Her Excellency, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; Mr Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum; partners and friends,
A very good evening from India.
First, allow me to tell you a bit about the WHO South-East Asia Region.
We are 11 Member States. We comprise more than a quarter of humanity.
The Region spans from Nepal in the north down to Maldives in the south; from India in the west across to Timor-Leste and DPR Korea in the east.
We have three of the world’s top ten most populous countries: India, the world’s second most populous country, with around 1.38 billion people; Indonesia, the fourth most populous, with 273 million; and Bangladesh, the eighth most populous, with around 164 million.
Our Member States are low- and middle-income countries with varying health system and emergency response capacity.
In some, the private sector is robust, well developed and has substantial resources. In others, the private sector is just starting out, but still has much to offer, especially with regard to community mobilization and engagement.
I welcome the very positive impact that public-private partnerships have had on health and development in our Region, and I thank partners for their continuing support.
To date, the spread of COVID-19 within the Region has been comparatively slow. Almost all countries implemented aggressive physical distancing measures early and are now planning the next phase of the response.
Yes, we are relatively well positioned, but we are under no illusions: COVID-19 is a grave risk to the Region.
We need only consider the fundamentals.
Large, densely packed populations.
Significant numbers of informal workers, many of whom are migrants.
Inadequate housing and access to water.
A health profile that is marked by a substantial disease burden, from noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to communicable diseases such as TB, HIV and malaria.
From the very start of the outbreak, WHO has supported its Member States and partners in the Region to urgently prepare and respond.
We have been in close formal and informal contact with leaders and officials at the highest levels of government, and within the UN system, to mobilize emergency response mechanisms and to develop national preparedness and response plans.
We have worked with our many on-the-ground partners, both virtually and in person, to drive impact at the grassroots. This includes by training contact tracers, surveillance medical officers and other health care workers and programme staff, while assisting partners to develop and deploy targeted risk communication.
We have also provided Member States in the Region critical resources, from primers, probes and other laboratory equipment to personal protective equipment (PPE) and specialist human resources.
We will continue to do all we can to support our Member States and the Region’s near 2 billion people.
I commend the World Economic Forum and its engagement with WHO at the global and now regional level via the Regional Action Group for South Asia. Your work on the Pandemic Supply Chain Network will continue to be invaluable, especially in helping the world produce adequate diagnostics, laboratory equipment and PPE.
Member States across our Region continue to struggle amid global shortages of these items, and I reiterate their need for additional supplies as they prepare for the next stage of the response.
Beyond the Pandemic Supply Chain Network, and ongoing research and development for novel diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, the private sector has many opportunities to scale up its contributions to what must be a whole-of-society response.
I take this opportunity to highlight three priority areas.
First, the private health sector. Across the Region, the private sector is responsible for a significant proportion of the health care provided. It is imperative that private sector leaders mobilize in support of the public sector response.
The private sector can collect and communicate high-quality data. It can deploy equipment and staff to identified nodal facilities. It can support testing and laboratory needs. And it can provide COVID-19 care at affordable costs. As and where possible, the private sector must bring its remarkable resources and expertise to the table.
Second, access to high-quality information. The spread of rumours and misinformation has been a global feature of the outbreak. Such misinformation has facilitated transmission and cost lives.
To help counter this, WHO has partnered with the private sector to respond in innovative ways, for example by re-calibrating search engines, moderating misleading content, providing free air time to public health advertisements, and hosting live Q and A’s with experts. We have also supported businesses to direct their employees to credible information as part of staff welfare initiatives.
I encourage all business leaders within the Region, including information providers and media, to make concerted efforts to connect people with accurate information. Doing so will be crucial to the health response and will also help maintain economic activity by ensuring people are well informed and have trust in policy-makers.
Third, supply chains, which I’m pleased the COVID Regional Action Group is focused on. By ensuring that key commodities and equipment continue to be available and accessible, government and industry will help maintain essential health services as countries directly respond to COVID-19.
Previous disease outbreaks show that vaccine-preventable diseases and other treatable conditions can dramatically increase when health systems are overwhelmed. WHO will continue to support countries in the Region to protect and defend their many health gains, which can only happen if supply chains remain operable.
As you appreciate, those same supply chains are fundamental to people’s livelihoods. I share your concern at the economic disruption COVID-19 has brought and very much recognize that economic activity is central to the health and well-being of all people in this broad and very diverse Region.
I thank you very much for convening this event and look forward to working closely together to stop the spread, save lives and minimize impact.
Thank you.