Ten ways health has improved over the past 75 years in the Region
While there is no doubt that the Western Pacific Region – and the world – still face significant public health challenges, enormous progress has been made since the World Health Organization (WHO) was established 75 years ago.
Here are 10 improvements for health in the Western Pacific Region:
Patients at a health centre in Cao Bang, Viet Nam.
1. Longer life
When WHO was founded in 1948, people in the Western Pacific lived for 40 to 50 years.
Today, people live for 77 years on average, an increase of more than two decades. When older people are supported to live healthy and active lives, ageing populations can offer many opportunities for individuals and society.
2. Polio-free
Thanks to vaccination, the Western Pacific Region has been polio-free since 2000.
Polio, which mainly affects children under 5 years, can lead to paralysis or death. WHO is working with Member States and partners to keep the Region free from this disease through continuing vaccination and strengthening health systems.
Health care workers vaccinate children under-5 for polio, administer vitamin A supplements and distribute deworming tables to implement the 2020 Papua New Guinea national supplementary immunization activities.
Newborn baby girl resting on the chest of her mother at the National Centre for Maternal and Child Health in Mongolia.
3. Better care for mothers and children
Appropriate care during pregnancy and birth can be the difference between life and death for mothers and their babies. Today, nearly all births in the Western Pacific Region are supported by skilled health professionals such as Vonechai, a midwife working in a remote Region of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The Birds Nest adorned with giant no-smoking banners for the World No Tobacco Day campaign.
4. Tobacco control
Adopted in 2003, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was the world’s first public health treaty. The treaty is now law in all countries in the Western Pacific, protecting present and future generations from the devastating impacts of tobacco use.
In 2012, Australia became the world’s first country to introduce plain packaging, which reduces demand by making tobacco products less attractive and increasing the effectiveness of health warnings. Since then, many countries have followed suit.
5. Drop in malaria deaths
Malaria deaths in the Western Pacific Region have dropped by 88% over the past two decades.
In 2017, the Mekong Malaria Elimination programme was established, and Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam are now on the verge of eliminating malaria.
Mrs Khounmy (left), a village malaria worker, interviews a farmer after the test for malaria in Lao PDR.
Hand wash practice in a rural village in Cambodia.
6. Clean water, better health
Since 2000, improvements in access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene have contributed to a 60% reduction in deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases. WHO continues to work with governments and partners around the Region to reach the goal of everyone having access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services by 2030.
7. Childhood immunization
Until the mid-1970s, very few children in the Region received vaccinations, particularly in developing countries. In 1976, WHO rolled out the Extended Program on Immunization, and today more than 90% of children in the Western Pacific are vaccinated with the lifesaving diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine.
Vaccines against 20 other diseases have become widespread as well, helping people to live longer, healthier lives.
Parents bring their child for vaccination in a hospital in Tuvalu.
A WHO staff member prepares for a polio and measles vaccine distribution in the Philippines.
8. Diseases eliminated
Thanks to huge efforts by governments, communities, WHO and partners, multiple diseases have been eliminated from countries in the Region in recent years.
Twelve countries in the Region have eliminated lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic disease that can affect the lymphatic system and lead to the enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma. Measles, rubella and trachoma, which is the leading cause of blindness globally, have also been eliminated in several countries in the Region.
9. Healthier islands
Good health is about more than the absence of disease. In Pacific Island countries and areas, adoption of the Yanuca Island Declaration in 1995 resulted in the Healthy Islands vision, which focuses on creating environments in which people can live, work and play healthily. This approach has helped to shape how WHO works with Member States to fighting noncommunicable diseases.
Many people participate in sports activities in the evening and weekends in Tuvalu.
Dr Bea P. and Dr Ella M. attend to patients in the COVID-19 ICU of the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Philippines on 25 March 2021. They are among the first Filipinos to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country.
10. Health security
In 2003, SARS became the first international outbreak in which information about a new disease was gathered and shared with the public in real time. This information meant that WHO, countries and partners could quickly move people, resources and supplies to where they were needed most.
Lessons from SARS and other outbreaks have helped WHO to continuously strengthen health security, including through the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies.
When COVID-19 emerged, WHO supported countries to respond quickly and strategically, contributing to relatively low mortality rates and high vaccination coverage in the Region, particularly among health workers and other vulnerable populations.
Into the future
The Region has enjoyed incredible improvements over the past 75 years. But there is still much to do. WHO continues to work with governments and partners to help make the Western Pacific the safest and healthiest region in the world.
Read more about WHO’s work to continue improving health security including antimicrobial resistance, tackle noncommunicable diseases and ageing, respond to climate change, the environment and related health needs, and reach the unreached.
Children smiling and playing in the mountains of Benguet