تحریم‌ها، تهدیدی خاموش اما مرگبار برای سلامت جهانی

Subject: International Sanctions and the Silent Health Crisis

Mr./Madam Chairperson, Esteemed colleagues, distinguished guests,

I stand before you today as the voice of millions of men, women, and children whose well-being is being held hostage by policies beyond their borders. I speak of a "silent health crisis"—a crisis fueled by the intensification of sanctions against natitions.

The evidence of this human tragedy is no longer confined to statistics; it is documented on the pages of the world's leading medical journals, such as The Lancet. These publications unequivocally demonstrate how sanctions have severely restricted access to essential medicines, vital medical equipment, and even the raw materials needed for domestic drug production. Sanctions have become a tool of "medical siege," which, contrary to international law, directly targets the lives of innocent civilians. Sanctions' mortality equals or exceeds that of wars.

The inequitable access to vaccines and medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic was merely the tip of the iceberg. Today, cancer patients face interrupted treatments and health systems struggles to procure spare parts for dialysis and CT scan machines. These are not technical problems; they are the direct consequences of financial and banking barriers that even violate claimed humanitarian exemptions.

Dear colleagues, The World Health Organization champions "Universal Health Coverage." But how can this goal be achieved when health systems are deliberately set adrift in a storm of sanctions?

My appeal to this Assembly is threefold:

    Recognition and Acknowledgement: I call upon the WHO and Member States to formally recognize the severe impacts of sanctions on the health of citizens and the violation of their right to health as a serious international concern.

    Documentation and Reporting: I urge the WHO Secretariat to establish a dedicated working group to systematically document the impact of such sanctions on health in targeted countries and report its findings to this World Health Assembly.

    Practical Action: I implore the international community to take immediate steps to create a "truly unimpeded humanitarian channel" for the trade of medicines, medical equipment, and their raw materials, exempt from financial and banking sanctions.

(Mr./Madam Chairperson,) My final point is this: Health must be beyond politics. We must not allow our children, our patients, and the most vulnerable in our societies to become collateral damage in negotiations held in distant capitals. They have but one life, which can only be preserved through equitable access to health.

Thank you for your attention