Dr. Mohtashami warmly welcomed the PPD delegation to the UNFPA Indonesia office and expressed his genuine pleasure at receiving Professor Adelegan and his team. He noted that his relationship with PPD spans many years, reflecting a long-standing personal and institutional connection that has contributed meaningfully to the advancement of South-South Cooperation. His warm reception underscored the depth of the ties between the two organisations and the mutual respect that characterises their partnership.

The discussions centred on identifying concrete opportunities for future collaboration between PPD and UNFPA Indonesia. Both sides explored how the complementary strengths of the two organisations can be leveraged to support Indonesia’s ambitious South-South Cooperation agenda, particularly in the areas of reproductive health, family planning, maternal and child health, and population data management. The meeting also examined how PPD’s intergovernmental network of 28 Member States can serve as a platform for amplifying the impact of UNFPA Indonesia’s programmes and for facilitating the exchange of Indonesia’s best practices with other developing countries.

The meeting further explored the potential for joint programme development and resource mobilisation, with both sides expressing a shared commitment to translating the discussions into actionable partnerships. Professor Adelegan highlighted PPD’s strategic priorities, including the revival of the PPD Fellowship Programme, the Centre of Excellence initiative, and the organisation’s ongoing efforts to deepen South-South Cooperation.

The meeting concluded on a note of strong optimism and mutual commitment. Both Professor Adelegan and Dr. Mohtashami reaffirmed their dedication to advancing the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a strengthened and results-oriented partnership between PPD and UNFPA Indonesia.

At the outset of the meeting, Professor Adelegan extended his sincere gratitude to Professor Budi Setiyono and the entire BKKBN team for their warm hospitality and the gracious reception accorded to the PPD delegation. He acknowledged Indonesia’s longstanding and valued role within the PPD family and expressed his deep appreciation for the commitment that BKKBN has consistently demonstrated toward advancing the goals of South-South Cooperation in population, reproductive health, and sustainable development.

A central theme of the discussion was the imperative of joint project development for resource mobilisation. Professor Adelegan underscored the importance of PPD and BKKBN working together to develop collaborative proposals that can attract international funding and translate shared priorities into concrete, impactful programmes. He noted that Indonesia’s wealth of experience and institutional expertise positions it as a natural leader in driving South-South initiatives that can benefit the entire PPD network of 28 Member States.

The Executive Director placed particular emphasis on Indonesia’s extensive best practices in population management, family planning, maternal health, and reproductive health programming, noting that these experiences represent an invaluable resource for other PPD Member Countries seeking to replicate proven models. He encouraged BKKBN to take a more prominent role in sharing these lessons through PPD’s knowledge-sharing platforms and technical cooperation mechanisms.

Professor Adelegan formally requested the Board Member’s guidance and support in facilitating PPD’s access to Indonesia AID, the country’s official development cooperation mechanism. He expressed PPD’s strong interest in understanding how Indonesia AID is structured, what its current priorities are, and how PPD and its Member Countries can engage with it to access funding and technical assistance for population and development programmes across the Global South.

The PPD Executive Director also renewed the call for the revival of the PPD Fellowship Programme in Indonesia, a flagship initiative through which Indonesian institutions have historically provided fully funded training placements for professionals from PPD Member Countries. He stressed that the reinstatement of this programme would deliver immediate and tangible benefits to Member States and would significantly strengthen Indonesia’s visibility and leadership within the PPD network.

In a further expression of confidence in Indonesia’s institutional capacity, Professor Adelegan formally requested that BKKBN consider seconding a staff member to the PPD Secretariat in Dhaka. He explained that the presence of Indonesian expertise within the Secretariat would greatly enhance PPD’s capacity for project development, resource mobilisation, and South-South technical programming, and would serve as a powerful demonstration of Indonesia’s commitment to the organisation.

The discussions also touched on the potential for Indonesia to host future PPD governance events, including the International Interministerial Conference on Population and Development, which would further elevate Indonesia’s profile as a champion of South-South Cooperation on the global stage. The meeting also reviewed the Centre of Excellence initiative, noting that UNFPA Indonesia has already recognised two university hospitals as Centres of Excellence focused on improving maternal health outcomes, reducing maternal mortality, and strengthening midwifery education, a development that PPD welcomed as a significant contribution to the regional health architecture.

