Honourable Ministers of Health, Secretaries of Health, and other high level officials,
fellow development partners,
members of the Senior Steering Group,
friends and colleagues,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to Manila to discuss the draft Regional Strategy on Health Systems Based on the Values of Primary Health Care.
Over the past few years, health systems and primary health care have re-emerged as high profile issues in many Member States.
There is now an increased interest in how health policy is developed and on strengthening national health strategies and plans.
One reason for this renewed interest in a more systematic strengthening of health systems comes from our collective efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Four of the eight MDGs relate directly to health.
Unfortunately, there is a real risk that those ambitious and noble goals agreed upon by the international community will not be met by 2015 in many settings, including in parts of our own region.
One of the reasons that the achievement of the MDGs is at risk is weak health systems.
How health sectors are organized in countries makes a big difference in the availability of health services to those who need them, and ultimately big differences in health outcomes.
There are wide variations within the region in how much money is spent on health.
But equally importantly there are also wide variations in health outcomes achieved relative to the amount of money spent. Our responsibility to improve the performance of health systems is critical.
We believe that in much of our region there is a need for 'more money for health' but there is also a need for 'more health for the money'.
But decisions about how health systems should be organised, managed, funded and staffed are not always obvious and are often politically difficult.
The overriding reason for putting together this strategy is to provide some guidance and assistance to decision makers within countries for their own policy and planning processes.
< strongly supports the idea that each and every Member State should have strong and evidence-based processes for developing national policies, strategies and plans.
What does WHO mean by strong processes?
Strong processes have clear statements about the values and vision for the health sector, statements that are derived through a wide-ranging policy dialogue involving a wide variety of stakeholders.
In some respects, the policy process is as important as the policy itself.
Strong processes build connections between the national planning process and disease-specific and programme-specific plans.
And strong processes ensure that what is being planned is connected to what is needed and to what can be delivered at the front-line operational level.
Planning and policy processes need to be realistic.
It must be possible to actually implement them.
Often the plans are most realistic when they are made by the people who will actually carry them out.
For ultimately it is the delivery of useful activities, whether it is for public health or for personal health, that makes a difference to peoples' lives.
Health policy, strategy and planning cannot stand by itself.
They need to link with the national development planning processes at both national and sub-national levels.
We in the health sector are sometimes not as good as we need to be in reaching out to others.
A strong national health planning process includes others sectors, as well as state and non-state partners. Health in all policies needs to become a reality.
National health policy, strategy and planning processes are now taking on even more importance in countries where overseas development assistance is a significant part of health care financing.
There is much discussion on the part of some major donors about strong and robust health plans being a platform for future funding.
For this reason, it is even more important for countries to have strong health policy, strategy and planning processes in place so they can lead the donor community, rather than vice versa.
This new policy environment makes it even more crucial that WHO is able to provide high quality technical cooperation to Member States in the area of health policy, strategy and planning.
To that end, the Director General has allocated significant funds to help build capacity to ensure that WHO is able to support countries with their national health planning.
In addition, supporting countries with strengthening of national health policy and strategy development and with health sector planning has become a key priority throughout WHO – at headquarters, regional level and in all country offices; within health sector specific programmes and through all areas addressing diseases and improving health outcomes.
Being able to work in partnership with countries and strengthen health systems is not just important today but will continue to be important long into the future.
Our health systems are and will continue to be challenged
In many low income countries there has been a large increase in development assistance in health, much of it targeted on disease specific programs.
This funding has done much good, but it has also exposed weaknesses in health systems as an obstacle to sustainable progress.
In middle income countries, there is a need to cope with the demographic transition and increasing demands from the public while not compromising universality.
In high income countries, there is a need to increase efficiency and control cost inflation while maintaining high quality, responsive, universal services.
Although the challenges are many, we feel that health systems built on the values of primary health care are best suited to meet those challenges[RA2] .
Those core values include equity, universality, people-centredness, and community protection.
An emphasis on a strong public health approach must be maintained.
You are here to discuss a draft regional strategy on health systems based on the values of primary health care.
The development of this strategy has been a long process.
The process began with a regional committee resolution in 2008 calling for the development of such a strategy in consultation with Member States.
You will be reviewing the third draft of the strategy.
The first draft was prepared by the WPRO Secretariat based on the reports of a series of global meetings, the World Health Report 2008 – Primary Health Care: Now More Than Ever, and two expert meetings within WPRO.
This draft was then reviewed in all WPR Member States through Key Informant Interviews involving over 240 individuals representing a wide variety of stakeholders.
I thank all those involved in the work, particularly the Senior Steering Group and the Key Informant Interviewees, for their time and efforts and for their generosity in sharing their valuable thoughts and lessons.
I would be grateful if you closely scrutinize the draft strategy.
The strategy must truly reflect the inputs and needs of our Member States.
But most importantly, you must shape it so it becomes a useful policy tool for you in meeting the health needs of your country.
I wish you well in your deliberations and I look forward to seeing the results.