A very good morning to you all.
Happy World Health Day.
Today, WHO turns 78.
As you know, it was on this day, in 1948, that the WHO Constitution came into force.
That Constitution is a short document, but it is a precise one.
Before it lists a single function, before it establishes a single organ, its founding principles make two things clear.
First: that we must extend “the benefits of medical and related knowledge” to all people.
Second: that "informed opinion and active cooperation” of the public are crucial to improve the health of people.
As you can see, ensuring that science reaches people, and is trusted by the people it is meant to protect, is not a new priority for us.
It is a part of our DNA, written into our founding document.
And 78 years later, on this World Health Day, it is a commitment we are called to reaffirm: “Together for health. Stand with science.”
Because science is under pressure.
Not from a new pathogen or a climate event.
But from something harder to contain: the reducing trust in the evidence that keeps us safe.
Today, misinformation and disinformation can infect the world faster than information can cure.
Vaccine hesitancy is on the rise.
And decisions that should be guided by data and science are increasingly being shaped by fear, politics, and noise.
But here, in our South-East Asia Region, we also see the counterpoint to this trend.
In milestones achieved, lives protected, because of the science-led commitments that protect us all.
So, let me speak to you today about three things:
What science has already achieved for us.
What threatens to undo it.
And what standing with science actually demands.
First, science has delivered extraordinary results in our own region.
Let’s start with zero.
Zero mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B in the Maldives. The very first country in the world to achieve this.
Zero cases of indigenous transmission of malaria in Timor-Leste. From over 200,000 cases annually, to now being officially malaria-free.
For three consecutive years, zero indigenous malaria cases in Bhutan also.
Zero cases of rubella, now eliminated, in Nepal, where also kala-azar elimination thresholds are being sustained.
These zeroes are science made real.
But science also works at scale.
Nearly 96 million people in our region are now on protocol-based management for hypertension and diabetes by the SEAHEARTS initiative. Seventy-six million in India alone.
In Bangladesh, 35 ministries stood together behind a declaration to fight noncommunicable diseases. And the same country achieved 89% HPV vaccine coverage.
These numbers, from zero to 96 million, show what happens when a region stands with science.
And in Sri Lanka, the world's first UN-assisted self-assessment of corruption risks in its Medicines Regulatory Authority shows us that transparency and scientific rigor are not opposing forces, but partners.
My second point is that the gains from science are more fragile than we think.
Science cannot defend itself. That is out task.
Left unprotected, it can be undermined — quietly, incrementally, and at enormous cost.
Globally, trust in scientific institutions has declined. Misinformation and disinformation can spread faster than evidence and information.
And, when emerging infectious diseases originate at the human-animal-environment interface,
when heatwaves and floods are becoming the new normal,
then the cost of science denial is being measured in lives.
This is why One Health is not an abstract concept; it is a survival strategy.
Integrating surveillance across the human, animal, and environmental sectors is how we will detect the next zoonotic threat before it becomes an outbreak.
It is how we will connect climate signals to health signals, and how we will turn data into early warnings instead of late regrets.
But it only works if we trust the data. And that trust only holds if we protect the institutions that generate it.
My third, and final, point is that ‘standing with science’ cannot be a passively held position. It must be an active commitment.
It is that active commitment that sees our global WHO World Health Day campaign this year feature two landmark moments:
The International One Health Summit, hosted by France under the G7 Presidency.
And the inaugural Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, bringing together nearly 800 scientific institutions from more than 80 countries. The largest scientific network ever convened around a United Nations agency.
Our region is a part of that network and has responsibilities within it and to it.
These responsibilities begin at home, borne by governments. By scientists. By partners. By health workers. By communities.
It is the responsibility to stand with science by engaging with evidence, building (and rebuilding) trust, and always supporting science-led solutions.
In speaking about standing with science, I should also point out that this building we are standing in right now is also an expression of science.
In its gleam, you can see the reflection of our commitment to build climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health systems.
Because this World Health House is a ‘green’ structure - a future-ready, sustainable health hub for our region.
It is a building that itself shows sustainability is not a sacrifice — it is a design choice.
From this building, our journey for the next three years will be guided by our new operational framework, the Banyan Framework for Health and Wellbeing.
This places science-led action at the center of four priorities:
Advancing primary health care.
Accelerating disease elimination.
Strengthening health security.
And combating the rise of NCDs and mental health challenges.
The Banyan Framework is not just about what, but also how we deliver.
It asks us to work differently:
Not in fragmented initiatives, but in shared regional platforms, that create common public goods.
Not in programme silos, but in integrated health service delivery systems, built around people.
Not in one-size-fits-all mandates, but in tailored support directed where it matters most.
And not in pilot projects, but at scale, with medical countermeasures, digital tools, and AI-enabled solutions reaching the communities that need them most.
The banyan tree grows by sending down roots that become new trunks—wider and stronger.
Like these interconnected roots and trunks network, the Framework binds our region together to strengthen science, institutions, communities, and people.
For 78 years, WHO has used science to improve the lives of billions; together - with people and partners - for health.
So today, on this World Health Day, I ask every government, every scientist, every health worker, every partner, every community and every person, to:
Choose evidence.
Trust facts.
And stand with science.
Thank you.