As my Global Office and the Wellbeing Foundation Africa delegation continued its engagements through the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, my office joined the Business Council for International Understanding and the Global Self-Care Federation for their high-level roundtable, Beyond the Next Pandemic and Towards Universal Health Coverage, on self-care, community resilience and the future of health sustainability.

Opened by Mr Greg Perry, Director General of GSCF, the discussion heard a keynote from Dr Mohamed Hassany, Assistant Minister of Health and Population of Egypt, and perspectives from Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea of the Ghana Health Service and Dr Mercy Mwangangi and Mr Anthony Lenayara of Kenya’s Social Health Authority and Digital Health Agency, alongside partners including Reckitt, UNICEF, UN Foundation, Colgate Palmolive Co and PATH Global Health.

GSCF’s newly launched report, The Global Social and Economic Value of Self-Care 2.0, the first to measure the preventive value of self-care, finds that self-care now saves health systems some $144 billion a year, up from $119 billion four years ago, while adding 24 million high-quality years of life, with benefits that could rise by up to 50% by 2040 under supportive policies.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces half of the world’s projected shortfall of ten million health workers by 2030. Self Care extends the reach of the health system into every home, as individuals, families and communities take an active part in promoting health, preventing disease and managing illness. Through our frontline programming and the health literacy our midwives, nurses, and community health workers build across Nigeria, WBFA equips women, adolescents and families with the knowledge and confidence to practise safe and informed self-care, recognise danger signs early and seek skilled care in good time.

I encourage governments and partners to integrate responsible self-care into national health strategies and primary health care, strengthening health literacy and access to quality-assured products on the road to universal health coverage. My thanks to BCIU, GSCF and Sidley Austin for such a timely convening.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Toyin Saraki (@toyinsaraki)