The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their shared commitment to deepening the partnership between PPD and Indonesia and to translating the discussions into concrete actions in the months ahead. Professor Budi Setiyono expressed Indonesia’s continued dedication to PPD’s mission and its readiness to explore the proposals raised by the Executive Director. The visit marks a significant step in renewing and strengthening the strategic alliance between PPD and one of its most important and dynamic Member States.

During the audience, the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his sincere appreciation for the pivotal role that PPD plays in advancing reproductive health, family planning, and maternal and child health across the Global South. He underscored the continuing relevance and importance of PPD’s mandate within the current global development landscape, and expressed his firm confidence that the organisation would further strengthen its contributions to sustainable development and population related initiatives under the leadership of the new Executive Director.

Professor Adelegan extended his profound gratitude to the Government of Bangladesh for its unwavering commitment and gracious hospitality in hosting the PPD Secretariat in Dhaka. He noted that Bangladesh’s leadership and pioneering achievements in the fields of population and development serve as an inspiring model for PPD Member States across the developing world, and reaffirmed that the continued support of the host Government remains central to PPD’s institutional strength and its service to Member Countries.

The Executive Director also took the opportunity to formally congratulate the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs on his distinguished election as President of the Eighty First Session of the United Nations General Assembly, a historic milestone that reflects Bangladesh’s considerable standing, influence, and the deep trust placed in its leadership by the international community.

The meeting concluded with both sides expressing their deep appreciation for the longstanding and productive partnership between the Government of Bangladesh and Partners in Population and Development. They reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation and to working in close collaboration to advance common priorities that will benefit the people of Bangladesh and the broader community of PPD Member States. This engagement marks a renewed and forward looking chapter in the strategic alliance between PPD and the Government of Bangladesh, as both parties continue to pursue the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the meeting, Professor Adelegan formally introduced himself to the Honourable Minister and provided a comprehensive briefing on the mandate, strategic role, and ongoing programmes of PPD as a leading intergovernmental organisation promoting South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the fields of population, reproductive health, and sustainable development.

Professor Adelegan took the opportunity to express his profound appreciation to the Honourable Minister and to the Government of Bangladesh for the country’s steadfast and longstanding support to PPD. He paid particular tribute to Bangladesh’s generous commitment in hosting the PPD Secretariat in Dhaka and for allocating land in the prominent administrative precinct of Agargaon, a gesture that has been instrumental in anchoring the organisation’s institutional presence in the region. He underscored that Bangladesh’s unwavering support has remained central to PPD’s institutional growth and its continued service to Member Countries across the Global South.

The Executive Director also warmly congratulated H.E. Mr. Sardar Md. Shakhawat Hossain on his appointment as Minister of Health and Family Welfare, expressing full confidence in his leadership in driving Bangladesh’s national health and population priorities forward.

The meeting served as an important platform to reaffirm the enduring and productive partnership between PPD and the Government of Bangladesh, and to exchange views on future avenues of cooperation in pursuit of shared goals in population, health, and sustainable development.

Also present at the meeting was Ms. Jobaida Begum, Partner Country Coordinator (PCC) for Bangladesh and Additional Secretary (Population, Family Welfare and Law), Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, whose participation further underlined the depth of institutional engagement between the two sides.

The courtesy visit reflects PPD’s enduring commitment to strengthening engagement with its Member Countries and to working in close collaboration with national leadership to advance collective priorities, reinforcing the organisation’s role as a trusted platform for South-South Cooperation across the developing world.

PPD’s presence at WHA79 reflected the organization’s deepening commitment to contributing meaningfully to global conversations on health systems strengthening, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health, and innovation for equitable development. Throughout the Assembly, Professor Adelegan attended and presented at several high-level side events, where he shared policy insights and lessons drawn from PPD’s 28 Member Countries. His contributions highlighted the practical value of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in addressing complex health challenges across the Global South, spanning shared accountability for maternal and newborn health, government-led health innovation, and the digitization of the maternal health workforce. Each presentation reinforced a common thread: that leadership, governance, digital transformation, equity, and sustainable partnerships are essential to improving health outcomes for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Through these engagements, PPD further established itself as an intergovernmental platform that not only supports policy dialogue and technical cooperation among developing countries but also contributes substantively to global discussions on resilient health systems, maternal and newborn survival, and innovation-driven service delivery. Professor Adelegan’s presentations made clear that the challenges confronting health systems today workforce shortages, fragmented service delivery, financing constraints, and unequal access to care which cannot be resolved in isolation. They demand coordinated action anchored in country ownership, regional solidarity, and context-sensitive innovation.

