Health ministers of Asean and plus 3 countries pave way for better healthcare

With the decline of the H1N1 pandemic and the relatively calm health environment in the region, health ministers of ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea focused on longer-term healthcare challenges facing the region at the 10th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting and related meetings. The Ministers discussed ways to manage the twin burden of chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases while keeping healthcare affordable for its population. They agreed to further promote regional cooperation and collaboration to achieve the objectives of "Healthy People, Healthy Region".

Review of H1N1 pandemic status

Given that the H1N1 outbreak has entered the post-pandemic phase and ASEAN states have stepped down or are in the process of stepping down their pandemic alert status to the post-pandemic level, ASEAN Health Ministers urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to review the influenza pandemic alert levels, and to take into account the severity or virulence factor for future pandemics. The Ministers welcomed the review of the global response to the H1N1 pandemic by the International Health Regulation Review Committee, and look forward to the outcome of the review.

ASEAN risk communication resource centre

Recognising the need to strengthen member states’ capacity to manage emerging infectious diseases (EID) outbreaks through effective risk communication, and to facilitate regional collaboration during disease outbreaks, the 10th AHMM agreed to establish an ASEAN Risk Communication Resource Centre. The centre will be based in Malaysia and will undertake various research and training programmes to strengthen the region’s risk communication capabilities based on the needs of member states.

ASEAN Health Ministers also endorsed the minimum standards on joint Multisectoral Outbreak Investigation and Response. The plan ahead is to develop regional and national guidelines in coordinating procedures to mount a clear, coordinated, timely and effective response to emergencies in ASEAN.

The Ministers also discussed possible collaboration between ASEAN and other neighbouring countries like Australia, New Zealand and India when fighting international disease outbreaks like H1N1 and SARS.

ASEAN Dengue Day

The ASEAN Ministers acknowledged that increasing public awareness is one of the main strategies to reduce the risk of dengue transmission. They agreed to designate 15 June every year as ASEAN Dengue Day to raise public awareness of the risks of dengue in the region. Each member state will organise public education events on this day. Through concerted efforts by member states to take preventive measures to prevent mosquito breeding, they hope to reduce dengue incidence in the region.

ASEAN strategic framework on health development

The ASEAN Strategic Framework on Health and Development (2010-2015) was adopted by the ASEAN Health Ministers. The focus of the Strategic Framework is in four major areas: (i) food safety; (ii) access to health care services which comprise pharmaceuticals, traditional medicines, maternal and child health, and migrant health; (iii) healthy lifestyle with emphasis on proactive health promotion measures to prevent non-communicable diseases, and mental health; and (iv) communicable diseases and pandemic preparedness and response. The meeting agreed that future health cooperation among ASEAN and plus Three Countries should be aligned with the ASEAN Strategic Framework on Health Development. The ASEAN Secretariat will coordinate the project.

ASEAN plus Three cooperation in health

ASEAN plus Three Health Minsters supported the development of collaborative networks in the areas of health promotion; capacity building for health professionals; human resource development, addressing infectious diseases; developing traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.

As emerging infectious diseases are of animal origin, ASEAN plus Three Health Ministers agreed on the need for greater collaboration between the animal health and the public health sectors on zoonoses. They supported the closer collaboration between animal and human health sectors. They also supported the development of networking among field epidemiology training programmes in ASEAN and plus Three Countries.

Healthcare reforms

The ASEAN plus Three Health Ministers also exchanged views on the challenges involved in ensuring universal, basic and affordable healthcare coverage for their populations. They agreed that the healthcare systems in their individual countries (both in terms of the delivery system and financing) would have to continually evolve with economic and demographic developments, as well as changes in disease profiles over time. It would be useful for member states to learn from the healthcare reform experiences of other member states and adapt the lessons learnt to their specific context where appropriate.

China shared its experience in healthcare reform. ASEAN Ministers congratulated China on the good progress made so far in improving health insurance coverage amongst the population, enhancing the community-level health infrastructure and establishing of a National Essential Drug List. The ASEAN plus Three Health Ministers agreed that the next stage of China’s health reforms covered areas which were of common interest amongst member states, e.g. strengthening healthcare manpower capabilities and capacity, health informatics and technology innovation to improve healthcare quality and contain costs.

The meeting expressed strong interest in greater collaboration and mutual learning on issues of healthcare reform. Avenues for such collaborations will be explored through dialogues, fellowships and attachment programmes for healthcare officials.

Next ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting

The 11th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting and its related meetings will be held in Thailand in 2012.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
23 July 2010