Chair, Vice Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, esteemed partners, WHO colleagues from across the Organization,
We have come to the close of a successful Regional Committee (RC).
I extend my sincere gratitude to our hosts, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, and give special thanks to His Excellency, the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba, for gracing the inaugural session – it was an honour.
My thanks to the Hon’ble Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Royal Thai Government, for opening RC74 as the Chairperson of RC73.
His Excellency Mr Umesh Shrestha, Hon’ble State Minister of Health and Population, and his team have prepared and executed this virtual Regional Committee with seamless efficiency. I commend them for their efforts.
I thank Excellencies for their keen engagement and participation and for their appreciation of our work.
Solidarity, teamwork and ambition. A shared commitment to speak with one voice, mindful of each country’s priorities, challenges and needs – these are our values, and I thank Excellencies for deliberating in a spirit commensurate with them.
Specific requests have been made. Thailand emphasized the need for multisectoral collaboration, highlighting how WHO’s social and intellectual capital can help make this possible.
The Ministerial Roundtable was a great success. Primary health care-oriented health systems are the key to strengthening the COVID-19 response, enhancing emergency preparedness, and achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
History shows that big crises can lead to big opportunities. WHO stands committed to supporting Member States to implement the Ministerial Declaration, which you have unanimously adopted.
It was a pleasure to share with you progress on implementing Programme Budget 2020–2021. The Output Scorecard has proven to be an essential tool for gauging impact, and also in planning for the next biennium. The Regional Office will continue to prioritize impact at the country level and in areas where you believe we can add maximum value.
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, our ambition remains bold, as your deliberations on policy and technical issues demonstrated.
You have adopted four resolutions and five decisions. We will execute with single mindedness the requests made to us. I look forward to the same commitment from you.
Together, we will continue to advance our agenda.
As the progress reports highlighted, we continue to make progress on all priorities, from improving access to essential medical products, to enhancing patient safety and strengthening health systems to accelerate delivery of NCD services at the primary health care level.
Our “Sustain. Accelerate. Innovate” vision is more important than ever, both in terms of how we conceptualize and define our priorities, and how we plan to achieve them.
I thank the Chair, His Excellency, Mr Umesh Shrestha, Hon’ble State Minister of Health and Population, Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, for his ongoing support, and for so effectively chairing the meeting.
I thank the Vice Chair, Her Excellency, Mrs Dechen Wangmo, Hon’ble Minister of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan, for her many contributions, including for the chairing of the World Health Assembly in May.
I thank Her Excellency, Dr Maria Freitas Belo Odete, Hon’ble Minister of Health, Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, for so efficiently chairing the session in the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair.
I thank the Nobel Laureate, Professor Abhijit Banerjee, for sharing his wisdom and expertise.
I thank the Director General, WHO, for attending multiple sessions, despite a busy schedule at the G-20 in Rome.
My thanks to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Working Group on Sustainable Financing, Mr Bjorn Kummel and Ms Metia Hasan, as well as the Co-Chairs of the Working Group on Strengthening WHO Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies, Her Excellency Ms Grata Endah Werdaningtyas and Mr Colin Mciff.
My thanks to the moderator for his excellent moderation of the MRT.
I thank my UN Partners and the non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations that participated, and who continue to partner with us.
My thanks to our HQ colleagues for joining various sessions.
And my sincere thanks to the SEARO Secretariat, whose hard work made this RC a memorable success.
Together, we move forward with hope and ambition. I look forward to continued success and lasting achievements for the South-East Asia Region.
Thank you.