2020-01-27 06:03:24 | Posted by MRA Super Admin
We, the Ministers of Health of ASEAN Member States (AMS), representing Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, convened the 14th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) on 29 August 2019 in Siem Reap, the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Recalling the ASEAN Leaders’ vision of an ASEAN Community outlined in the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Community and the simultaneous endorsement of “ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together” containing among others, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025, at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Reaffirming the commitment to the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” as agreed by leaders at the 70th United Nations General Assembly in 2015 which includes an overarching health goal to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”
Acknowledging the commitment to the goal of “Together Towards A Healthy ASEAN” at the 13th AHMM held on 6 September 2017 in Bandar Sari Begawan, Brunei Darussalam which commits to the multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder planning and implementation of the ASEAN Leaders’ Declarations on (1) Antimicrobial Resistance: Combating AMR through One Health Approach; (2) Ending All Forms of Malnutrition; and, (3) Disaster Health Management; and, to the implementation and monitoring of the four endorsed ASEAN Health Cluster Work Programmes and its twenty Health Priorities on Promoting Healthy Lifestyles; Responding to All Hazards and Emerging Threats; Strengthening Health Systems and Access to Care; and, Ensuring Food Safety.
United by the mission to achieve the goals of the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda, and to “Accelerate Health for All in ASEAN”, including combating substandard and falsified medicines, ensuring sustainable health financing, strengthening capacity to implement International Health Regulations (IHR) through the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III), and promoting innovations for enhancing quality of services, the 14th AHMM discussed and exchanged views on the preparation and response to future health challenges and upcoming health development agenda and priorities, and agreed as follows:
1. We agree to further sustain and utilise the gains from the implementation of the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda and move forward to developing new work programmes and project initiatives for 2021 – 2025 based on the performance of work programmes for 2016 – 2020, and the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches.
2. We commit to promote healthy and active ageing through an enabling and supportive environment that facilitates strong and effective multi -sectoral cooperation through national and regional joint initiatives. We endorse the establishment of ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI) which would generate knowledge and innovation; support active ageing policies and their implementation; and, strengthen capacity and facilitate collaboration among AMS , international entities and other partners, on matters relevant to healthy and active ageing.
3. We reiterate our commitment to accelerate actions to prevent and control non-communicable diseases through increasing the capabilities of the communities and its people in promoting healthier lifestyles, mobilising sustainable funds for NCD and strengthening the multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder engagements on implementing the WHO recommended “best buy’’ and other interventions in line with country context, addressing commercial and social determinants of NCD; and the ASEAN Strategic Framework and Action Plan for Nutrition 2018 - 2030 to promote good nutrition and healthy diet; promoting physical and mental health activities; NCD early diagnosis and treatment programmes; and, prevention of injuries.
4. We further reiterate our commitment to the effective cooperation and implementation of ongoing activities for the preparedness, prevention, detection and response to communicable, emerging and re-emerging diseases including pandemics and neglected tropical diseases, and other public health emergencies or health impacts of disasters, and health security threats.
5. We support the One ASEAN One Response in disaster management and humanitarian assistance by operationalising the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Disaster Health Management. We acknowledge the ongoing partnerships on Strengthening ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management; and Programme on Mitigation of Biological Threats.
6. We reaffirm our commitment to the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and look forward to the finalisation of the ASEAN Strategic Framework on Combating AMR through One Health Approach (2019-2030) to contribute in achieving relevant national, regional, and global health security, and relevant sustainable development goals and targets, for the human, animal and agriculture, environmental health, and food safety.
7. We further reaffirm our commitment to combat substandard and falsified medical products.
8. We support the finalisation of the ASEAN Action Plan developed with the World Health Organization (WHO) in combating substandard and falsified medicines by strengthening national regulatory mechanisms; coordination and collaboration on the sustained implementation on the prevention, detection and response to eliminate substandard and falsified medicines within countries and across the region, among others; and, building and maintaining an efficient robust supply system which will contribute to ensuring that populations within the region especially in remote areas of AMS have access to safe, effective, affordable and quality medicines. We look forward to further exchanges of views and collaboration, as well as pursue and implement concrete actions on substandard and falsified medicines in the wider context of health cooperation within and outside ASEAN. We further commit to advocate and closely collaborate with relevant partners and stakeholders on this matter as well as to drive the agenda, and seek further collaboration on substandard and falsified medicines at the 13th Asia-Europe Summit (13th ASEM) to be held in 2020 in Phnom Penh, The Kingdom of Cambodia.
9. We reaffirm our support to ensure food safety by working together in the region, recognising the importance of risk assessment in developing evidence-based food safety measures, which are facilitated by the ASEAN Risk Assessment Centre (ARAC) for Food Safety.
10. We remain committed to strengthen primary health care in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage among AMS , and ensure the availability and timely provision of essential medicines and cost-effective health interventions at healthcare facilities and building-up the capacity of health workers.
11. We appreciate the achievements made by the ASEAN Senior Officials on Health Development and the ASEAN Health Clusters in strengthening health cooperation and operationalising the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda under the Chairpersonship of the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia in 2018 and 2019, and look forward to the incoming Chairpersonship of the Republic of Indonesia.
12. We task the ASEAN Senior Officials on Health Development on the following:
a. Finalise the ASEAN Action Plan to address substandard and falsified medicines, to advocate and closely collaborate with relevant partners and stakeholders including partners in the 13th Asia-Europe Summit 2020 to be hosted by the Kingdom of Cambodia.
b. Support the effective monitoring and evaluation of the performance of ASEAN Health Cluster Work Programmes of the ASEAN Post 2015 Health Development Agenda, and progress of multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation on the implementation of health-related Declarations, their achievement and weaknesses, which shall provide as a guidance towards the subsequent review and development of the new set of programme for 2021-2025.
13. We recognise and appreciate the contribution by, and further commit to collaborate closely with Dialogue and Development Partners with adherence to the Rules of Procedure on the Engagement of Entities with the ASEAN Health Sector.
We look forward to further exchange of views and collaboration on health development at our next Meeting in the Republic of Indonesia in 2021.
source: https://asean.org/joint-statement-14th-asean-health-ministers-meeting/?highlight=health
