Declaration by the Health Ministers of Member States at the Seventy-fourth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia

Overview

We, the Health Ministers of Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region, participating in the Seventy-fourth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia, DEEPLY CONCERNED by the ongoing waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have negatively impacted health, societies and economies; disrupted the delivery of essential health services; exacerbated inequities; and exposed gaps in health systems across the Member States of the Region, RECOGNIZING that mounting an effective public health response to health emergencies and ensuring the delivery of quality essential health services requires leadership and a whole-of-government approach,

NOTING the role and contribution of primary health care, with full engagement of communities and community health workers, in managing the pandemic, addressing misinformation, and ensuring the delivery of essential health services,

UNDERSCORING the importance of investment in human resource for health, especially at the primary health care level, and the adequate supply of affordable, effective, quality and safe medical products for the effective response to public health emergencies and to building resilient health systems, NOTING

WITH CONCERN inequities in access to COVID-19 related medical products, especially vaccines, that have a detrimental impact in managing the COVID-19 pandemic and impede economic recovery across the SEA Region, 

EMPHASIZING the importance of regional and global solidarity, especially for improved production, access and distribution of medical products, as one of the measures to overcome the pandemic,