Opening Remarks Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific at the Pacific Heads of Health Meeting 15 April 2024 Taumeasina Island Resort

SAMOA, April 14 - Honourable Valasi Luapitofanua Toogamaga Tafito Selesele Minister of Health, Samoa

Pacific Heads of Health Meeting Chair, Dr Alec Ekeroma, Director General of Health, Samoa and Heads of Health from the 22 countries represented here today.

UN colleagues, distinguished representatives from regional universities, regional and international organizations

Pacific Heads of Health Meeting joint secretariat,

Ms Emi Chutaro, Executive Director, Pacific Islands Health Officers

Association (PIHOA)

Dr Paula Vivili, Deputy Director General, The Pacific Community,

Distinguished participants, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen

Talofa, Bula, Kia Orana, Halo Olaketa, Fakatalofa atu, Mālo ni, Mālō e lelei, Mauri, Bonjour and good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to be here today at the 15th Pacific Heads of Health Meeting. Thank you for inviting me to the meeting 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 here in Apia, with the kind support of the Pacific Community and WHO.

I have almost completed my first 100 days in office as WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific: which I took up on 1st February 2024, having transitioned from Minister of Health in Tonga.

I am humbled to be the first Pacific Islander in this role as it allows me to serve the WPRO region more broadly, and ensuring a Pacific flavour and lens is applied to the work we deliver to Member States.

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.

The 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.

Addressing health needs at this scale is complex, but together we can do it, hence the importance of this meeting, and the actions we will take.

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 in the Western Pacific.

During weaving a mat people come together, bringing their contributions, 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 working and moving forward in the 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 with presentation at the Regional Committee in October for Member States consideration.

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.

Your agenda covers issues that are a priority for nearly all of the countries in the Western Pacific Region – universal health care and primary health care, non-communicable diseases, human resources for health, pandemic preparedness and response, health care financing and climate change and health are issues that our countries are grappling with.

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 vision and programme. They address the very complex threats we face and some of the issues you will be discussing over the next few days.

My first priority is to promote an integrated approach to health systems development: one that integrates all health programmes and uses innovationto improve access and quality; and one which use primary health care to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

The Seventy-third session of the Western Pacific Regional Committee held in 20221 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 voiced regarding the threats that will make health systems financially unsustainable in the coming decades or even sooner. This includes the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases, which account 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.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Climate Change is a threat that affects us all and thus is my second priority.

Climate change 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.

As I communicated with all WPR Ministers of Health in late March 2024 there is a resurgence of measles globally and in our region as well.

Globally, measles cases grew from 171, 158 reported in 2022 to 315, 542 reported in 2023. The Western Pacific reported a startling 259 per cent more cases in 2023 when compared to 2022.

As we are all aware measles is preventable through vaccination so we must act together,show united action and resolve across the region to combat the damaging effects of misinformation that led to low vaccination uptake and the resulting outbreaks during the 2018 – 2020 period.

COVID-19 pushed back gains we made in immunization and resulted in 3.6 million 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.

My third priority is Health Security. I urge countries to use the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework to ensure that we are prepared before the next pandemic arrives on our shores.

These issues are not easily addressed, except through our ‘collective weaving of the ‘health 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.

Our Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) – the product of joint planning between the government and WHO – is one such modality. The CCS serves as a guide for work with WHO, but more importantly, the process is what is crucial.

Multiple discussions and dialogue occur to create a CCS and through which relationships with governments are further enhanced. If there are any countries that have not yet completed their CCS, I urge you to do so.

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 to continue “weaving that mat of 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.

Thank You.