Urgent
action needed to address emerging health challenges
19
March, Bangkok: WHO is bringing
together parliamentarians from Member States in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to
deliberate on the challenges in strengthening national public heath systems in
the Region. Countries in the Region face several challenges including the rising
burden of non communicable diseases; malnutrition; public health emergencies and protecting health from climate change. WHO is urging parliamentarians to focus on
issues such as strengthening the public health workforce; promoting public
health through strong policies; inequities in health; as well as adequate and
appropriate financial allocations for public health.
Member States of the WHO South-East Asia
Region have an unprecedented opportunity for human development. The rapid
economic growth in the past decade or so has generated vast resources that, if
harnessed wisely, can lead to tangible socioeconomic development. However, the
tendency to view health through the lens of disease leads to disproportionate
attention and diversion of resources for curative medical care at the expense
of more cost-effective health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.
“We tend to be concerned with health only
when disease or sickness strikes. This is as true for individuals as it is for
policy-makers and health-care providers. With the skyrocketing costs of medical
care, If we focus more on keeping our populations healthy, we will not only
enhance human productivity but also considerably reduce financial resources
needed for setting up expensive diagnostic and curative facilities” said Dr.
Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO’s Regional Director for South-East
Asia.
In addition to the existing health challenges
like tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS and the high burden of maternal and child
deaths, the Region is confronted with a burgeoning epidemic of noncommunicable
diseases. Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic respiratory
diseases are increasing exponentially. These conditions are not only expensive
to treat but require life-long care. In addition, the South–East Asia Region is
prone to man-made and natural disasters which impose a severe challenge to
health. The Region is also beginning to witness the health effects of climate
change. The SARS and influenza epidemics have shown how rapidly these
conditions can spread and cause massive disruptions in the economy. There is a need
to examine whether public health systems in the Region are ready to address the
provisions of the International Health Regulations.
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While world-class tertiary medical care
infrastructure has been created by governments, unacceptable inequities in
health exist between and within countries. The very high levels of
malnutrition, high prevalence of maternal and child mortality due to largely
preventable causes, and higher rates of morbidity and mortality due to
communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the poorer segments of society are
some of the manifestations of relatively weak public health systems.
The South-East Asia Region bears the highest
rate of out-of-pocket expenses for health. This has been recognized as one of
the most important reasons for the causation and perpetuation of poverty in the
Region. Large numbers of people in Member States slip below the poverty line
each year when sickness strikes. It would thus be reasonable to state that
investments in public health should form a very important component of the
poverty alleviation agenda of governments.
WHO is calling upon parliamentarians to work
towards “health in all policies”. This Conference is a step to bring different
sectors of national governments together to strengthen national public health
systems in South-East Asia.
What: Regional Conference
of Parliamentarians on Strengthening of National Public Health
Systems for Emerging Health
Challenges
When: 19-21 March 2012
Where: Hotel Dusit Thani, Bangkok, Thailand
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