Taumeasina Island Resort
The Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa.
Honourable Valasi Luapitofanua Toogamaga Tafito Selesele Minister of Health, Samoa
Pacific Heads of Health Meeting Chair, Aiono Dr Alec Ekeroma, Director General of Health, Samoa and Heads of Health from the 22 countries represented here today.
Director General for SPREP, Mr Sefanaia Nawandra
UN and CROP colleagues, distinguished representatives from regional universities, regional and international organizations
Pacific Heads of Health Meeting joint secretariat,
Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA) – Ms Emi Chutaro,
Executive Director and your team
The Pacific Community (SPC) – Dr Paula Vivili, Deputy Director General and your team
WHO – Dr Kim Dickson, WHO Rep, Samoa and your team
Distinguished participants, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.
Talofa, Bula, Kia Orana, Halo Olgeta, Fakatalofa atu, Mālo ni, Mālō e lelei, Mauri, Bonjour and good morning.
It’s an honour and privilege to be here today at the 15th Pacific Heads of Health Meeting. The fact that I am here as you RD is because of your support and my appointment is your appointment too. Thank you for inviting me and the privilege to deliver these remarks.
I wish to acknowledge and thank the Honourable Minister of Health, Samoa, for hosting this meeting for the first time outside of Fiji or New Caledonia, here in Apia, with the support of SPC, WHO and Australia.
This meeting plays a key role in our regional health architecture and provides an important link between Pacific Health Ministers Meeting and the implementation of our work.
I should acknowledge Sir Dr Collin Tukuitonga who is here with us today as he was responsible for the vision, securing the funding from Australia and organizing the first Pacific Heads of Health Meeting in 2012. I am humbled to be the first RD from the Pacific as it allows me to serve our region more broadly, and ensuring a Pacific flavour and lens is applied to the work we deliver to Member States.
I have almost completed my first 100 days in office as RD since taking it up on 1st February 2024, having transitioned from Minister of Health in Tonga.
In this regard, I have done a lot of listening to member states, WPRO workforce and partners. I intend to work with our regional institutions more closely in the interest of delivering better health outcomes for our people.
Our Western Pacific Region comprises 37 Member States with a population of 1.9 billion. While one of the most diverse regions in terms land mass, population, and economies; it is our shared concerns that bring us together.
The Pacific Islands have much in common and I am pleased the Pacific Heads of Health is an annual forum for officials to meet and discuss issues that commonly affect us.
I have used our beautiful Pacific tradition of weaving mats to communicate my vision for the region, as a symbol that our collective and unified actions result in improved health and well-being and will save lives.
When weaving a mat, people come together, bringing their contributions of pandanus, and collectively the different strands, regardless of their imperfections, make a mat that is useful, strong and a source of pride.
I believe that this visual symbol of weaving conveys a message that resonates well with the nations of Asia and the Pacific, as we place great value on our collective efforts, our relationships, and our bonds as human beings.
This is what we envision as our way of work going forward in our Region. We will bring together our similarities and differences and weave our mat together. Our knowledge, wisdom, cultures and lived experiences will all play a part in weaving a mat that will serve people in each Member State while also strengthening our bonds with each other.
My vision is evolving with every meeting I have with Member States and stakeholders. It will continue to develop as we continue consultations, including from this week’s meeting. The draft Vision document will be available for wider consultation soon as we continue to co-create the future of our work. The final Vision document will be presented at the Regional Committee in October for Member States consideration.
Sir Dr Collin is the Chair of the Integrated Transition Team with members from the Pacific and Asia Member States.
I have reviewed the meeting agenda, and I am pleased to note that my priorities are very much aligned to the issues you will be discussing.
These include primary health care to achieve universal health coverage, NCD, human resources for health, pandemic preparedness and response, health care financing and climate change and health care issues that our countries are grappling with.
Please do not forget the 4 key priorities discussed at the 15 th Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in Tonga last September which were childhood obesity, digital health, human resources for health and resilient health systems.
For my first 100 days in office and beyond, I have identified three thematic priorities, which will be an integral part of the 2024-2029 WHO Western Pacific Region work programme. They address the very complex threats we face and some of the issues you will be discussing over the next few days.
