At the UN’s High-Level Political Forum 2025, Indian activist Shobha Shukla called for bold, rights-based, and gender-transformative action to advance health and gender equality — fundamental and indivisible human rights.
“The right to health is inseparable from gender equality and human rights,” declared Shobha Shukla, the main speaker for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 — Good Health and Well-being — at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), held from July 14 to 23 at UN Headquarters in New York.
Based in Lucknow, Shukla was the only Indian on the panel and spoke on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM). HLPF 2025: Science-Driven and Inclusive Solutions for the 2030 Agenda
The 2025 HLPF is focused on the theme: “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient, and innovative solutions, based on science, evidence and data, to accelerate recovery and the full implementation of the SDGs.” The forum is reviewing five key SDGs:,SDG 3: Good health and well-being,SDG 5: Gender equality,SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth,SDG 14: Life below water,SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
The interlinkage and indivisibility of the SDGs remain central to the forum’s approach.
According to Shobha Shukla, health progress is faltering across the Asia-Pacific region. She highlighted key challenges such as inequitable access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), preventable diseases, lack of universal health coverage, and insufficient access to essential tools like vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines.
A former physics professor and founding executive director of CNS, Shukla is also the coordinator of the “SHE & Rights” program — focusing on sexual health, equity, and rights. A feminist and advocate for development justice, she emphasized the critical need to link SDG 3 with SDG 5:
“We cannot achieve SDG 3 without advancing SDG 5 on gender equality.”
Shukla warned against the rise of anti-rights and anti-gender ideologies, including the regressive Geneva Consensus Declaration. She also noted recent funding cuts to gender equality and health, austerity measures in heavily indebted nations, and shrinking domestic health budgets — all contributing to SDG 3 backsliding.
“Essential health services must include sexual and reproductive health, including safe abortion and post-abortion care, menstrual hygiene, and mental health support — particularly for women, adolescent girls, persons with disabilities, Indigenous communities, gender-diverse groups, the elderly, youth, migrants, refugees, people living with HIV, sex workers, and drug users,” she said.
She also stressed the need for inclusive services for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence.
Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance and Corporate Harm. As president of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Media Alliance (GAMA), Shukla urged governments to adopt a One Health approach to tackle antimicrobial resistance and reduce misuse of medicines.
She also called for enforcement of Articles 5.3 and 19 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC):“Governments must hold the tobacco and nicotine industries accountable for the harm they cause to public health and our planet. Corporate interference in public health policy must end.”
Global Financial Reform for Gender and Health Justice; Shukla advocated for gender-transformative economic reform and called for a shift away from debt-driven austerity. Most Global South countries remain trapped in cycles of debt, forced to cut essential public services especially healthcare, education, and social protection.
“Governments must suspend patents and abolish trade rules that block access to life-saving medicines and technologies. Binding treaties like the UN Charter, CEDAW, and the FCTC must take precedence over profit-driven trade deals.”
She also criticized the failure of multilateralism during COVID-19, citing vaccine hoarding and wastage by wealthier nations while Global South countries were left without access.
“We cannot afford a North-dominated multilateralism.” A Call for People-Centered, Rights-Based Public Services
Shukla urged governments to protect workers’ health, enforce the right to information, and implement strong exposure limits — particularly for vulnerable populations.
“All SDG 3 targets must be fully funded. DAC countries must fulfill their official development assistance (ODA) commitments, especially for gender equality and health. At the same time, national resource mobilization for health must be a priority.”
She concluded with a call to action: “We must ensure that health responses and public services are people-centered, gender-transformative, and grounded in human rights , without conditions or exclusions.” “With just five and a half years left to achieve SDG 3, we urge governments to accelerate efforts on gender equality and the right to health — leaving no one behind.” Babacar sene Journal Agropasteur