They are also one of the main causes of this divide. Today, the role of people's health has a central place in global debate. When we talk about global trade, we cannot ignore the issues of access to life-saving medicines and technology at affordable prices. When we talk about the frontiers of technology and science, advances with potential impacts on health are dominating the picture. When we talk about the environment, we worry about the consequences for our health of unsafe food and lifestyles, of pollution and of global warming.
Health is no longer an expenditure only the rich countries can afford.
It is a necessary investment by the poorest countries of this world. I want to say to you tonight that this is an investment we cannot leave to these countries to shoulder on their own. The partnerships we build to share the burden are alliances that will serve our common future. A world in which only a privileged few have access to the fruits of the technological revolution is a world which will become ever more insecure. In the past, desperate conditions on another continent might cynically be written out of one s memory.