Colombo: The 78th session of WHO South-East Asia concluded on Wednesday with member states adopting resolutions on key public health challenges to accelerate health for all.
The highlight of the three-day annual governing body meeting, hosted by Sri Lanka, was the “Colombo Declaration” on “Healthy Ageing through strengthened primary health care”, adopted at a ministerial round table, a statement by WHO said.
The declaration aims at health and well-being of the ageing population, expected to double in South-East Asia by 2050.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Officer-In-Charge for WHO South-East Asia, Dr Catharina Boehme, felicitated Maldives for achieving triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B, HIV and Syphilis, the first country to achieve this feat globally.
To combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), member states adopted a resolution to strengthen national health sector and multi-sectoral collaboration, ownership and oversight of the AMR response at the highest levels of government, among other key initiatives.
An estimated 4.71 million AMR-associated deaths globally in 2021 were linked to bacterial AMR, with over half of them occurring in the Asia-Pacific region, the statement said.
The AMR resolution also calls for updating national action plan and policy strategies in line with the regional roadmap and accelerating the implementation of human health sector priorities aligned with core interventions in WHO’s people-centered approach by increasing domestic financing.
The member states also adopted a resolution to strengthen multi-sectoral coordination and collaboration for emergency preparedness, response and recovery, ensuring alignment of national efforts with regional and global frameworks.