Deputy Secretary-General, at Population Award Ceremony, Honours Physician’s Work on HIV, Groups Committed to Reproductive Rights, Children’s Medical Assistance

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the United Nations Population Award Ceremony, in New York today:

I am delighted to join you for this important event.  Let me begin by thanking the Members of the Committee for the United Nations Population Award for their work over the past few months, which has brought us here today.

Each year, the United Nations Population Award recognizes and celebrates the work and dedication of people and institutions that are saving and transforming lives and making outstanding contributions to the field of population and development.  Since it was first conferred 35 years ago, this Award has become a touchstone of global efforts to put people at the centre of sustainable development, and this year’s award ceremony is no different.

Population is, after all, not about numbers, but about people — and about the choices they are able to make.  This understanding took root 24 years ago in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development.  Leaders from around the world came together to transform our approach to population and development and to ensure the centrality to sustainable development of individual health, dignity and rights.  This includes youth, women’s choices and the economy.

The Cairo Programme of Action has led to better health and better lives for millions of people around the world, particularly women and girls.  And we see it reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Human rights, individual agency and evidence-based decision-making are at the heart of our global goals for sustainable development because they are fundamental to individual health and well-being, to building more prosperous, sustainable societies, and to leaving no one behind.  They are also at the heart of the work of this year’s laureates who are being recognized for their varied and rich contributions at the nexus of population and public health.

This year, we honour the remarkable achievements of three laureates whose contributions have, in very different ways, inspired and informed our collective efforts to improve lives and achieve sustainable development. Serving humanity by serving lives and supporting policy change for results.

First, let me congratulate our Laureate in the Individual Category, Prince Ramsey.  A family physician from Antigua and Barbuda, Dr. Ramsey was one of the first to recognize the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS in the country.  In response, he emerged as a prominent expert and champion in combating the epidemic, not only in Antigua and Barbuda, but throughout the Caribbean.

While Dr. Ramsey advanced the clinical treatment of HIV and AIDS, providing life-saving antiretroviral medications free of charge to patients from disadvantaged communities, he also provided leadership in advocacy to address the social impact of the disease, co-founding the Health, Hope and HIV Foundation to help patients, their families and friends cope with the stigma surrounding the disease.

He also pioneered the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV throughout the Caribbean, facilitating the treatment of pregnant mothers living with HIV.  In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Antigua and Barbuda and five other Caribbean countries for their achievements in eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Let me also congratulate our two Laureates in the Institutional Category, the Guttmacher Institute (United States) and Save a Child’s Heart (Israel).

Founded in 1968, the Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights worldwide.  It has filled a vital niche as a credible source for high-quality scientific research on sexual and reproductive health and as a centre of excellence in translating evidence into policy change in support of reproductive rights.  Its international work encompasses research and policy engagement, designed to provide valuable data to inform key policy debates.  During its 50 years of work, the Institute has increasingly expanded its efforts to developing countries, guided by an abiding concern for the health and rights of marginalized and vulnerable populations, including adolescents, and ethnic, racial and sexual minorities.

The evidence generated by the Guttmacher Institute helps fill critical gaps in knowledge and contributes to advocacy efforts, stimulating increased investments in sexual and reproductive health, and in the design of more effective programmes and interventions in public health.  In close coordination with international organizations and leading research institutions, the Institute also works to translate complex research findings into messages that policymakers, stakeholders and the public can readily take up and embrace.

Established in 1996, Save a Child’s Heart provides life-saving cardiac surgery for children from developing countries, regardless of race, nationality or financial status.  By providing treatment that would otherwise by unattainable to them, the organization enables these children to live healthier and more productive lives and contribute to their communities.

Many of the estimated 5 million children in developing nations living with congenital heart disease will die before the age of 20 because they lack access to facilities or doctors capable of performing the life-saving surgery they need.  As early treatment is critical to save lives and lessen the burden on families and communities, Save a Child’s Heart not only provides life-saving heart surgeries and follow-up care, but also provides training in Israel to physicians in developing countries so that they can return home and treat patients within their own communities.  To date, the organization has trained over 100 medical personnel, and saved the lives of 4,400 children from 55 developing countries.

On behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General and myself, I commend our honourees.  I would also like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the late Babatunde Osotimehin, former Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whose legacy of tireless commitment to social progress is very much in the spirit of today’s celebration.  Please join me in offering warm congratulations and sincere appreciation to Prince Ramsey, the Guttmacher Institute and Save a Child’s Heart for their contributions to saving and improving lives.

Lastly, let me reiterate my gratitude to the Members of the United Nations Population Award Committee for their dedication.  With the tenure of the current Committee coming to an end this year, I encourage Member States to continue participating actively and nominating laureates, so that the crucial work done in the service of humanity by organisations such as today’s awardees continues receiving the recognition it so rightly deserves.