Ambassador Tommy Koh,
Miss Peggy Kek, Miss Penny Whitworth, the editors of the book,
Miss Nee Phua,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Two of my earliest childhood memories have to do with school. One is queuing up in trepidation for the BCG injections. In fact I think virtually all Singaporeans of a certain vintage still have the scars to show for it. Another childhood memory was that I used to be quite skinny as a child, and I remember the free milk programme which we all had to line up for. But I must admit it wasn’t until I actually went through this book that a full circle was made and I realised that both the BCG immunisation programme and the milk supplementation programme were in fact pioneered by UNICEF when it came to Singapore in the 50s and 60s. So yes I’m a bit older than Peggy (laughter).
But it’s a good reminder that we have benefitted from the wonderful work of UNICEF and - as Tommy has, in his usual elegant but pressing way made the point - that Singapore ought to do more to support UNICEF.
I was also looking at data on infant mortality. Infant mortality rate refers to the number of babies who die before they reach their first birthday. In Singapore, it’s two babies for a thousand live births. I then scanned through - this was the World Bank data - to look for the highest rate. And the highest number on that table is 96. That means there are countries in the world where 96 babies out of 1000 die before their first birthday.
Now let me tell you as a - as Peggy set out I was formerly a pediatric ophthalmologist - let me just speak as a doctor. Genetically, there’s actually not much difference between a child born in Singapore and a child born in a country where 96 out of a thousand would pass away before their first birthday. They are not that different. And the question therefore must be on the minds of all of us who care for children - why is there such a stark disparity? Is it because of the lack of knowledge or a lack of medical science? The answer is no, it’s not because of that. In fact, the key factors are good nutrition, clean water, and safe environments. This is not rocket science and these are not recent discoveries. These are factors which everyone has known about for a very long time. And yet, we still live in a day and age where there is great disparity in infant mortality rate and children are dying needlessly. According to UNICEF’s latest data, some 16,000 children under the age of 5 die every day. This means that in 2015, an estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five died, equivalent to 11 every minute, mostly from preventable or treatable causes. You know, the UN is set up to prevent wars, and it might be that in fact we actually lose more children needlessly than we lose adults due to war and all the other problems that the UN is set up for.
So the point I’m making, my friends, is that there is a sacred mission for UNICEF. And thank you to all those who pioneered it, and the people who dedicated their lives - meaning you all here - to fulfilling this sacred mission. It’s also very humbling to realise that the mission is not complete and the knowledge, the technology, the means are within our reach. And it’s just that governments globally have not yet grasped them. So let’s continue to support UNICEF and let’s continue to fulfil this mission.
The final point I want to make is that although we have just focused on one statistic, this is a very important statistic. It is perhaps the most important development indicator. Because in order to get your mortality rate down significantly, everything has to work. And it’s not about doctors, it’s not about nurses. It’s about getting the engineering right so that the water systems work, getting drainage right so you are not breeding mosquitoes, getting food supply, and not just supply but also distribution right, because there’s more than enough food in the world and there’s no reason for any child to be malnourished. It is about making sure the governments are able to deliver on infrastructure. To achieve low mortality rates, you don’t actually need extreme wealth. You just need organisation, political will, and the ability to execute. And to do so not just for the top, not even for the middle class. To achieve sustained low infant mortality rates requires delivery of services across the full spectrum of society. And that’s why you see that there are advanced countries with curiously high infant mortality rates. So in fact, I know that now in this day and age people don’t like looking at single numbers. But I put to you that that single number says a lot about the state of development and politics within a country.
My final point is that it’s not just about the children. If families have to deal with the situation where there is a high possibility that the child will not survive, or that the child will not be able to fulfil his or her full potential, it’s got a corrosive effect on the outlook, on the expectations, on the hopes and dreams of the parents. So like I said, children are our source of hope, of optimism, and represent our ultimate commitment to the future. I meant that from the bottom of my heart. Our societies need to know that our children, our precious children have a fair chance, and we give them what is their right. And if we do that, the future will take care of itself.
So thank you all once again for your support for UNICEF. And thank you for this opportunity to address you.
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