Beyond the sessions themselves, WHA79 held significant institutional and strategic value for PPD. As one of the most influential gatherings in global public health, the Assembly offered an important platform for visibility, partnership-building, and direct policy engagement with governments, multilateral agencies, philanthropic actors, and innovation partners. It allowed PPD to deepen its profile within the broader global health architecture, strengthen dialogue with complementary organizations, and demonstrate the comparative advantage of South-South Cooperation in advancing sustainable health and development solutions.

On the sidelines of the Assembly, Professor Adelegan held a series of bilateral meetings with partner organizations as part of ongoing efforts to establish a PPD representation office in UN Geneva, positioning PPD more firmly as a hub for global health diplomacy and multilateral engagement. In parallel, he advanced discussions toward securing official accreditation with the World Health Organization as an intergovernmental organization, a significant step that would enhance PPD’s formal engagement with WHO processes and open new avenues for policy advocacy, technical collaboration, and representation in key global health forums.

PPD’s participation in WHA79 reaffirmed the organization’s readiness to engage more actively in international policy spaces and to bring developing-country perspectives to the heart of global health decision-making. It also underscored a broader truth: that sustained presence in major multilateral platforms is not simply a matter of visibility, it is where partnerships are built, institutional recognition is earned, and the voices of the Global South find their place in shaping a healthier, more equitable world. Through its growing presence in Geneva, PPD remains committed to bridging national experience, regional cooperation, and global action in service of more resilient and inclusive societies.

The side event was convened at a critical moment in global health, under the broader WHA79 context of reshaping health systems through shared responsibility and locally led accountability. It highlighted Kenya’s experience in advancing Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) as a practical governance tool for reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths, while also promoting peer learning, digitization, and stronger coordination between national and sub-national health systems.

Professor Adelegan’s presentation, titled “The Role of Right Leadership and Governance in Ending Preventable Maternal and Neonatal Deaths and Advancing Health Equity and Justice: Lessons from PPD 28 Member Countries,” emphasized that preventable maternal and neonatal deaths are not only health outcomes but also reflections of leadership, governance, equity, and justice. Drawing on lessons from PPD Member Countries, he underscored the importance of political commitment, accountable institutions, equitable financing, community-centered primary health care, and South-South cooperation in improving maternal and newborn survival.

In his remarks, the Executive Director highlighted successful policy and governance experiences from countries such as Bangladesh, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Egypt, demonstrating how leadership and institutional accountability can help expand access to skilled care, strengthen referral systems, improve data use, and accelerate progress in maternal and newborn health. He reaffirmed PPD’s role as an intergovernmental platform for policy dialogue, technical cooperation, knowledge exchange, capacity building, and shared learning among developing countries.

Professor Adelegan used the platform to call for strengthened political commitment, increased domestic health financing, stronger primary health care systems, equity-focused universal health coverage, improved accountability and data systems, deeper South-South Cooperation, and greater women’s leadership in health governance. He stressed that maternal and newborn survival must remain both a public health priority and a moral imperative.

PPD’s participation in the side event reflected the organization’s continued commitment to advancing practical, country-led solutions to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and population health challenges through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. The engagement also reinforced PPD’s readiness to work with governments, global partners, and regional actors to promote evidence-based leadership and accountable governance for better health outcomes.

The high-level side event, titled “Digitising the Maternal Health Workforce: From a National Partnership to a Continental Ecosystem,” was not a routine conference panel, it was a focused, action-oriented dialogue designed to move beyond fragmented and short-term interventions, and to explore realistic, coordinated pathways toward a digitised, government-anchored ecosystem for the maternal health workforce at continental scale. The meeting also marked a significant institutional moment, with the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Proximie, witnessed by participating ministers and senior delegates.

