Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. This year's coordination segment of the Council affords us a timely and appropriate occasion to focus on the implementation of existing mandates on coordination. The Group welcomes this opportunity to discuss the role of the UN in implementing the ministerial declaration of last year's High-level Segment of ECOSOC, which dealt with implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to global public health. Our discussion will provide a useful contribution to the MDG Review Summit, to be held in September 2010, on the health dimension of the Millennium Development Goals review.

Mr. President,

2. The Secretary-General's report stressed that the dramatic sequence of global crises over the last two years, have and will continue to affect our efforts to improve global health. Based on current trends, many developing countries are unlikely to achieve the MDG health targets by 2015. Reduction in child mortality is still far from the targeted two-thirds reduction by 2015, particularly in children under 5 years of age, and the rate of improvement is uneven both among and within countries.

3. There is a deep concern that maternal health remains one area constrained by some of the largest health inequities in the world and by the slow progress in achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on improving child and maternal health. Every year, more than 350,000 women still die from complications related to pregnancy and child birth. Ten million women are lost in every generation and almost all of these deaths (99%) occur in the developing world and can be prevented through simple cost-effective healthcare.

4. The progress in reducing the number of people being infected with HIV and the increase in the provision of antiretroviral therapy has not yet been enough to ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by the end of 2010 and reverse the trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to expand throughout the world, erasing decades of social and economic progress and having a devastating impact on population in terms of increased morbidity and mortality. For some countries, the demographic impact of AIDS is enormous. This has serious consequences for their development prospects, as they are losing their productive human resources. In 2008, about 33 million people were living with HIV, 22 million of whom lived in sub-Saharan Africa. In the same year, an estimated US$ 15.6 billion from all sources was invested in the HIV response in low- and middle-income countries. This falls short of the estimated $25.1 billion necessary to achieve universal access.

Mr. President,

5. The Group of 77 and China reiterates that meeting the health-related MDG targets requires reaffirmation of the international commitment to support Member States' efforts in strengthening health systems that deliver equitable health outcomes as a basis of a comprehensive approach. There is a need to scale up global financing for capacity building and ensuring the efficiency of healthcare systems. Moreover, now is the time to build a global movement for maternal and child health similar to the movement launched in response to HIV/AIDS which united countries, the international community, civil society, donors and affected people.

6. In this regard, we urge the donor countries to step up their efforts to honour their commitments, and call for the fulfillment of all official development assistance-related commitments, including the commitments by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for Official Development Assistance by 2015 and to reach the target of at least 0.5 per cent of gross national income for Official Development Assistance by 2010, as well as the target of 0.15-0.20 per cent of gross national income for Official Development Assistance to least developed countries.

Mr. President,

7. The G-77 and China remains fully committed to ensuring that all our populations continue to be able to attain the highest standard of physical and mental health, and to do our utmost to ensure that they have accessible, affordable and equitable healthcare. We reaffirm the values and principles of primary healthcare including equity, solidarity, social justice, universal access to services, multi-sectoral action, transparency, accountability and community participation and empowerment, as the basis for strengthening health systems. We will continue to give the necessary priority to the health sector in national policies and budget, and to preserve and increase the budget allocated to health, in spite of the negative impact of the financial and economic crisis.

8. In conclusion, Mr. President, the Group reiterates its view of the importance of the ECOSOC in guiding system-wide coordination of UN activities and programmes in the economic and social fields. At this juncture, we call to further strengthen coordination between and beyond the United Nations system agencies addressing the health-related Millennium Development Goals.

I thank you.