WHO Director General's address on the report of the Regional Director at the 77th Session of the Regional Committee for South East Asia – 7 October 2024

Honourable Minister Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk,

Regional Director Saima Wazed,

Honourable Ministers and heads of delegation,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

Good afternoon, and I apologise that I cannot be with you in person, but I'm pleased that my Chef de Cabinet Dr Razia Pendse is there to represent me.

I congratulate the Regional Director on her report, which paints a comprehensive picture of the region's work over the past year, in each Member State and against each of the regional flagships.

In your quest to eliminate measles and rubella, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Timor Leste were certified for the elimination of rubella;

And Bhutan is on the way, with interruption of rubella transmission for over 36 months.

On noncommunicable diseases, following the Dhaka Declaration, the Secretariat has supported many Member States to develop plans and set new targets for the management and control of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and mental health.

And I congratulate Thailand on becoming one of the first five countries in the world to be validated for the elimination of transfat from its food supply;

The region has also been a star performer in reducing maternal, neonatal and under-5 mortality, although I recognize there is variation between countries, and you still have work to do to reach your SDG targets.

On universal health coverage, service coverage has increased steadily, although not fast enough. The increase in catastrophic health spending is concerning, and requires focused attention.

If people cannot afford health services, they will not use them.

On antimicrobial resistance, all Member States in the region now have national action plans and surveillance systems in place.

The political declaration on AMR approved at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting 10 days ago includes concrete commitments and targets, and I urge all Member States to take immediate action on those commitments.

The region also continues to make impressive progress in the elimination of neglected tropical diseases.

Last year Bangladesh became the first country to eliminate kala-azar, and was also validated for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem;

Tomorrow, India will become the 20^th country to be validated for the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem; and Timor Leste will become the 21^st country to be validated for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

Congratulations to all Member States.

On tuberculosis, although there are encouraging trends in service coverage, treatment success and testing, there is worryingly little progress in reducing incidence or deaths from TB, while catastrophic household spending on TB services is alarmingly high.

With half of the global TB burden, the fight to End TB will be won or lost in this region. This must be a key area of focus for all Member States, and the Secretariat is committed to supporting you at all three levels.

On health emergencies, the threat of COVID-19 has eased, but there were many other crises with which you had to contend last year, from outbreaks of cholera, dengue, measles, mpox nipah, rabies and variant poliovirus, to the earthquake in Nepal and humanitarian crises in Myanmar and Cox's Bazaar.

As you know, Member States made significant steps towards strengthening health emergency preparedness, prevention and response at this year's World Health Assembly.

The adoption of a set of amendments to the International Health Regulations, and the agreement to conclude negotiations of the WHO Pandemic Agreement before next year's Assembly, or sooner, are major achievements.

Although Member States have made progress on the Pandemic Agreement, some of the most crucial issues remain unresolved.

I urge all Member States to continue listening to each other - within the region and beyond - to continue to seek common ground, and to conclude a strong agreement by the end of this year if possible. It is in your shared interest to do so.

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Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

As you continue to focus on driving progress against each of the regional flagships, I welcome the five strategic shifts the Regional Director has outlined in her report:

Fostering a holistic approach to health;

Focusing on equity, especially for women, girls and other vulnerable groups;

Leveraging the transformative potential of innovation;

Building capacity and knowledge management for sustainability,

And enhancing WHO's role as an enabler.

These shifts are well aligned with the shifts we have made at the global level through the transformation that we began in 2018,

with a mission to make WHO more efficient, effective, accountable, transparent and results-oriented.

Based on ideas from Member States, partners and our own staff, the transformation is the most ambitious set of reforms in WHO's history, with more than 50 initiatives.

We have made significant changes to our business processes, our operating model, our approach to partnerships, our culture and more - and we're not done.

One of our key priorities now is to strengthen our country offices to provide more predictable, more stable and more tailored support to Member States.

Together with Saima and the other Regional Directors, I am committed to consolidating the transformation, and building this Organization into the WHO the world needs and deserves.

The centrepiece of the transformation was the 13^th General Programme of Work.

GPW13 was the first of its kind in the history of our Organization, with measurable targets and clear indicators, to support countries on the road towards the health-related SDGs.

Although we have made progress down that road together, it has not been far enough, or fast enough.

Even without the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would have been well short of our goals, as you know.

The lessons learned from GPW13 have now been incorporated into GPW14, which Member States adopted at this year's World Health Assembly.

GPW14 incorporates lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and our aspirations for the future.

It's based on a clear mission to promote, provide and protect health and well-being for all people, in all countries, and to save 40 million lives over the next four years.

To support the implementation of GPW14, we have launched the first WHO Investment Round, which aims to mobilize the sustainable and predictable resources we need to do our work.

We look forward to your participation at tomorrow's Investment Round event.

Every Member State can contribute something, within its means.

And every contribution makes a difference, whatever the amount.

At the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil in November, His Excellency President Lula da Silva will announce the results of the Investment Round.

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Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

I leave you with three requests:

First, I urge all Member States to engage actively in negotiations for the Pandemic Agreement, and to complete it by the end of this year, if possible.

Second, I urge all Member States to implement the 14^th General Programme of Work.

And third, I urge all Member States and partners to participate in the WHO Investment Round.

Thank you all once again for your commitment to promoting, providing and protecting health, for all the people of South-East Asia.

I thank you.

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