Prioritize investment in primary health care for universal health: WHO

December 14, 2021: 

WHO’s Southeast Asia region makes up about a quarter of the world’s population, with a disproportionately high proportion of the poor.Incidence of catastrophic spending is increasing if households are forced to spend more than 10% of their household income on medical expenses

Primary health care (PHC) plays an important role in addressing people’s health needs near where they live and work, reducing care costs, increasing fairness, and better preparing for pandemics. The World Health Organization urged member states to increase investment in strengthening primary health care as a foundation for universal health coverage (UHC) and health security in the WHO Southeast Asia region. ..

Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO Southeast Asia, said: With minimal confusion. “

To commemorate UHC Day, the Regional Director spoke at a high-level virtual conference involving the Ministers of Health of Member States to initiate the PHC’s Southeastern Regional Strategy. At the meeting, ministers emphasized the importance of the PHC approach to achieving the resilience of UHC and the healthcare system. The Minister of Health pointed out both the timeliness and value of regional PHC strategies to help drive the necessary PHC-oriented transformations across the region.

The regional strategy is based on the example of almost every country in the region regarding efforts to strengthen PHC, and is a set of 12 interdependent strategic actions to enable countries to strengthen PHC policy, implementa-tion, monitoring and learning. To identify.

“PHC is the key to unlocking UHC by simultaneously addressing concerns related to equity and efficiency. Primary health care is provided throughout the life course, with the comprehensive needs and expectations of people and communities. We need a paradigm shift to ensure that we focus on prevention and welfare organized on the basis of, “said the regional director.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, said: Many of the countries that responded most effectively to COVID-19 are those that have properly invested in PHC. “

WHO’s Southeast Asia region makes up about a quarter of the world’s population, with a disproportionately high proportion of the poor. Incidence of catastrophic spending is increasing when households are forced to spend more than 10% of their household income on medical expenses. The region also faces other health-related challenges such as increased burden of chronic diseases, persistence of infectious diseases, increased threats associated with climate change, and the effects of ongoing pandemics. A region-wide enhanced PHC system facilitates progress in these areas while helping to ensure that the needs of the poor and excluded are prioritized.

While the range of health services in the region has improved from 49% 10 years ago to 61%, the COVID-19 pan-demic slows progress and emphasizes the need to prioritize investment in strong primary health care. did. WHO