Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva: Over 2 billion children at risk of non-communicable diseases

Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva, the spouse of the President of Uzbekistan and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the ’’Zamin’’ foundation, stated that more than two billion children around the world are either at risk of or already suffering from non-communicable diseases. She made this remark in New York during an event held as part of the high-level week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

Speaking at the event titled ’’Global action to increase survival and reduce suffering of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases,’’ Mirziyoyeva stressed the urgent need to take measures to prevent emerging tragedies.

’’At present, more than two billion children around the world are either at risk of or suffering from non-communicable diseases. This accounts for nearly one-third of our planet’s population. Millions of children are fighting cancer. Despite the achievements of modern medicine, survival rates vary sharply across regions: while in developed countries this figure exceeds 80 percent, in developing nations it falls below 30 percent. Such disparities are absolutely unacceptable. We must take action to prevent these tragedies,’’ she said.

The event was attended by the first ladies of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Angola, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Serbia; the spouse of the Prime Minister of Lebanon; the Director-General of the World Health Organization; the President of ECOSOC; the President of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; as well as health ministers from Türkiye, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Mozambique, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Mongolia, the UAE, Peru, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Chad, and Jamaica. Also present were senior health officials from Hungary, Indonesia, Russia, and Tanzania, along with representatives of international organizations, the expert community, civil society, and children battling serious illnesses. Among them was Samira Idrisova, a recent graduate and volunteer of the ’’Mehrli Maktab’’ school, who gave a heartfelt account of her life journey.

The participants reaffirmed their strong commitment to raising the survival rate of children with cancer to 60 percent by 2030 through the development of fair, integrated, and locally resourced healthcare systems. They also discussed supporting advances in the treatment of childhood cancers and implementing a global initiative to combat sickle cell anemia.

It is worth noting that earlier, Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva, the chair of the board of trustees of the ’’Zamin’’ foundation, held a meeting with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.