Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues and Friends,
Good morning and a very warm welcome to the High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the Seventy-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia.
It is my great pleasure to welcome all delegates joining us in person and online. Your presence reflects the strong commitment of our Member States to advancing health and well-being across our Region through dialogue, partnership and collective action.
I am especially pleased to welcome you to the first official meeting of Member States in our newly renovated WHO South-East Asia Regional Office. We are delighted to host you here. We hope this renewed space reflects our shared commitment to collaboration, innovation and delivering greater impact for the nearly two billion people we collectively serve.
We come together at an important moment for global health. Across our Region, countries are responding to demographic change, climate-related threats, evolving disease patterns and rapid technological advacnes. At the same time, constrained resources require us to invest wisely, strengthen partnerships and maximize impact.
These are precisely the changes the The Banyan Framework for Health and Well-Being in the WHO South-East Asia Region (2026–2028), developed together with Member States, seeks to address. It provides a shared vision for working differently- more collaboratively, more strategically and with an even tronger focus on country impact.
Against this backdrop, the High-Level Preparatory Meeting is far more than a procedural step before the Regional Committee. It is an opportunity to exchange perspectives, build consensus and help shape the decisions the Ministers will consider in September. The quality of our discussions over the next three days will be critical to those decisions.
South-East Asia has much to be proud of.
Our Region continues to demonstrate leadership in advancing universal health coverage, strengthening primary health care, accelerating disease elimination, embracing digital innovation and building more resilient health systems.
Increasingly, our countries are not only implementing global health priorities, they are helping shape them through innovations and experiences that are informing public health practices around the world.
Yet our work is far from complete. Persistent inequities, shortages of health workers, the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, climate-related risks and emerging health threats continue to test our health systems. These realities reinforce the importance of sustained political commitment, stronger regional cooperation and an unwavering focus on delivering measurable results for our populations.
Our agenda over the coming days reflects these priorities. Central to our discussions is the Ministerial Roundtable on Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialized Care – a topic that is both timely and strategic. Health workers remain the foundation of every health system, and achieving equitable access to specialized care requires not only increasing their numbers, but also strengthening education, retention, equitable distribution and the enabling environments that allow them to serve where they are needed most.
We will also discuss strategic priorities that are critical to the future of health in our Region, including:
accelerating progress towards universal health coverage and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals,
advancing disease elimination,
strengthening health emergency preparedness and response,
improving access to quality medical products and diagnostics,
enhancing the resilience of health facilities, and
harnessing the transformative potential of digital health and artificial intelligence.
Together, these discussions will help shape practical, forward-looking solutions for healthier, more equitable and more resilient societies.
Equally important, Member States will review progress in implementing Regional Committee resolutions. This exercise is not merely about reporting progress; it is about strengthening accountability, learning from one another, and identifying opportunities to accelerate implementation and achievement greater impact.
In keeping with WHO's commitment to efficiency and prudent stewardship of resources, this Meeting is being conducted in a hybrid format. This enables broader participation while ensuring that our deliberations remain effective, inclusive and responsive to the evolving needs of Member States.
I would also like to express our sincere appreciation to the Government of Timor-Leste for its leadership and commitment in hosting the Seventy-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee from 7 to 10 September 2026. The Secretariat greatly values the excellent collaboration with the Government and is closely working together to deliver a successful and inclusive Regional Committee.
Excellencies,
The strength of our Region has always been its spirit of solidarity.
While our countries differ in size, geography and context, we are united by a common purpose— improving health and well-being of our people.
Today, more than ever, no country can address these challenges alone.
Progress depends on working together, sharing knowledge, scaling innovations and learning from one another. The experience of one country can inspire solutions across the Region.
The Secretariat remains fully committed to supporting Member States throughout these deliberations. I encourage all delegations to engage actively, share your experience openly and work together to identify practical, evidence-informed solutions that will accelerate progress across our Region.
The recommendations emerging from this Meeting will shape the decisions of the Seventy-ninth Session of the Regional Committee and ultimately influence the health and well-being of nearly two billion people. That is both a privilege and a profound responsibility.
Let us therefore use these three days not simply to review papers, but to to strengthen partnerships, identify solutions, accelerate implementation and reaffirm our collective commitment to leaving no one behind.
I thank you for your continued partnership, your trust in the Secretariat and your unwavering commitment to improving the health and well-being of the people we collectively serve.
I wish you productive deliberations and a successful High-Level Preparatory Meeting.
Thank you.