Professor Adelegan opened his remarks with a sobering reminder of what is at stake. Africa continues to bear a disproportionate share of global maternal deaths, with the heaviest burden falling on rural and underserved communities that are often the furthest from care. Behind these statistics, he noted, lie systemic failures that have persisted for too long, workforce shortages, uneven distribution of skilled personnel, weak referral systems, inadequate remuneration, fragmented information systems, and critical infrastructure gaps. These are not new problems, but they demand a new kind of response.

That response, he argued, must be rooted in digitisation not as a buzzword, but as a genuine strategic tool for transforming how the maternal health workforce is trained, deployed, supported, and retained. Drawing on concrete examples, Professor Adelegan outlined a range of digital interventions capable of making a tangible difference: mobile health platforms that extend the reach of frontline workers, digital workforce training that delivers updated clinical guidance at scale, telemedicine and remote consultation services that connect rural facilities to specialist care, artificial intelligence tools for predictive risk assessment and decision support, and digital payment systems that can improve both workforce retention and accountability. Together, he emphasized, these tools can strengthen communication, support earlier identification of high-risk pregnancies, and enable more effective, data-driven governance of health systems.

Yet Professor Adelegan was equally candid about the risks of the status quo. Too many promising national digital health projects remain trapped in their own silos unable to scale because of weak interoperability, limited sustainable financing, and insufficient regional coordination. The solution, he argued, is not more isolated projects, but a genuinely continental ecosystem: one that supports interoperable digital health records, cross-border workforce credentialing, shared digital health standards, regional training platforms, and coordinated maternal health data systems that can inform policy and investment across borders.

He also raised a challenge that is easy to overlook in high-level discussions: the risk that digital transformation widens, rather than narrows, existing inequalities. For digitisation to truly reach the mothers who need it most, he stressed that affordable devices, digital literacy training, language-inclusive interfaces, continuous technical support, and deliberate investment in rural digital infrastructure including reliable electricity and broadband connectivity are not optional add-ons but essential foundations. He further underlined the importance of data governance, privacy protections, and cybersecurity as pillars of trust that must be built into any sustainable digital health system from the outset.

Underpinning all of this, Professor Adelegan called for strong public-private partnerships and close alignment with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitments  ensuring that digital innovation is not pursued in isolation, but as part of a broader architecture of accountability and long-term financing.

In closing, he reaffirmed that digitising the maternal health workforce represents one of the most promising and most urgent pathways to improving maternal healthcare delivery across Africa. Success, he concluded, will not come from fragmented initiatives, but from integrated, partnership-driven ecosystems that bring together governments, international organizations, technology providers, and communities in genuine collaboration. PPD’s participation in the dialogue reflected its enduring commitment to advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation, strengthening health systems, and supporting practical, scalable innovation in service of better maternal and newborn health outcomes across the Global South.

The event, titled “Reverse Pitch: Governments Setting the Innovation Agenda,” was organized by the Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx) and brought together an influential mix of government leaders, innovators, investors, and development partners. What made it stand apart was its refreshingly bold premise: instead of innovators pitching to governments, it was the governments doing the pitching, laying out their most pressing national health challenges and inviting the innovation community to respond. By enabling Ministers and senior government officials to define the agenda, the model aims to accelerate solutions that are genuinely policy-aligned, catalyze targeted investment, and carve clearer pathways from promising pilots to sustainable, nationwide implementation. The dialogue was designed not just to spark ideas, but to forge lasting partnerships and co-investment that can drive long-term systems transformation.

Professor Adelegan’s presentation resonated deeply with the spirit of the event. Speaking with conviction, he made a compelling case that PPD’s 28 Member Countries must not be treated as passive recipients of outside innovation, they must be recognized and empowered as architects of their own transformation. He highlighted an honest picture of the shared realities facing health systems across the Global South: rising disease burdens, critical workforce shortages, fragile primary health care infrastructure, constrained budgets, and the compounding pressures of climate change and humanitarian crises. Against this backdrop, he argued that innovation detached from national priorities, regulatory frameworks, and real service delivery contexts is innovation that will ultimately fall short.

He outlined the priorities that cut across PPD Member States primary health care transformation, health workforce retention, maternal and adolescent health, digital interoperability, and sustainable financing. He called for a deeper, more deliberate alignment between governments, innovators, and investors, one that produces solutions that are not just effective in theory, but scalable and affordable in practice.

