Helen Clark's Diary, April
Leaders like Jacinda don't come along too often and we've lost one
“You can be anxious, sensitive, kind and wear your heart on your sleeve…you can be all of these things, and not only can you be here, you can lead.” Watch Jacinda Ardern’s final speech to the New Zealand Parliament.
“I think that while I'm happy for Jacinda that she's going to get a life and design what she wants to do and when she wants to do it, you can't help feeling sad about her going," I told Morning Report ahead of Ardern's speech. Listen to the full interview here.
UPCOMING EVENT
Women Deliver 2023 Global Conference
In June, the Women Deliver Global Conference will be held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. It will bring together advocates the rights of girls and women around the world, with high priority being given to sexual and reproductive health and rights. I will be there and hope to see many others in Kigali too. You can register here to attend in-person or to attend on-line.
PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE
Speech to Europe Meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes
I spoke to the Europe Meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes last week on the efforts being made to improve the way the world prepares for and responds to emerging pandemic threats. Discussions are ongoing in Geneva around amendments to the International Health Regulations and a possible new pandemic accord and in Washington DC on the work of the Pandemic Fund. A High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response will be held at the United Nations in New York on 20 September. It is important for reforms to be made on pandemic and response now while memories of the disastrous COVID-19 experience are fresh. As the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which I co-chaired, said, COVID-19 could be the last pandemic, but only if transformative change is made now to how we prepare for and respond to pandemic threats. Access the speech here.
sustainable development
PODCAST
In Pursuit of Development
“For me it's not just about modern highways and train systems and so on. I really buy into the Amartya Sen definition of development which in essence is the mission, it is human freedom and the process of achieving that is expanding human capabilities. So you zero right in on human development, the critical importance of education, the critical importance of health, without our health we are nothing. I also add housing, which I think is rather under emphasised in development.” Check out the rest of my podcast with Prof. Dan Banik of University i Oslo on sustainable development in the current challenging global context.
New proposals for forestry industry in the aftermath of recent cyclones
Good proposals from Gisborne District Council to forestry inquiry: 'plantation forestry should be banned from "extreme risk" zones with areas re-planted in native species. Wood debris should be safely stored & removed'; heavier penalties for breaches. Newsroom has more.
DRUG policy
SPEECH
Keynote speech at opening of Harm Reduction International Conference HR23
In my capacity as Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy I had the honour to give a keynote speech at this year’s Harm Reduction Conference.
“Since the Global Commission on Drug Policy was established in 2011, it has advocated for policies on drugs which are based on research evidence, human rights, and health and well-being. Harm reduction plays an essential role in the approach for which we advocate […] To be effective, harm reduction does not and cannot insist on abstinence-based prevention and therapies. It meets people who use drugs where they are, and thereby builds trust with a population which has so often been marginalized and stigmatised.”
READ THE FULL SPEECH
INTERVIEW
Criminalisation and incarceration of people who use drugs must end
“It's been more than half a century since then US President Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs. And the results speak for themselves. Last year’s report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime found the manufacture of illicit drugs is at record level.” Listen to the ABC’s interview with me and former South African president, Kgalema Motlanthe.
More on this subject in an article published by Malaysian Code Blue.
INTERVIEW
Reflections on my visit to a self-injection centre
I was blown away by the care and support the medically supervised self-injection centre in North Richmond/Melbourne provides. Check out my interview with Neil Mitchell where we talk more about the centre and its local impact, both positive and negative. Listen to the interview here.
Also, check out The Guardian article, “Cocaine-smuggling submarine reveals Europe's drug crisis” on new, concerning developments in drug trafficking.
THE LATEST FROM THE HELEN CLARK FOUNDATION
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Announcing our first book
“We are very excited to announce the Helen Clark Foundation's first book! This is a timely edited collection on the importance of nurturing social connections in the aftermath of the pandemic. Edited by our very own Kathy Errington and Holly Walker, and inspired by a series of reports on post-pandemic loneliness that we published together with WSP in New Zealand. Pre-order now for September release.”