KATHMANDU, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for South-East Asia Tuesday pledged to take actions to ensure health security and achieve universal health coverage and sustainable development goals for health in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health ministers from the countries adopted a 12-point declaration during their meeting, vowing to provide political leadership and accountability to advance health security and progress toward universal health coverage and the health-related sustainable development goals.
The ministers were attending the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia, a virtual five-day event that began on Monday and is hosted by Nepal.
"The member countries resolved to reorient health systems toward comprehensive primary health care through increased public investments, as the foundation for strengthening both public health emergency capabilities and achievement of universal health coverage," said a news release posted online.
The ministers agreed on closer engagement with communities, empowering them to maintain the delivery of essential health services and public health programs during and after the pandemic.
Voicing deep concern by the ongoing waves of COVID-19 which have negatively impacted health, societies and economies, the ministers also vowed to establish national quality standards for primary health care services and ensure access to quality health services during the pandemic and recovery phase.
"The pandemic has highlighted the urgency and importance of investment in human resource for health, especially at the primary health care level, and the need for adequate supply of affordable, effective, quality and safe medical products to ensure an effective response to public health emergencies and to build resilient health systems," Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for South-East Asia, said at the ministerial round table.
Singh and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus signed the declaration along with ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Enditem
