Jacinda Ardern speaks at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. May 21, 2023. Photo / WHO
Jacinda Ardern speaks at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. May 21, 2023. Photo / WHO
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardren has reflected on her time as head of the country during the Covid-19 pandemic in a speech during the opening of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 76th assembly in Geneva.
She joked about being “currently between jobs at the moment”, which earned a laugh from the crowd, after speaking of the critical importance of WHO.
During her speech, she reflected on her time in such an important role during the global pandemic, explaining there was “so much to learn from the experience”.
“Crisis has always compelled us to act, to learn, to work together; the question has never been will we do something, the question is will we do enough?” Ardern said.
“Mistakes we made, things we got right, not all of it will be relevant here but much of it was.
“All I can reflect is just how accurate your prescribed approach is building a healthy future, science, solutions, solidarity.”
Jacinda Ardern was also honoured with an award for her work in health. Photo / via Twitter
She said the most important roles during the two-year course of the pandemic were the director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, and her chief science adviser Juliet Gerrard.
“I count New Zealand lucky to have had a public health doctor at the helm during those times,” she said about Bloomfield.
Ardern, who was also honoured with an award, spoke on the “underlying solution” for so many health issues, including “addressing grinding poverty, inequality, discrimination and increasingly, climate change”.
She finally thanked WHO for attempting to build and maintain a foundation of trust between scientists, health and “ultimately, solutions”.
“In the aftermath of the crisis, we have not just done something, we have done enough,” Ardern concluded her speech with.
Her speech comes as New Zealand continues to grabble with the ripple effects of the global pandemic.
There were 14,657 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Aotearoa in the week to midnight on Sunday, and a further 43 deaths attributed to the virus. The total number of deaths from the disease is now 2893.
In addition, there were 247 cases in hospital at midnight Sunday, with eight in intensive care.
The Government rolled out the updated Omicron-targeted booster to Kiwis over 30 at the start of April, yet between April 1 and May 12, Ministry of Health figures showed only around 411,000 boosters - nearly all of those second and third ones - had been administered.
Ministry data also shows that only half of Kiwis older than 50 have received more than one booster, despite the Government offering second ones to that age group last winter.
At the beginning of April, she delivered a valedictory speech to Parliament which capped more than five years as Prime Minister of New Zealand, marked by a series of tragedies in the mosque attacks, Whakaari eruption and Covid-19 pandemic - and Ardern’s globally respected responses to them.
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivering her valedictory specch. Photo / Mark Mitchell
In a speech full of laughter and tears, Ardern went through her achievements and reflected on where more work had to be done, particularly on child poverty and climate change, calling for MPs to “take the politics out of it”, while acknowledging the “weight” of carrying a country on her shoulders at times.
Ardern made the announcement on her Instagram account, confirming she’d been invited to join Harvard University later this year.
In the post, Ardern explained she would take up the first tech governance leadership fellow at the Berkman Klein Centre and work with its research community.
