WHO South-East Asia meet opens, solidarity for health stressed

The 79th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia opened in Dili. Member States stressed solidarity for health challenges. Timor-Leste PM Gusmão called for health equity, ensuring no one is denied a healthy life.

The Seventy-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia opened today with Member States underscoring the importance of solidarity, shared responsibility and collective action to address health challenges, strengthen health systems, reduce inequalities and advance the health and well-being of people across the Region.

Calls for Equity and Collaboration

In his keynote address, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão called on Member States to place equity at the centre of health action, with a common objective that “no person is denied the chance of a healthy life because of where they were born, where they live, or what they can afford.” The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of addressing the wider determinants of health, including good nutrition, safe water, sanitation and education, and called for essential services to be protected, health workers supported and resources directed towards the greatest unmet needs. He stressed the importance of strengthening national systems and coordinating partnerships around priorities defined with countries and communities.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the progress being made across the Region is “evidence of sustained political leadership, strong public health systems, and unwavering commitment by health workers and communities. The achievements in this Region show what is possible when countries lead, partners align, and WHO delivers as one. Progress in the years ahead will require sharper focus, stronger partnerships and more integrated approaches to health.”

Strengthening Regional Partnerships

Earlier, in her welcome address, Dr Élia AA dos Reis Amaral, Minister of Health, Timor-Leste, said, “For Timor-Leste, this gathering represents far more than an official summit; it is a vital forum for knowledge exchange, mutual learning and the consolidation of enduring partnerships. Regional cooperation is most effective when solutions are adaptable to the diverse capacities and socioeconomic contexts of our respective nations.”

The Minister of Health and Mass Media of Sri Lanka, Nalinda Jayatissa, and the Chair of the Seventy-eighth Regional Committee held in Sri Lanka last year, said, “The strength of our Region lies in our solidarity and our willingness to learn from and support one another. No country has all the answers, but every country has experiences and lessons that can contribute to strengthening health across South-East Asia. When we stand together, support countries facing emergencies or capacity constraints, and share evidence and innovation, we strengthen the health security of the entire Region.”

Addressing Key Health Challenges

Against a backdrop of evolving health challenges and persistent inequalities, the four-day meeting will provide an opportunity for Member States to take stock of progress, exchange experiences and identify practical actions to accelerate progress towards shared health goals. Discussions will span universal health coverage and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, multi-disease elimination, tuberculosis, equitable access to specialised care, medical devices and diagnostics, resilient health facilities, and digital health and artificial intelligence.

Commending Timor-Leste, Officer-in-Charge for WHO South-East Asia, Nilesh Buddha, said, “In just over two decades since Independence, Timor-Leste has added more than a decade to the lives of its people, a tremendous achievement, and a powerful reminder of what sustained investment, guided by the conviction that health is a fundamental right, can achieve.”

A key highlight of the meeting this year is a Ministerial Round Table on ‘Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialised Care,’ to examine how countries can better align health workforce planning, education, deployment and retention with changing population health needs.

Across the agenda, Member States will consider how stronger health systems and closer regional cooperation can help protect and improve the health and well-being of people across South-East Asia, while ensuring countries are better prepared to respond to emergencies and climate-related risks.

“Regional cooperation is about learning from one another. It is about ensuring that an innovation in one country becomes an opportunity for another; that evidence becomes action; and that our collective experience accelerates progress across the Region.” (ANI)

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