New Delhi/Dili, Timor-Leste – Health ministers and senior officials from the WHO South-East Asia Region will meet in Dili, Timor-Leste, next week to advance action on equitable access to specialized care, accelerate efforts to end tuberculosis, and harness digital health and artificial intelligence, among other priorities, to improve health and health systems across a Region home to nearly 2 billion people.
The Seventy-ninth Session of the
WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia, the annual governing body meeting
of WHO in the Region, is being hosted by Timor-Leste from 7 to 10 September.
The meeting brings together Ministers of Health and senior officials from Member
States across the Region.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Office-in-Charge for WHO South-East Asia, Dr Nilesh
Buddha, and other senior WHO officials are expected to participate.
A Ministerial Round Table on ‘Human
Resources for Health: Equity in Specialized Care’ will examine how countries
can better ensure access to specialized health services as populations age and
health needs evolve.
The South-East Asia Region
remains at the centre of the global tuberculosis epidemic, with an estimated
3.68 million new TB cases and 433 000 deaths in 2024. While progress has been
made, Member States will consider strategic priorities to close remaining gaps
and accelerate action towards ending TB, including through early diagnosis,
prevention and stronger integration of TB services within primary health care.
Opportunities offered by digital
technologies and artificial intelligence will be discussed to advance universal
health coverage and strengthen health systems.
The Regional Committee will also
review progress towards universal health coverage and the health-related
Sustainable Development Goals, as continued efforts are needed to strengthen
primary health care, quality of care, financial protection and health systems
and ensure that progress reaches everyone.
With more than 35 communicable
disease elimination milestones achieved in the Region since 2014, Member States
will consider how a more integrated, people-centred approach can accelerate
progress towards the remaining 2030 elimination targets, particularly in the
last mile.
Other priorities include improving
access to quality medical devices and diagnostics, including through a
life-cycle approach covering their selection, procurement, use and maintenance;
and strengthening the resilience of health facilities so they can withstand
emergencies and climate-related risks while maintaining essential health services.
The meeting will help shape the health agenda for the WHO South-East Asia Region in the coming years, with a focus on promoting, providing and protecting the health and well-being of all people and accelerating progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.