Bismillah Arrahmaan Arraheem

Secretary General of OIC, Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen , Minister of Health and Prevention of the UAE, Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al- Owais , My fellow ministers of Health from other Islamic Countries, All distinguished delegations, invitees and participants Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalaamu Alaikum

Mr Chair,

First of all, I wish to express my appreciation to the host, the government of the UAE for their kind hospitality and to the Secretariat of the OIC as well as to the Ministry of Health and Community Protection of the UAE for the excellent organization of this important meeting I am very glad to be here, participating at this 7the Session of the ICMH, being held on the important theme of “Quality of Life”. We are excited and are looking forward to very fruitful deliberations. We have no doubt that the conference will yield critical outcomes that the member countries can take home and implement for the betterment of our respective peoples.

Mr.Chair,  Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

As you would know, unlike most countries belonging to this group of Islamic Countries, Maldives has unique features. We are very small by population numbers and geography. Our populations are further fragmented by being dispersed over about 200 low-lying coral islands. Except for fishery products, we are an imports dependant country. We are also dependent on expatriate workforce notably on health sector, to sustain our economic activities and services. Understandably, these features present unique developmental challenges. Challenges related to high cost of goods, transportation, infrastructure development, managing supply logistics, provision of services and the unviability of promoting and sustaining private enterprise due to the lack of economies of scale, and the very imminent threats posed to our livelihoods and existence by Climate Change. It is easy to understand that these challenges are amplified in the provision of affordable accessible, quality healthcare services, that aims to achieve “universal coverage” and not to “leave no one behind”.

Mr. Chair

Maldives believes, that providing affordable, accessible and quality health care is not only a basic Human Right, but also critical to “Quality of Life”. These principles are recognized in our constitution and are priorities in the development agenda of Maldives. Therefore, despite these seemingly daunting challenges, we have made significant progress over the past few decades, in our health sector. Maldives has been certified to have eliminated Malaria, Lymphatic Filariasis, Measles, Neonatal Tetanus and Polio. Recently, we have also achieved Rubella control and elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis. Maldives has made remarkable progress in maternal and infant mortality and life expectancy. This indicates the tremendous efforts by the government in maintaining high vaccination coverage and low prevalence rate of vaccine preventable diseases.

While we celebrate these achievements in controlling communicable diseases, Maldives, like many other countries, are now having to grapple with the high cost of treating the burgeoning of chronic non-communicable diseases, worsened further by ever increasing outbreaks of vector-borne diseases and increasing incidence health emergencies due to climate change and sea level rise. To this end, we have initiated our work towards building climate resilient infrastructures and communities. We have put in place policies to prevent non communicable diseases, including the introduction of higher taxes and controls on marketing and promotion, on unhealthy foods and beverages. Earlier this year, we had introduced 90% graphic health warning on tobacco products, the second largest in the world. With great difficulty in procuring, we have nonetheless introduced HPV vaccine to our immunisation program.

Mr. Chair

While maintaining these achievements, and making further progress requires vigilance, investments and robust policies at country level, many challenges we face today in ensuring good health, by that also “Quality of Life” for our people require both policies and actions that transcend our individual national borders. Be it health impacts of climate change and sea level rise, marketing of high sugar beverages and junk foods, novel tobacco products, availability of vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, all require global political will, thinking and concerted action. Efforts at national level can only become fruitful when they are backed by global political will.

Mr. Chair, and my dear colleagues sincerely believe, that we, the Islamic World, possesses the know-how and resources to be a potential force for the good of the world, in all these social areas. Together, and with political will the Islamic countries, the OIC can lead in many of these areas. In particular, I wish to call upon my colleagues here, to give some thoughts in this meeting, on ways to  overcome the challenges, especially smaller and resource deficient countries like the Maldives are facing in the area of vaccines coverage, both in terms of availability and the growing threat of vaccine hesitancy. Larger and more resourceful countries amongst us, individually, or as a group can invest more in science, and in the fields of vaccine development, or the least in assisting or facilitating the procurement of vaccines and related products to smaller members of this block. Anti-vaccination campaigns are being undertaken over the digital domain, by mostly unseen, unknown and uncontrollable actors. Surely, many of our member posses the resources to address these challenges.

Mr. Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As, we deliberate on the theme of “Quality Life”, in this meeting, I wish to draw your attention to this very pertinent matter of life-protecting, disease preventing vaccination for our peoples, and the importance of sustaining vaccine availability and coverage in our countries. To this effect, Maldives has table a resolution before you. I wish to call upon all of you to kindly consider and adopt this resolution. This is definitely an area where, we as a block can make inroads and progress. Despite our numerous and daunting challenges, the government of Maldives remain vigilant and committed in ensuring Health for all, and abide by the principle of “leaving no one behind”, as we move on making progress towards achieving the health-related SDGs. Let us all make the best use of this opportunity to renew to our people, our political commitment, both in words and deeds, so that we may better ensure good health and through it, a “Quality of Life” for all of us.

I thank you Chair.