The UAE Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, MICAD, yesterday hosted a high-level round-table discussion on global health in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with the attendance of representatives of the leading institutions in the UAE who are contributing to global health and development, as well as diplomatic representatives of other donor countries which partner closely with the UAE, MICAD and the Gates Foundation.

The discussion focused on the key themes of the landmark report, Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a Generation, which indicates that, with the right investments, significant gains in global health can be achieved within 20 years. The high-level group also explored ways in which the UAE's foreign aid contributions can work towards achieving these significant advancements in global health in the coming years, identified how new data tools can help inform better health investments, as well as examined global health within the post-2015 development agenda.

Authored by the Lancet Commission for Investing in Health, CIH, made up of a group of 25 renowned economists and global health experts, the report shows that it is possible to reduce infectious, maternal and child deaths to universally low levels by 2035. The 2035 goals expressed in the report can be summarised as "16-8-4": reducing under-5 mortality rates to 16 per 1,000 live births, reducing annual AIDS deaths to 8 per 100,000 and reducing annual tuberculosis deaths to 4 per 100,000.

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister for International Cooperation and Development, said, "The UAE is happy to work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an important partner in the health sector, to explore ways in which UAE foreign aid entities can support global efforts to achieve these health gains in the coming years. We can take heart from the report that despite the fact that there are inequalities, there are practical steps that we can take to dramatically improve global health in a relatively short time."

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "The topics being addressed in the discussions are very close to my heart and core to the work we do at the foundation. I want to express my gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for his invaluable leadership and partnership on some of the world's most significant health and development challenges. I would also like to thank Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi and the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development for organising today's event. In just two years, the Ministry has been recognised for its leadership role in the global development arena and we hope to continue to partner with them on events like today's event more frequently in the future."

The UAE continues to play an active role in healthcare, having made large-scale contributions to various global health initiatives. These include the polio eradication programme, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and building and equipping health care projects.