PHUKET: Public Health Ministers and senior officials from the 10 countries in
Asean yesterday gathered to discuss ways of tackling chronic noncommunicable
diseases, state health-care funds, control of tobacco and alcohol consumption,
and the spread of HIV/Aids in urban areas.
About 200 participants from
regional governments attended the 11th Asean Health Ministers meeting yesterday
in Phuket, which continues today.
The event includes three key
forums – one for ASEAN health ministers, one for ASEAN +3 ministers (including
those from China, Japan and South Korea), and another between the health
ministers from ASEAN countries and China.
The theme of this year's event
is "ASEAN Community 2015: Opportunities and Challenges to Health".
"ASEAN health ministers
are very conscious of their own responsibility to make sure that ASEAN will not
only be prosperous, but also healthy," ASEAN secretary general Surin
Pitsuwan, who chaired the meeting, said.
Health ministers will also be
advised by health officials, including those from civil society and the private
sector, on best practices in health promotion and hear their experiences in
containment of diseases.
Public Health Minister
Witthaya Buranasiri said the event focused on five main health issues in ASEAN,
including access to medical services for patients with noncommunicable diseases
such as diabetes and high blood pressure, in a bid to reduce the severity of
disease and complications.
The meeting also highlights
the use of tax measures as a form of control on tobacco and alcohol
consumption, free-trade agreements, as well as regulations banning tobacco and
alcohol companies from organizing corporate social responsibility events.
Measures to control illegal forms of tobacco are also on the table.
The delegations also discussed
ways to implement universal health coverage and HIV/Aids prevention in this
region, as well as cooperation to establish field epidemiology training
networks.
According to the Public Health
Ministry, over 2.5 million people in ASEAN die of noncommunicable diseases
every year. Smoking, drinking alcohol, lack of physical activity and poor
nutrition are the main factors in deaths from noncommunicable diseases.
ASEAN's top four chronic
diseases are coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
diabetes and cancer.
According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), about 36 million people worldwide die from noncommunicable
diseases each year. Heart disease is the major cause of global mortality,
followed by cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.
To resolve this health
problem, Witthaya said, each country needs to issue urgent measures to reduce
tobacco and alcohol consumption. They also need to encourage people to do more
exercise and strengthen screening measures to identify high risk groups for noncommunicable
diseases. Rational drug use also needs to be enhanced.
Witthaya said about 1.5
million people live with HIV in this region. About 1.4 million are adults, and
500,000 of them are female patients. The ministry estimated that about 100,000
people had died from sexually transmitted infections and drug injection.(No
time period given)
To tackle these health
challenges in ASEAN, the Health Ministers Meeting is expected to announce a
joint statement on improving health care services for 600 million people in
this region.
In a joint statement on health
development, the 10 health ministers committed to discussing a collective
stance on universal health coverage at the ASEAN Summit, in the United Nations
General Assembly and at the ASEAN+3 meeting.
Secondly, they committed to
strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Agreement on
noncommunicable diseases based on WHO indicators and goals. Thirdly, they will
commit to HIV controls, with the aim of achieving the "triple-zero" targets
of no discrimination, no new infections and no deaths from Aids.
Lastly, member states will
work together to tackle emerging infectious diseases and other illnesses and
problems, such as dengue and malaria resistance, at the root of the problem by
encouraging the rational use of drugs and strengthening epidemiology networks
in ASEAN.
The Nation
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