Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the President of the Republic of South Africa and the chair of the Global Leaders Network for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, I thank our co-hosts, the GLN membership, sovereign and non-state partners, women, youth, civil society and every delegation present today for your dedication to the advancement of health and rights of women, children and adolescents.
I want to begin by reflecting on what the GLN, a network of 12 sitting Heads of State and Government, has done to increase financing for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. The GLN has acted as a catalyst, convener and enabler for its members.
Since its launch in 2023, the GLN’s purpose has been clear: to keep women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health at the highest political level, support member countries to turn political commitment into action and, more importantly, advance and protect financing for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
We recognise that maternal, child and adolescent mortality cannot be reduced without sustained investment.
We also recognise that universal health coverage and economic development cannot be achieved without protecting the resources for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
The past two years have been difficult for the GLN and all delegates here.
Official development assistance fell by just over 23 percent in 2025, and this decline continues.
As a result, GLN members have reported a growing pressure procurement environment, undermining our collective goal of achieving equitable access to essential maternal and child health commodities.
The situation has compounded the prevailing challenges in health workforce development in low- and middle-income countries and has had a devastating impact on service delivery.
Rising debt burdens and shrinking fiscal space make it harder for countries to adjust to the sudden cuts in official development assistance. Indeed, today, more than 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on schools and hospitals. Of that number, over 750 million are in Africa.
In response, the GLN has advanced an action-oriented agenda to close the financing gaps, protect gains and keep SDG accelerators for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health alive.
In the latter half of 2025 and into early 2026, we engaged each other and a range of stakeholders in a six-part webinar series which explored diversified approaches and innovations in domestic resource mobilisation.
The series reached more than 900 participants from over 40 countries and brought together Ministries of Health and Finance, development finance institutions, the private sector, academia and civil society.
It clearly demonstrated that countries are willing to try new things and enhance accountability for health financing.
We were blown away by the innovations so many of our members had already implemented.
After evaluating the impact of the series, many low- and middle-income countries were emboldened to try new approaches.
We also learnt that there are grossly underutilised opportunities, such as debt-for-health swaps, and that the power of knowledge exchange and precedent setting should not be underestimated.
With all the information unearthed and technical support identified, it was time to put what we had learnt into practice.
We moved from the dialogue-based series to a pioneering action-based series, which we call “the Financial Diplomacy Series.”
Launched by South Africa’s Minister of Finance on the margins of the World Bank Spring Meetings, the Series brings Ministries of Health and Finance together with investors and technical partners to ultimately ensure that capital is deployed into country accelerator programmes for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
In just five months, four GLN members – Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and South Africa – have already developed business cases. Just yesterday here in New York, these countries met with investors and partners to develop those business cases further into financing plans.
This clearly shows the political commitment to support countries to mobilise resources for women, children and adolescents.
Excellencies and friends, you may recall that last year President Duma Boko of Botswana and President Ramaphosa agreed that the GLN and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance should collaborate on a gap financing mechanism, which is now known as The Public-Private Partnership Health Accelerator.
We have worked hard with Botswana to progress this initiative from concept to design.
The Public-Private Partnership Health Accelerator is a Global South-led and Global South-facing mechanism that brings together the private sector, the diaspora, philanthropies, Southern and global foundations and development partners to support women, children and adolescents in low and middle-income countries.
In addition to the political endorsement here at UNGA last year, it was recognised as an official G20 legacy project under South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
Today, we look forward to a celebration of sheer determination, political will and urgent actions as countries and partners showcase their financing commitments to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
As we continue with the GLN’s work, our message is both simple and urgent.
We cannot protect the health and rights of women, children and adolescents unless we protect the financing that sustains essential services and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Governments must protect and grow funds allocated to women, children and adolescent health and track spending against outcomes.
Development partners must align financing and technical assistance with country plans.
Together, we can protect essential services, use every available resource more effectively and ensure that women, children and adolescents remain at the centre of health financing decisions.
Thank you.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
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