As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved in 2020, so too have countries and areas’ actions to control it, Member State representatives told the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization (WHO).
To date, the Western Pacific Region has experienced a lower burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths than other Regions, in part because countries and areas in the Region have been building their capacity and mechanisms for conducting emergency response over the years, guided by the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies, or APSED.
While most countries in the Region have managed to contain their outbreaks, and some have not had any cases to date, many are also experiencing new surges. Rather than banking on vaccines to end the pandemic, countries will need to continue essential public health actions to suppress transmission and reduce mortality.
At a virtual meeting of national focal points for the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) convened by WHO’s Western Pacific Regional Office on 30 November 2020, country representatives discussed how evidence and advice from WHO and other countries in the Region helped them to continuously review and update their COVID-19 response strategies.
As part of responding to the evolving challenges of the virus, countries identified long-term objectives, such as protecting vulnerable populations and strengthening health systems. For example, the Republic of Korea updated its Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act multiple times to strengthen the response. Its Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) was given enhanced capacity and renamed the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Fiji identified the need to strengthen its health system, including its lab, hospital and intensive care capacities. New Zealand identified the unmet needs of vulnerable populations as well as further use of information technology in its health system, using what it calls the “learn and go” approach. With this approach, New Zealand keeps reviewing, learning and improving response plans to adapt to the evolving situation. To date, New Zealand has conducted two dozen reviews and rapid audits. These actions to strengthen health systems will have immediate benefits for the COVID-19 response, but also well into the future.
Member States shared lessons about the value of multi-source surveillance systems to assess the risk of transmission; contact tracing to quickly identify and isolate contacts of confirmed cases—both prospective (to find people who have been exposed and may themselves become infected) and retrospective (to find the source of infection); behavioural changes, including mask wearing and physical distancing to reduce person-to-person transmission; and the use of information technology for surveillance and contact tracing.
WHO coordinates IHR implementation and, with partners, helps countries to build their capacities. At the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office convened a weekly, then bi-weekly, and now monthly meeting of IHR focal points from around the Region – to share information on the virus and the response. The current pandemic has served as a reminder of the need to continue strengthening health systems, making the right investments now for a safer and healthier future for people and economies.
As COVID-19 cases surge in many parts of the world, international collaboration and information sharing is more critical than ever for identifying and implementing the best response strategies to protect populations.