First, to promote an integrated approach to health systems development one that integrates all health programmes and uses innovation to improve access and quality; and one which uses primary health care to achieve Universal Health Coverage, this is how we will address the leading causes of disease.
The Seventy-third session of the Western Pacific Regional Committee held in 2022 1 underscored Member States recognition that primary health care is an essential foundation for building resilient health systems and achieving Universal Health Care.
I have noted the concerns raised regarding the threats that will make health systems financially unsustainable in the coming decades or even sooner. This includes the rising burden of NCDs, which account for up to 75% of all deaths in the Pacific; the lack of access to health services for many people due to cost or location; the rising cost of health care; and the ongoing fiscal pressure on economies.
As a result, despite considerable progress on many health indicators, large groups of people in every country in the Western Pacific do not access effective and good-quality health services. We must strengthen health systems to reach everyone, everywhere.
Second, we need to accelerate action on climate change and health. This is a threat that affects all of us but especially so for us here in the Pacific. We have been talking about this for a long time. It is time we do something. I believe we must start by making sure that every health facility, every health center, every hospital is working to improve its climate readiness. Whether it is water or new forms of energy. We must start now.
Climate change 2 is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies from heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes that are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity. We have witnessed these as well in our region.
Many countries in the Northern Pacific are currently dealing with a severe weather event that is impacting the health and wellbeing of many vulnerable communities. FSM declared a national emergency in response to severe El Niño driven drought conditions. Many communities are in urgent need of water, food assistance and saltwater intrusion into the existing water system has further aggravated the situation.
In RMI, severe drought conditions are affecting people in its 15 atolls and islands. RMI has experienced little or no rain in the past two to three months. Meanwhile, storm surges have caused flooding and inundation, especially in the northern islands, leading to school closures.
Third, as we come out of the worst pandemic of our lifetime, we need to prepare for the next one. I know many of you have been unable to engage with the work of the Pandemic Accord. I wish to acknowledge the leadership of Sir Ashley Bloomfield in this work. We must support our Member States in this new international framework that will be taken up at the World Health Assembly in May, let us find ways to build capacity of countries to be better prepared and resilient.
I communicated with all Ministers of Health in late March informing them there is a global resurgence of measles and in our region as well and further recommended outbreak risk assessment and strengthening of surveillance systems and capacity for outbreak detection and response.
As we are all aware measles is preventable through vaccination so we must act together, show united action and across the region to combat the damaging effects of misinformation that led to low vaccination uptake and the resulting outbreaks during the 2018 – 2020.
COVID-19 pushed back gains we made in immunization and resulted in 3.6million children in this Region missing out on lifesaving Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines during 2020 -2022.
We have a lot to do to ensure that we do not ever fall prey to measles again and at the same time are prepared for the next pandemic. I encourage all countries to improve immunization coverage for all vaccine preventable diseases.
I urge countries to use the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework to ensure that we are prepared for the next pandemic.
These issues are not easily addressed, except through our ‘collective weaving of the mat with threads of action on health systems strengthening, climate change, and pandemic preparedness and many more priority areas.
Let me take this opportunity, to commit to you again that WHO will continue to work along slide and with you in addressing your national health sector priorities. We will use various modalities and mechanisms available.
For the upcoming Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga in August, Tonga’s Prime Minister as Chair wants to have a paper on Health (and another on Education) tabled for Leaders with key recommendations. This is a key opportunity since Health does not have the opportunity to be tabled in front of Leaders Meeting. I am confident that you will provide the leadership and with committed support from WHO, SPC, PIHOA and other partners, we can table a paper that will result in meaningful and significant changes in years to come.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate you all on the progress made on the agenda items from both the 14th Pacific Heads of Health and 15th Pacific Health Ministers of Health Meetings and the WHO Regional Committee Meeting in 2023.
I wish you all the best over the next few days as you get to work on your very packed agenda. There are many lessons, good practices to share, and many decisions to make.
I recommend that with every action and decision taken over this week that you continue weaving health for families, communities and societies in the Pacific.
I look forward to the outcomes of this meeting, which will further guide how WHO can be more relevant to the communities in the Blue Pacific Continent.
Once again, Prime Minister, Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, thank you for gracing this event with your presence. We are most grateful and appreciative of your leadership and support.
Thank You!