His remarks carried an unmistakable sense of urgency around one particular challenge: the persistent gap between pilots and policy. Too often, he noted, the global health community celebrates successful pilots that never grow beyond their original scope. Closing that gap, he argued, requires country-led design from day one, early alignment with policy processes, integrated financing conversations, and regulatory engagement that begins at the start, not as an afterthought.

One of the most compelling dimensions of Professor Adelegan’s remarks was his articulation of PPD’s unique role as a platform for South-South Cooperation. He highlighted the practical advantages Member States can offer one another: shared implementation experiences, joint procurement possibilities, common digital standards, regional innovation hubs, and peer-to-peer technical assistance. As an intergovernmental body, PPD is distinctly positioned to facilitate this cross-country learning and translate it into collective progress toward resilient and equitable health systems.

The event concluded with a call to action for governments to lead with clear priorities, for innovators to design for scale and affordability, for investors to finance transformation rather than short-term experimentation, and for development partners to enable genuine country ownership. PPD’s participation in the dialogue reflected its continuing commitment to advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation and to supporting practical, country-driven innovation for better health outcomes across the Global South.

The discussions were substantive and forward-looking, covering four major areas of potential collaboration that reflect the complementary mandates and shared vision of PPD and HIEx in advancing equitable access to health innovation for developing countries. A central outcome of the meeting was the agreement in principle to formalise the partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The proposed MoU would provide an institutional framework for collaboration across three strategic pillars: the identification and deployment of innovative health technologies among PPD Member States  including AI-enabled ultrasound, remote surgical care, gene therapy for cancer treatment, and new diagnostics; the exploration of innovative financing mechanisms such as blended finance instruments and technical assistance funds to build a robust ecosystem for health innovation and climate-resilient health systems; and joint convening and event organisation to promote South-South and Triangular Cooperation on health innovation at major international platforms including the World Health Assembly, the United Nations General Assembly, and the World Economic Forum. The HIEx legal team will prepare a non-financial MoU for joint review, with both parties expressing readiness to proceed to signature at the earliest opportunity.

In a particularly significant development, Mr. Kakkattil confirmed that HIEx would be pleased to host the PPD Representative Office in Geneva at the HIEx premises, providing office space and logistical support as required. HIEx also offered to assist in the identification and recommendation of potential candidates for the PPD Representative position in Geneva, and in New York as needed. This offer represents a concrete and immediate step toward strengthening PPD’s institutional presence in Geneva, a critical hub of global health governance.

Both leaders concluded the meeting with a strong sense of shared purpose and mutual commitment to translating the outcomes of their discussions into concrete and impactful results. The United Nations General Assembly in September 2026 was identified as the next key milestone for joint engagement, with plans underway for a collaborative event on the margins of UNGA. The meeting between Professor Adelegan and Mr. Kakkattil reflects PPD’s broader strategy of deepening partnerships with leading health innovation organisations to leverage new technologies, financing mechanisms, and knowledge networks in service of its 28 Member States and the wider Global South. As PPD advances its Strategic Plan 2026–2030, partnerships of this nature are central to its mission of ensuring that South-South Cooperation remains a dynamic and transformative force in global health and development.

During the meeting, Professor Adelegan formally introduced himself as the newly appointed Executive Director of PPD and provided a comprehensive update on the organization’s current strategic initiatives. He emphasized the critical role that Indonesia plays as a highly valued Member State within the intergovernmental alliance. The discussions centered on Indonesia’s steadfast commitment to advancing the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda through robust South-South Cooperation frameworks. Professor Adelegan expressed deep appreciation on behalf of the PPD Secretariat for Indonesia’s continued leadership and engagement, which remains vital to the shared mission of promoting sustainable population and development policies across the Global South.

The courtesy visit also provided an opportunity to explore new avenues for strengthening the bilateral partnership. Both leaders discussed the importance of leveraging Indonesia’s diplomatic support and technical expertise to enhance capacity building, experience sharing, and policy exchange among PPD member countries. The meeting concluded with a mutual reaffirmation of the commitment to deepening South-South Cooperation and working collaboratively to address the pressing demographic and reproductive health challenges facing developing nations today.