World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Committee Resolution in 2022 on Primary Health Care (PHC) led to the establishment of a platform named “South-East Asia Regional Forum for PHC-oriented Health Systems (SEAR PHC Forum)”. Under the leadership of Member States, the SEAR PHC Forum is bringing together key PHC-focused development, implementation, research, and civil society partners to share and translate operational learning into action, while also strengthening collaboration.
The first meeting of the SEAR PHC Forum was held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2022. Seven Thematic Working Groups (TWG) were formed at this initial meeting in the areas of workforce, urban PHC, quality, community engagement, monitoring, service delivery and investment for PHC, and focused on documenting the best practices in the region in each of the above areas. Further discussions of the TWGs were conducted during a meeting of all partners in June 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In this backdrop, the Second Annual Meeting of the SEAR PHC Forum was conducted in Sri Lanka from 16 to18 October 2023. Sri Lanka was chosen as the venue considering its long history in advancing PHC so that the participants could learn from the country’s best practices promoting the region-wide culture of shared learning, synergy and action.
More than 100 delegates representing Ministries of Health of the Member States of SEA Region, officials from WHO which included representatives from Headquarters, Regional Office for SEA and Country Offices, and partners participated in this three-day event.
Day 1 of the meeting focused on providing an update of the progress on PHC-related developments at regional and global level and sharing and reviewing of progress with respect to the SEAR PHC Forum in its’ first year. In addition to collective effort in capturing operational learning in the Region, it was welcoming to note how joint activities had organically emerged across countries and partners through the SEAR PHC Forum. Detailed discussions were held on day 2 on the way forward to collectively identify priorities, modalities, and activities for the SEAR PHC Forum to engage with in 2024 and beyond.
Day 3 was the highlight of the meeting as the delegates were provided with an opportunity to gain first-hand experience of PHC operations in Sri Lanka through a field visit. The visit started at the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) in Kalutara which is the premier public health training institute of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. Its origin dates back to 1926, when the first Health Unit of SEA Region was opened in Kalutara and from the inception, the institution has been responsible for training and development of the public health workforce. In addition to its primary mandate of training, NIHS is engaged in the delivery of preventive and promotive services to the nearby communities and all these key components were showcased during the visit. Further, some health promotion and community engagement activities ongoing at field level were demonstrated. Youth engagement in controlling alcohol, tobacco and other drugs supported by the Alcohol and Drug Information Center (ADIC), health promotion activities for the improvement of nutrition and psychosocial development among communities located in the plantation sector through the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) and Foundation for Health Promotion (FHP) were among the interventions showcased.
Participants then visited Divisional Hospital Bandaragama and Base Hospital Panadura to understand how the curative PHC service provision is in operation. Functioning of a Healthy Lifestyle Center (HLC) which conducts screening for chronic non-communicable diseases, a cluster laboratory which provides services to a network of hospitals in the area, and a fully digitalized out-patient service were some of the key best practices which were highlighted during the visits.
The field visit ended at the recently inaugurated Center for Health Systems Policy and Innovation (CHSPI). CHSPI was established to provide the necessary support needed for the Ministry of Health to generate high-quality evidence for informed decision-making, develop capacities of the health workforce, create a platform for knowledge sharing, build consensus around health sector reforms, and testing out new service delivery models and innovations related to PHC. University of Colombo is functioning as the local academic partner of CHSPI while The George Institute for Global Health is the international collaborator. The CHSPI is hosted by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo and this endeavor is supported by the Government of Canada and the Asian Development Bank.
Successful conduct of the second annual meeting of the SEAR PHC Forum has further strengthened the shared vision and partnership among all stakeholders. Led by Member States, with partners in support, the SEAR PHC Forum is expected to flourish as a key regional platform for implementation-focused knowledge exchange and collaboration. The Forum is already self-organizing, self-evolving and self-sustaining and will continue to add value for strengthening PHC in the region.
