MANILA – Public health achievements over the past 75 years have extended life for people in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region by at least three decades. Yet too many are left behind, and looming threats still challenge decades of health gains, says WHO on its 75th anniversary.
When WHO was created after the Second World War, people in the countries and areas of the Western Pacific had a life expectancy of between 40 and 50 years. In some parts of the Region, up to half of the infants born never saw their first birthday. Care in many places was limited to emergency treatment, as there were too few health workers – an issue that persists until today in some parts of the Region.
In 1948, smallpox and polio were major threats. Malaria was widespread. And neglected tropical diseases, such as yaws, were important public health problems. Hunger, nutritional deficiencies and poor access to safe water and sanitation further harmed people’s health and their potential as individuals, communities and societies.
Extending healthy life in the Western Pacific
Today, the people of the Western Pacific live for 77 years on average, thanks to public health investments and innovations.
“For 75 years, WHO has been working hand-in-hand with countries and partners to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable, so all people can attain the highest level of health and well-being,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Acting Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Now is the time to celebrate past achievements, build upon them and do more to extend the quality of people’s lives across the Western Pacific.”
Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, and the Region has been free of wild poliovirus transmission since 2000. Over the past two decades, malaria deaths in the Western Pacific have decreased by 88%. Several countries have eliminated or nearly eliminated the disease, as well as others including rubella (a virus that causes birth defects when pregnant women are infected), lymphatic filariasis (a disease caused by parasitic worms, commonly known as elephantiasis) and trachoma (an infection that causes blindness). Across the Region, advances in the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene have contributed to a 60% reduction since 2000 in deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases.
Primary health care has brought many services closer to communities. Today in the Region, more mothers and children are surviving and thriving. Nearly all births are supported by skilled health professionals, and life-saving vaccinations now reach 90% of children. Breastfeeding is also better protected and supported, with 15 countries in the Region having laws based on The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
Over the past four decades, as the burden in the Region of some infectious diseases eased while the impact of chronic diseases grew, WHO has increased health promotion efforts to protect people from harmful risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. In Pacific island countries and areas, adoption of the Yanuca Island Declaration in 1995 resulted in the Healthy Islands vision to promote and protect health across sectors. This vision has helped shape the approach to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by supporting a focus on the environments in which people are nurtured, work and play.
The world’s first public health treaty was the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Today, countries and areas across the Western Pacific have implemented FCTC measures to protect present and future generations from the devastating impacts of tobacco use. In 2011, Australia became the first country in the world to require tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging, paving the way for other countries to take more aggressive steps to regulate the promotion of tobacco products.
From outbreaks of cholera and avian flu to SARS and COVID-19, WHO has supported countries to prepare for and respond to major health emergencies. In 2003 in the Western Pacific, SARS became the first international outbreak in which information about a new disease was gathered and made public in real time. This information improved the ability of WHO, countries and partners to quickly move people, resources and supplies to where they were needed most.
Lessons from outbreaks have been identified and utilized to continuously strengthen health security in this Region, including three iterations of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies. When COVID-19 emerged, WHO supported countries and areas to respond quickly and strategically. These efforts have contributed to relatively low mortality rates and high vaccination coverage in the Region, particularly among health workers and other vulnerable populations.
More to do to achieve health for all
The WHO Constitution says “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being, without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”
Despite great progress over the past three quarters of a century, the goal of “health for all” remains elusive. Life expectancies in some countries in the Region are still a decade shorter than the regional average. And too many people still lack access to good-quality health services without financial burden.
“We have a duty to protect the most vulnerable among us—leaving no one behind in the march towards better health and development.” Dr Jakab explains. “And we owe it to future generations whom the Organization will serve over the next 75 years to ensure they have equal opportunities for living long, healthy lives.
“WHO – the only organization with this unique mandate, footprint and expertise – will continue to accelerate action to achieve health for all. It will take new ways of thinking and working, sustained funding and commitment from governments and a wide range of partners working alongside us to meet today’s health challenges and opportunities, and more in the future,” she adds.
To protect all people in the Region from present and future threats and deliver on the promise of health for all, WHO and Member States are working together to build resilient health systems for universal health coverage, based upon a primary health-care approach. They are focusing on four thematic priorities, as outlined in the For the Future vision to make the Western Pacific the world’s safest and healthiest region:
- Health security and antimicrobial resistance
The increasing rate of health emergencies, the emergence of new pathogens and the spread of antimicrobial resistance are threatening health security in the Region. In 2022 alone, WHO responded to 19 such threats in the Region, including mpox and human cases of avian flu. WHO is working with Member States to prepare for future pandemics, health emergencies and outbreaks, and to build resilient health systems that respond effectively to epidemics and prevent the spread of drug-resistant infections.
- Noncommunicable diseases and ageing
Changing consumption patterns, lifestyles and rapid urbanization have led to an increase in NCDs such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Almost nine out of 10 deaths in the Region today are due to NCDs. The Region also has one of the largest and fastest growing older populations in the world, increasing the demand for primary health care and long-term care. Recognizing that people’s health is largely determined by their social and physical environment, WHO is working across sectors to advocate for heathy societies, which help to reduce risk factors that lead to NCDs, improve mental health and reorient systems to support all people to live long, healthy and productive lives.
- Climate change, the environment and health
Climate change and environmental hazards such as air pollution, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and lack of water and sanitation pose serious threats to people’s health. At the same time, rising sea levels and extreme weather events associated with climate change can damage infrastructure and disrupt the delivery of health services, posing additional health and safety risks. WHO is supporting countries to monitor the health impacts of climate change and the environment—from warmer temperatures that increase vector-borne diseases to extreme weather that triggers more waterborne and foodborne diseases—and strengthen health sector resilience to withstand climate shocks. WHO is working across sectors to shape policies to protect the health of the planet and its people.
- Reaching the unreached
In many countries, some groups—such as the poor, ethnic minorities or those in remote areas—still suffer from high rates of infectious diseases such as hepatitis and tuberculosis, and too many mothers and infants are still lost during pregnancy and birth. Vaccine coverage among some groups remains stubbornly low, leading to outbreaks of preventable diseases and needless death and disability. Health is still not for all, when the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups are left behind. WHO is working with Member States and partners in the Region to find new approaches, build on public health innovations to achieve equitable access to affordable, good-quality services, and deliver on the promise of universal health coverage—with strong primary health care and human resources at its base—for everyone, everywhere.
Notes to editors
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal opportunity for a safe and healthy life. We are the United Nations agency for health, leading the global response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care.
Through its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, its six regional offices and 150 country offices, WHO works to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. The Western Pacific Regional Office is in Manila, Philippines. The Region is home to more than 1.9 billion people across 37 countries and areas: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, France (which has responsibility for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna), Hong Kong SAR (China), Japan, Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which has responsibility for the Pitcairn Islands), the United States of America (which has responsibility for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam), Vanuatu and Viet Nam.
For the Future is the vision for WHO’s work with Member States and partners in the Western Pacific. It sets out the thematic priorities for the Organization’s work in the Region, as well as a series of ideas and approaches for collectively responding to current and future health challenges.