WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 'Health and Well-being of Every Child: Modern Strategies for Child Health' Conference – 22 April 2026

Deputy Prime Minister Aida Galymovna Balayeva,

WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge,

UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Regina de Dominicis,

Excellencies, honourable ministers, dear colleagues and friends,

Sälem. I am home and I am glad to be home. It is an honour to be back in Astana - the birthplace of the Declaration of Astana, 50 years after the Declaration of Alma-Ata.

I thank the Government of Kazakhstan for its continued leadership on primary health care, and its hospitality in hosting this conference.

I also thank our cousins at UNICEF for their close partnership.

I especially welcome the inclusion of children's own voices in today's programme. And it was best to start with them and I hear you; we must listen to you, our children, before we make any decisions.

Policies for children are stronger when children and adolescents are heard, respected and meaningfully involved in decisions that affect their lives.

Every child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health. But health is shaped not only in clinics and hospitals. It is shaped in families, in schools, in communities, and increasingly in digital spaces.

That is why the themes of this conference are so important: early childhood development, strong primary health care, reducing inequalities, safe and supportive schools, mental well-being, and protection from violence and bullying.

We know the urgency. Globally, one in seven adolescents experiences a mental disorder.

We also know that up to 1 billion children aged 2 to 17 experience physical, sexual or emotional violence or neglect each year.

Schools are a powerful platform to promote health, prevent harm and reach children early.

So the task before us is clear.

First, we must invest early, because healthy development in the first years of life shapes learning, resilience and lifelong well-being.

WHO's Nurturing Care Framework gives us a roadmap to help children not only survive, but thrive.

Second, we must strengthen primary health care, because it is the foundation of universal health coverage and the most inclusive, effective and efficient way to support the physical and mental well-being of children and adolescents.

Third, we must create safe, supportive and inclusive environments - at home, at school, in communities and online - where children are protected from violence, stigma and exclusion, and where they can participate with dignity.

Today's Astana Call to Action is an opportunity to turn shared principles into practical commitments.

WHO stands ready to support countries in building child-centred, adolescent-responsive, evidence-based systems that listen to children, protect their rights, and deliver quality care.

When we protect the health and well-being of children, we protect the future of our societies.

As Nelson Mandela said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."