On the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 80th UN General Assembly, the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan, the World Health Organization (WHO), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Zamin Foundation co-hosted a major international event. The meeting focused on “A global movement to improve survival and reduce suffering for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases."

Uzbekistan’s First Lady and Chair of the Zamin Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, participated in the event and emphasized the importance of protecting children’s health worldwide.

“Currently, more than two billion children across the globe are at risk of or suffering from non-communicable diseases. This means nearly one-third of our population. Millions of children are fighting cancer. Despite medical progress, survival rates remain unequal: in developed countries, this rate exceeds 80 percent, while in developing countries it is below 30 percent. Such disparities are absolutely unacceptable. We must take measures to prevent such a tragedy,” Ziroat Mirziyoyeva said.

The event brought together the First Ladies of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Angola, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Serbia, the spouse of Lebanon’s Prime Minister, the WHO Director-General, the President of ECOSOC, the President of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and health ministers from Türkiye, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Mozambique, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Qatar, theRepublic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Mongolia, the UAE, Peru, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Chad, and Jamaica; representatives of the leadership of healthcare structures from Hungary, Indonesia, Russia, and Tanzania also took part.

International organizations, leading experts, civil society representatives, and children suffering from serious illnesses joined the discussion. Among them was Samira Idrisova, a young graduate and volunteer of Uzbekistan’s Mehrli Maktab (“School of Kindness”), who shared her personal experience.

Participants reaffirmed their commitment to raising childhood cancer survival rates to 60 percent by 2030. They also discussed supporting the latest advances in pediatric oncology and implementing the global initiative to combat sickle-cell anemia.

The event once again highlighted the international community’s responsibility for children’s health and stressed the need to build fair, integrated health care systems based on local resources.