A Ministerial Round Table was held at the Regional Committee today on COVID-19 and measures to ‘build back better’ essential health services to achieve UHC and the health-related SDGs. The session was moderated by Dr James, Chau the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS. Keynote remarks were given by Professor Abhijit Banerjee, International Professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel co-Laurette (2019). Professor Banerjee emphasized the importance of health practitioners to be agents of behavioural change at this time, using a set of credible messages that elicit the necessary response based on a perception of quality rather than access alone.
The Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh reminded that the world is now entering the third year of this unprecedented global pandemic and underlined that COVID-19 has brought focus on the relevance of primary health care for resilient health systems as well as progress on universal health coverage.
Sharing the Sri Lanka experience, Honourable Minister for Health Mr Keheliya Rambukwella highlighted four key lessons learnt: (i) implementing a people-centered, responsive and quality essential services package through a shared-care cluster model; (ii) improving all hazards emergency preparedness and resilience by reviewing the COVID-19 response in an updated National Action Plan for Health Security; (iii) addressing the challenge of NCDs through multi-sectoral engagement; and, (iv) the centrality of health in achieving the SDGs. Overall, adequate and sustained funding for health are key to “build back better”.
The Honourable Minister further detailed the specific potential of digital technology in accelerating recovery in the following ways: ▪ The use of accurate and timely information for decision making ▪ Inter-sectoral collaboration in development and implementation of health information systems ▪ Adapting digital health technologies to limited resource settings for optimum service delivery ▪ Streamlining data sharing across sectors through digital platforms for collaborative decision making.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, emphasized the opportunity to learn from COVID-19. He emphasized four critical areas of action, including better global governance, more and better financing for national and global preparedness and response, better systems and tools across the one health spectrum and, a more empowered and sustainably financed WHO at the center.
Summing up, the Regional Director highlighted the measures to build back better as captured by the Ministerial Declaration. Through the Declaration Health Ministers of the SEAR Member States endorsed twelve priority areas to strengthen primary health care-oriented health systems, including: ▪ Political leadership with a whole of government approach ▪ Public investment in primary health care, health workforce and essential medical products ▪ Integration of NCDs at the primary care level ▪ Disaster preparedness, response and recovery ▪ Quality standard for services ▪ Community engagement ▪ Systems of traditional medicine ▪ Digital health ▪ Research ▪ Partnerships ▪ Health systems resilience ▪ PHC strategies based on lessons learnt from COVID-19.
Related Documents
- Declaration by the Health Ministers on COVID-19 and measures to ‘build back better’ essential health services. to achieve UHC and the health related SDGs
- WHO South-East Asia countries resolve to reorient and strengthen health systems
- sea-rc74-3-eng Working paper