Kevin Watkins and Dr. Kesete Admasu – any hope of achieving UHC is predicated on domestic financing and African Leadership. How can domestic funding be better targeted?

Expected answers:

1). Identify how health systems are financed and assess the effectiveness of these financing methods

2). Ensure domestic financing is better targeted by ensuring that the right public financial management and budgetary processes are in place 

Ms. Joy Phumaphi and Dr. Katharina Lichtner, allow me to turn to you and ask: how can we foster confidence between the private sector, charities, and the government?

Expected answers:

1). Foster confidence by making the case to governments using examples of the efficient use of resources

2). Speak the language of governments e.g. referring to GDP. This generates a vested interest for governments and helps to unleash more resources from the investors

3). Assess the most appropriate kind of capital investment for different areas of the research-planning-implementation processes that lie behind financial planning

Dr. Henry Mwanyika and Mr. Kevin Watkins, as we turn to Diagnosis and Prevention, can you speak to how we can integrate the most promising innovations into existing health systems?

Expected answers:

1). By turning away focus from individual pilot projects and focusing on the broad application and mobilization of resources 

2). Following from that, yes: what holds us back is a lack of support mechanisms, and integration requires a focus on infrastructure

Dr. Stefan Swartling Peterson, on a subject very close to my heart, what are the elements of a sustainable Primary Health Care system? How do we ensure equity and quality, moving beyond a focus on access alone? What are the challenges facing service delivery?

Expected answers:

1). Importance of quality services and a system which promotes equity

2). Health systems should react to the high disease burden, and this should be context-specific

3). Community operationalization

TS on challenges facing service delivery and effective primary healthcare systems – equity

You emphasized community engagement, why is this so important?

At 6.00pm: 

Ask the audience about policy recommendations to improve child health and tackle diseases impacting the health of children

End:

Thank you to our panel – Mr. Kevin Watkins – CEO, Save the Children UK, Dr. Kesete Admasu – CEO, RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Dr. Katharina Lichtner – Managing Director of the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, Ms. Joy Phumaphi – Executive Secretary, African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA 2030), Dr. Stefan Swartling Peterson – UNICEF, Chief of Health Section, and Dr. Henry Mwanyika – PATH, Digital Health Regional Director for Africa, for your insights today. Thank you to the audience for your insightful input which will inform the policy outputs from today. I look forward to analysing all of the forums that have taken place today, learning from them, and becoming a more effective advocate for UHC. I know that for me, equity and quality remain absolutely fundamental. Thank you and congratulations again to Kate and her wonderful team.