Executive summary
Acting today to address the challenges of tomorrow
This White Paper sets out thematic priorities for WHO work in the Western Pacific Region for the coming five years, as well as a series of ideas for collectively responding to current and future health challenges. It was developed following extensive consultations with Member States, partners and World Health Organization (WHO) staff in the Western Pacific Region. The document articulates a shared vision: acting today to address the challenges of tomorrow, with the goal of making the WHO Western Pacific Region the healthiest and safest region.
An agenda for our changing Region
The Western Pacific Region is rapidly – and constantly – changing. Unprecedented economic growth, migration and urbanization in the Region have created opportunities for better lives that many people could not have imagined a generation ago. Yet progress has also created new health challenges: the ever-present risk of health emergencies and the emergence of new health security threats; changing consumption patterns and rapid urbanization that have led to an increase in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs); and air pollution, climate change and other environmental changes that put people’s health at risk. At the same time, some countries’ populations are rapidly getting older, while others are still facing a significant burden of disease from “traditional” health threats, including infectious diseases and infant and maternal mortality. And while rapid development has created new opportunities for some people, others risk being left behind as that development also has fuelled greater health and gender inequity, poverty and disadvantage – all of which are drivers of poor health.
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FOR THE FUTURE
