PATH joins world leaders in New York City this week to advocate for innovation to implement global goals

This week in New York City, PATH will join leaders from around the world for the 71st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which is expected to focus on a range of issues, including poverty, women's rights, children, humanitarian aid, climate change, food safety, and education.

"Last year, world leaders came together to agree on a comprehensive vision for the world we want to create over the next 15 years," said PATH President and CEO Steve Davis. "Now is a pivotal time to stay focused on moving that agenda forward and putting innovation at the center of solutions to the world's pressing problems."

Timed with the week's events, PATH released two new publications that underscore the need to accelerate innovation to meet global health targets. Both address issues critical to the global discussion: the potential impact of select innovations in reducing maternal and child deaths, and the need to address market challenges to increase women's access to lifesaving medicines.

PATH representatives will also actively participate in the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting and the Social Good Summit—both happening concurrently with the General Assembly. Key events where you'll find PATH leaders include:

• Advancing Global Health Security: Driving Innovation through Partnership
  On Monday, September 19, PATH and the Global Health Security Agenda Private Sector Roundtable will bring together leaders and experts from government, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector for a breakfast discussion about how innovative approaches and partnerships can make the world more safe and secure. Steve Davis, PATH president and CEO, will moderate the panel, and Carolyn Reynolds, vice president for Policy and Advocacy, will give closing remarks. Other confirmed panelists include Jay Ireland, CEO of GE Africa; Dr. Rebecca Martin, director of the Center for Global Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ibu Diah Saminarsih, special staff to the Minister of Health for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Partnerships, Indonesia; Jaak Peeters, global head, Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health; and Jennifer Esposito, general manager, Global Health and Life Sciences at Intel Corporation.
• Addressing Noncommunicable Diseases in Low-Resource Settings (NCD Alliance)
  On Tuesday, September 20, PATH's Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) program leader, Helen McGuire, will join a panel of NCD experts to discuss effective solutions to improve access to health care for people living with NCDs—in particular in low-and-middle-income countries. Due to the chronic nature of their diseases, people at risk of and living with NCDs have multiple interactions with the health system over long periods of time, but face substantial physical, financial, and social barriers that often prevent them from accessing the necessary information, prevention, treatment, and care they need. PATH will focus their comments on availability of affordable essential treatment and technologies for NCDs.
• UN High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance
  On Wednesday, September 21, Carolyn Reynolds, PATH's vice president of Policy and Advocacy, and Matthew Robinson, the Global Health Technologies Coalition's policy and advocacy officer, will attend the UN High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance as accredited civil society representatives. This full-day summit, convened by the president of the UN General Assembly, will bring together member states, civil society, the private sector, and academia to discuss the growing public health threat of antimicrobial resistance and strengthen political commitment to addressing this issue.
• Improving Access to Essential Medicines for Noncommunicable Diseases
  On Wednesday, September 21, PATH is convening a second multisectoral roundtable of stakeholders to discuss ways to address issues of access to essential medicines and technologies (EMTs) for NCDs. Access to EMTs for NCDs is necessary to reduce the impact of diabetes, hypertension, and other NCDs on individual health, families, and economies. However, despite efforts by the private sector to improve access, these EMTs are often unavailable or unaffordable in low-resource settings and are less likely to be available than EMTs for acute illness. Greater momentum behind this issue is critical as we approach the third UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2018. The event is building on discussions of the first roundtable, held during the World Health Assembly in May.

From September 19 to 21, PATH President and CEO Steve Davis will take part in the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. The event brings together heads of state, chief executives, government and nonprofit leaders, and scholars to analyze pressing global challenges, discuss solutions, and build lasting partnerships to create positive social change.

On September 19 and 20, PATH will participate in the Social Good Summit, an annual two-day conference on the impact of technology and new media on social good initiatives around the world sponsored by Mashable and the UN Foundation. This year's notable speakers include Vice President of the United States Joe Biden and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power.

In addition, PATH's Advocacy Innovation Champion, Nigerian entrepreneur Adepeju "Peju" Jaiyeoba, will join to speak on the "Solutions for Saving Mothers and Babies in the World's Tough Spots" panel at the Summit's Social Good Master Class on September 19. The Social Good Master Class is an intimate gathering of some of the Social Good Summit's leading minds, bringing together top bloggers, problem solvers, big thinkers, and leaders in social media, technology and global development. To hear Peju and other leaders speak at the Social Good Summit, follow #2030NOW.

• Harnessing the Power of Innovation to Save Mothers and Children
  As global health leaders gather to discuss progress achieved by the Every Women, Every Child movement and A Promise Renewed, PATH published a new report that reinforces the vital role innovation will play in achieving global targets for reducing deaths of mothers and children. The report estimates more than six million mother and child lives could be saved by 2030 if just 11 emerging innovations are advanced and scaled up in 24 countries. Learn more here.
• Stronger Markets, Increased Access to Maternal Health Supplies
  Maternal mortality will also be a topic of conversation in New York, and a new series of papers by PATH highlights that worldwide, too many women lack access to the lifesaving medicines that can prevent the two leading causes of death during pregnancy and childbirth—postpartum hemorrhage and preeclampsia/eclampsia. The papers describe how key market challenges, such as inconsistent availability and poor-quality supplies of oxytocin, misoprostol, and magnesium sulfate are putting women's lives at risk, and provide important recommendations for how advocacy can strengthen markets to better deliver these lifesaving products. Written by PATH in partnership with the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) and Results for Development Institute (R4D), the papers provide details and recommended actions in three geographies:  globally, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.

Stay up to date with PATH this week in New York on Twitter at @PATHtweets, @SteveDavisPATH, and @PATHadvocacy.

Posted September 17, 2016.