Queen Rania Insists Global Community Must Work Together to Reach MDGs

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Beijing) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah underscored the vital need for the global community to add their will to the resources and action on the ground to enable the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. Her Majesty's remarks came during a press conference held following her visit to a migrant community at the Shibalidian Township in Chaoyang District, Beijing, where she witnessed first-hand the situation of migrant women and children.  The visit, which occurred on the second day of a four-day working trip conducted by Her Majesty to the country, involved a tour of the Shibalidian Hospital and the Shibalidian Village Clinic, which are part of program operated by UNICEF, in co-ordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of the Chinese Government to ensure universal access to an essential package of maternal and child health services, and to promote appropriate infant and young child feeding. UNICEF is also working to improve childhood vaccination coverage among migrant communities in two provinces, including in Chaoyang District in Beijing.  Paying tribute to China's efforts in this regard, Queen Rania, who was named UNICEF's first Eminent Advocate for Children in January of this year, said, “I was very impressed with everything that I saw here today…by all the efforts made by the Chinese government, both here in Beijing and elsewhere in China at large, to address the issues of migrant communities."  She added, "What we see here is an example of good practice and pro-activeness in addressing the issues, particularly those of the mothers and children…it's really a prescription of hope for many of these people who have lost out to some of the basic building blocks of a healthy life as a result of their social mobility."  In her statement, the Queen also highlighted the importance of 'multi-task partnerships' and 'multi-stake holder partnerships' in achieving results, commending the collaboration between the Chinese government, UNICEF, WHO and other organizations.  Arriving at the hospital, Queen Rania was received by representatives from the Beijing District Bureau of Health and UNICEF China, as well as the hospital director.  Queen Rania began her tour with the check-up and registration room, before continuing onto the anti-natal room, where she met a number of pregnant women receiving antenatal care.  The Queen then proceeded to administer a Polio pill to a Chinese child at the vaccination and immunization room, where she also met hospital patients and their families, before proceeding to the administration building for a briefing on the program, as well as UNICEF’s work with national, county and local partners to improve health services and educate the local community by the representatives from UNICEF and Beijing District Bureau of Health.  Her Majesty then carried onto the Shibalidian Village Clinic, where she observed the work of the clinic staff in vaccination and immunization.  Queen Rania is a board member of the GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) Fund, and has, on numerous occasions, stressed the vital role of vaccines and immunization efforts in protecting children against deadly diseases. Following her tour of the sites, Queen Rania also commended the "compassion and the professionalism and the dedication of the staff", and thanked "every doctor, every nurse and every staff member for all that they have been doing for these people and all they have done in restoring their health, their dignity, in helping them build their lives and really regaining their spirit".