The seventy-second session of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific will discuss major health issues relevant to the Region including school health, primary health care, COVID-19, tuberculosis, and traditional and complementary medicine. This story is part of a series examining how each health topic affects individuals in the Region.
Khamphet Vilayphone’s work as a nurse has made him an essential member of his remote, rural community in Houaphanh province in the east of Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
“I’ve been working here for 16 years. I have provided treatment to patients from generation to generation.
“For example, some children received treatment from me. When they grew up and got married, some children brought their children to receive treatment from me as well,” he said.
Like other primary health care (PHC) professionals, Mr Khamphet, 38, provides services that restore and maintain people’s highest level of well-being along the life course.
Mr Khamphet said he derived satisfaction from helping people in his community with his expertise.
“If there wasn’t a nurse working in this area, people might not receive health education from medical staff. They would not know how to stay in good health.
“After working the whole day, I go home feeling proud. It is an honour to serve patients.” Watch Mr Khamphet talk about his work.
PHC is a whole-of-society approach that includes health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. PHC is the foundation of a strong health system, leading to more equitable health for everyone, everywhere. Yet, in the Western Pacific Region, up to 50% of people in some countries lack access to essential health services, and 50% of countries do not have enough health workers to provide these services. People should not face financial hardship accessing the health care they need, yet one in five families in some countries in the Region spends more than 10% of their income on health care.
Across the Western Pacific Region, the World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Member States to create PHC of the future, which enables all people to get the best care, right in their community, throughout their lives. The work is crucial now, when one in six people will die from a noncommunicable disease before their 70th birthday. It will be even more important in the future. By 2050, countries in the Region will have twice as many older people as today. In the future, PHC will be key to transforming health systems away from episodic engagement curing disease to promoting health and preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases.
Making the right decisions on the design of the PHC system is an important step every country must take. WHO continues to work with Member States to strengthen political commitments to universal health coverage and increase investments in strong PHC.
Using evidence, WHO provides advice to countries on appropriate policies and actions they can take to provide better-quality PHC services and address the social and economic determinants of health. These include barriers to accessing services, such as cost, distance or other cultural and/or social factors.
WHO continues to strengthen country engagement with sectors outside the health sector to address the factors that have a positive impact on population health, such as education, water, sanitation and housing.
WHO is working in partnership with other stakeholders at regional and country levels to support countries on the implementation of PHC in a way that matches their local context.
During a panel discussion at the Regional Committee session, Member States are invited to share perspectives and reflect on the way forward to build strong and resilient health systems oriented towards PHC.