Opening remarks of Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, Regional Director for the Western Pacific, World Health Day 2024 - My health, my right Regional Office celebration with the diplomatic[...]

Esteemed representatives of the Philippine Government,

Your excellencies, Ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Fellow UN representatives,

Distinguished partners and participants,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Magandang umaga, good morning and thank you for joining us today in our annual celebration of World Health Day.

It is my honour and privilege to stand before you as WHO's new Regional Director for the Western Pacific, and as the first Regional Director from the Pacific. Yesterday marked my tenth week in this role after being elected by our Member States. I look forward to getting to know each of you more as we work together.

The theme of World Health Day this year, "My health, my right", is close to my heart.

As a surgeon, and as a politician who has served as Minister for Health - I have always believed that good health is best achieved by policies that are rights-based.

The work of the United Nations, and of the World Health Organization as the leading health agency of the UN, are founded on human rights.

Back in 1948, governments around the world committed to deliver on the right to health when they adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It recognizes "the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being" of a person and their family, and that is an "equal and inalienable" right for all.

Since then, governments have reaffirmed their commitment, and duty, to deliver on the right to health - through the adoption of the Millenium Development Goals, and then again for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.

Health is a human right.

That statement - that short, yet powerful statement - is the basis for our work in public health. It not only compels us to act, it mandates when, and for whom, we must act.

We do not act only when people are sick. When people can pay for treatment. After the flood, or the pandemic, or the disease outbreak.

We act because health is a human right, and therefore it is our responsibility to ensure that all people, everywhere, even in the furthest corners of our Region, can exercise their right to health.

We act because health is a human right, and therefore it is our responsibility to prevent the conditions that lead to poor health in the first place, even as we work to treat the resulting disease.

My friends, we are committed to this vision. And we have much work to do.

Unfortunately, health inequity remains one of the greatest challenges of our time.

While this Region has made significant gains in reducing infant, childhood and maternal mortality, and life expectancies have become longer - but in the post pandemic period we are seeing declines in all vital health statistics.

And in too many parts of this Region, there are two types of health care systems - one for the rich and one for the poor.

People born into poorer families, or poorer nations, do not have the same opportunities to achieve the highest attainable level of health, as is their right. They are disadvantaged from birth. They get sick earlier. They are unable to access services. They die prematurely.

And in sickness the cost of care can be catastrophic for a family. Sickness in the family can mean children will not be able to go to school. Or that there will not be enough food to meet nutritional requirements.

Unfortunately, many people in our Region do not realize that health is their right. Some learned early in life to accept what they were told is their fate - that they must endure pain for as long as they can, or wait in long lines or even travel long distances to receive care, or even borrow money and sell their possessions when someone in the family is hit by illness.

Across the Western Pacific Region, the numbers reflect this reality.

Two out of every five people living in the Western Pacific still can't get essential health services. That is a staggering 782 million out of the 1.9 billion people in the Region that are struggling to find the basic care they need.

An estimated 1 in 5 people in this Region are paying 10% or more of their income in out-of-pocket health expenses.

And the consequences are the most severe for the vulnerable - poorer and less educated groups, marginalized groups, those who live in poverty - both in developed and under developed countries. In fact, even families with two working adults may be unable to afford the costs of health care and can be driven to economic crisis.

It shouldn't be this way.

The good news is that so many health leaders in our Region are working tirelessly to change it.

During my early weeks in this role, I have been traveling to meet with healthcare workers and policy makers in our Region. I have seen and heard the passion and dedication of so many to making our Region one of the healthiest.

I've seen a commitment to transforming existing health systems, increasing the focus on primary health care, with the aim of achieving universal health coverage.

I've seen a commitment to accelerating work on climate change and health, borne from a recognition that our Region suffers immensely from the health effects of climate change.

And I've seen a never-ceasing commitment to prevent and prepare for future pandemics, building on the painful lessons of the last one.

Across these priorities, and so many more, one thing is abundantly clear. To achieve our goals and make this the healthiest and safest region, we must work together.

It will take not just the health ministry, but the whole of government, working together. Not just government but the whole of society, working together. Not just the individual but the family and the community, working together.

In many parts of Asia and the Pacific, families and communities come together to weave mats as part of our culture. Each member of the community contributes their part, and from those parts we make a whole woven mat.

In our Region, we must do the same, bringing together our similarities and differences, our skills and resources and experiences, and weave our mat of health together.

But where do we start?

We first start within the health system itself. Health care financing reforms to ensure that existing funds are used most efficiently in making vaccines, diagnostics, life-saving drugs and medicines, and emergency and surgical care affordable and accessible to the public. Healthcare workforce investments to ensure health services reach remote populations. And better and more timely data and innovations to identify gaps and target health resources effectively.

At the same time, we must also work towards investments in other sectors that directly impact on health. Without healthy public policies, people are exposed to poor air quality, unsafe working conditions, road injuries, violence, harmful products, unsafe and unhealthy food --- and so many other conditions that violate their right to health.

My friends, I am so glad to see you here today, because the diplomatic corps and our UN family has an important role to play in ensuring that health as a human right can become a reality here in our Region.

Through bilateral projects and initiatives, it is possible to ensure that everyone has a fairer chance at health. We can work together to weave a mat that protects health - providing better educational opportunities for girls and women, protecting the environment and biodiversity around a community, or expanding access to sustainable food systems.

Every effort we make together to keep people healthier and safer is a gift of life that respects human rights.

So, for World Health Day, let us all think about what we can do to uphold health as a human right - not as an option, or as a choice only for those who can afford it - but as a reflection of our belief in the freedom and equality of all human beings.