At the annual World Health Assembly this week in Geneva, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged government leaders around the world to increase efforts to provide health care for all, particularly those suffering from diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, river blindness and polio, Voice of America (VOA) News reports (voanews.com, 5/21).

“We have this calling to ensure peace and build good health,” Tutu told policymakers at the assembly. “Much disease and heartbreak is preventable if governments had the political will.”

According to VOA News, Tutu also rallied for support of the 15 Percent Now! campaign, which asks African countries to allocate at least 15 percent of their annual budgets to health care.