Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM Inaugurates First Global Youth Meet on Health

"It gives me great pleasure to be here with you at the opening ceremony of the First Global Youth Meet on Health. India is proud to host this very important meeting. I am delighted that young people from across the world are discussing issues that impact on the well being of all humanity.

This day, the 14th of November, is observed in India as Children's Day. We commemorate the birth anniversary of our first Prime Minister and a great world statesman, Jawaharlal Nehru. He was very fond of children and wanted the best for all children. He also wanted them to be responsible citizens. I am sure he would have been happy to see young people like you meet and talk about serious issues concerning the well being of humans and our planet as a whole.

Jawaharlal Nehru was a humanist and an internationalist. On the very first day of our Independence, in his very first speech to Free India, Jawaharlal Nehru said, and I quote:

"All the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart. Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments."

Jawaharlal Nehru believed that the solutions to all our problems must be cooperative ones. He was convinced that neither our joys nor our pains were divisible. We must all sail or sink together. It is, therefore, appropriate that we rededicate ourselves to that vision today. You have come here from distant lands to examine policies that influence global health and craft programmes for human well being through cooperative global action.

Health is indeed an essential ingredient of development - both of individuals and of nations. The physical and mental growth of children and adolescents is greatly hampered by ill health. Their performance and productivity are also substantially diminished, now and in later life, if they do not enjoy good health. Nations too will suffer the consequences of their citizens being unhealthy. Just as poverty contributes to ill health, poor health perpetuates poverty. It is, therefore, essential that all societies do their utmost to protect, preserve and promote the health of their young people.

Health is also a fundamental human right. While every citizen of the world must enjoy this right, it is even more important to respect and uphold this right for children who are among the most vulnerable segments of any society. No civilized society can shirk this duty.

Yet, children and youth are in distress in many parts of the world. According to the FAO of UN, nearly 900 million people in the world are undernourished. Nearly ⅓rd of the children in developing countries remain undernourished or stunted. They then fall easy prey to infectious diseases. On the other hand, youth in many urban areas are also consuming unhealthy foods and becoming physically inactive.

At the same time, the global environment is now under great threat, with dire consequences for human health, if we do not take timely action. Global warming threatens famines, floods, epidemics and ecological disarray that will severely compromise human health and may even lead to extinction of life on this planet. There are also a growing number of conflicts and terrorist attacks that threaten the peace and well being of people in many parts of the world. Children and young persons are often the innocent victims of senseless and cruel violence.

Development too takes its own toll. Even under peaceful conditions, there are pandemics like HIV-AIDS and avian flu that take a huge toll on families and societies. In fact, in the battle against HIV AIDS, there is no more powerful weapon than education and awareness. The practice of safe sex is the most important deterrent against this pandemic. As young people you must also recognize that conditions of ill health are aggravated for girls and young women, because of the gender bias and discrimination in many of our societies. This gender bias extends to both education and health, including nutrition.

To protect young people from all of these dangers that imperil their future, we need to provide a broad array of policies and programmes. Every country must provide its people essential health care and shape the social and environmental determinants of health so as to stimulate, support and sustain conditions that are conducive to good health. We have a moral responsibility to create such a healthy world in which people can lead happy and productive lives. We also have a moral obligation not to destroy or damage the world our parents gave us.

Empowering young people through programmes like your forum today, is therefore, a welcome initiative. Young people who are well informed and highly motivated can be very effective change agents in society - influencing not only their peers but also adults. Your idealism can break through even the thickest barriers of cynicism and inaction. Your enthusiasm can light up the dark areas of our society and transform the world into a safer, healthier and happier place to live.

I therefore congratulate HRIDAY-SHAN and its partner organizations for conceiving and convening this innovative global youth meet on health. I am particularly pleased that India is playing host to an event that proposes to create a global platform for informed youth advocacy on several vital matters related to health. I am delighted to know that your Global Meet will culminate in the launch of a global youth advocacy movement - Youth For Health or Y4H. I wish you the very best in your deliberations and future endeavours. May your path be blessed".