Queen Letizia of Spain travelled to New York City after the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to attend several high-level meetings of the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations.
On 21 September, Her Majesty attended an event at Columbia University with First Lady Jill Biden, touring the Irving Medical Center to raise awareness for the global fight against cancer.
Queen Letizia and Dr Biden met with patients, doctors, researchers, and students. Irving Medical Center participates in the Cancer Moonshot program, part of the U.S. government’s National Cancer Institute, which aims to cut cancer deaths in half over a span of 25 years.
Queen Letizia, who partnered with the First Lady on cancer initiatives during the NATO Summit in Madrid earlier this year, said: “Cancer knows no borders, and this social perspective of research is a global imperative.”
Recalling her visit to the headquarters of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, the First Lady remarked: “After my visit, I wanted to bring the Queen here to see what we are doing here in the United States through the Cancer Moonshot, especially as the Columbia Cancer Center works closely with researchers in Spain.”
Queen Letizia also attended several meetings with UNICEF representatives, Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, and youth leaders to discuss the importance of prioritising mental health for children and teenagers. Russell invited Queen Letizia to address the Transformation Education Summit. Her Majesty is UNICEF’s Advocate for Child and Adolescents Mental Health and honorary president of UNICEF Spain.
During the summit, Queen Letizia remarked: “Talking about the mental health of children and adolescents is important enough for all of us to feel more than concerned and challenged.
“This very morning, I had the opportunity to talk and listen to both experts and a group of young people.
“It is not the first time I have heard 14- or 15-year-olds admit that, when faced with an emotional problem, they prefer to turn to friends because ‘it feels safer’ rather than talk to an expert or ‘be lucky enough’ -as one said-, to be able or have the chance to talk to his mother or father.
“Hence the purpose of this meeting. How to ensure that schools are safe spaces, equipped with enough resources so children and adolescents may feel they can be well -or better- protected.”
The Queen, who was appointed as UN Special Ambassador for Nutrition and Agriculture in 2015, also had a meeting with Qu Dongyu, the director general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, and other high-level officials to discuss issues impacting global food insecurity and ways to combat world hunger.
For more on Queen Letizia’s activities at the UN General Assembly, click here.
