Building health systems resilient to climate change, improving access to essential medicines for all and intensifying efforts to end tuberculosis were among the key issues discussed at a meeting of health ministers and officials of 11 countries of WHO Southeast Asia Region, including India, that began here today.
The Seventieth Regional Committee session of WHO South- East Asia Region, the annual governing body meeting of WHO in the region, is being hosted by Maldives and will last till September 10.
The inaugural session of the five-day meeting was attended by health officials from member countries and representatives of partner organisations. India is being represented by Health Secretary C K Mishra at the meeting.
"Sustained investment in health is a vital weapon if governments wish to ensure that hard-won economic progress continues," WHO Regional Director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said.
She said the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is the best and most powerful means we have at our disposal for changing peoples' lives through better health, emphasising how sustained investment in health will ensure hard-won economic progress continues.
"In this region we are committed to the achievement of Universal Health Coverage. Every single country is making headway and we have powerful means to measure progress," said Singh.
A strong health system is vital not only help to keep people healthy, but is also the best defence against outbreaks and epidemics, the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom, said.
"There is nothing better you can do for the people of your countries than to invest in strengthening your health systems. This includes ensuring the right number of health workers with the right skills, in the right places, to give the right care, at the right time. It means ensuring that essential medicines are available, and that people do not have to choose between buying medicine and buying food," WHO Director General said.
WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region, Amitabh Bachchan, will also join the meeting to advocate for urgent action against viral hepatitis, a preventable disease that kills about 410,000 people in the region every year.
Strengthening primary health care and the health workforce and progress towards universal health coverage are among other priority issues being addressed at the meeting, reflecting the Region's drive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal for health.
The focus of the meeting is on climate change - on how to build health systems' resilience to climate change. A well prepared and responsive health system is crucial for preventing and minimising the increasing health risks posed by climate change.
During the five-day event, the ministers and health representatives will also deliberate on accelerating efforts to end tuberculosis as the region bears a disproportionate 45 per cent of the global TB burden.
As the region's health needs evolve, countries are facing increasing challenges in ensuring equitable access to a growing range of quality essential medicines at affordable prices.
To overcome these challenges, ministers will discuss ways to strengthen inter-country cooperation in areas such as medicines procurement and pricing, and regulation of medical products, as well as ways to enhance appropriate use of medicines, especially antibiotics.
The meeting will also deliberate on the action needed to cut down road traffic injuries, which cause 316,000 deaths in the region every year.
Vector control will also figure prominently at the governing body meeting, as countries across the Region bear a high burden of vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and lymphatic filariasis.
The Regional Committee will also review recent progress on priority programmes and discuss next steps to safeguard the health of people throughout WHO South-East Asia Region.
Both Tedros and Singh complemented the member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region for a series of recent public health achievements, including region-wide elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus, elimination of malaria and lymphatic filariasis by Maldives and Sri Lanka; elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis by Thailand; yaws elimination by India, and most recently measles elimination by Bhutan and Maldives and lymphatic filariasis elimination by Thailand.
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