From 7 to 9 October 2024, the IHF was represented at the 77th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia by an IHF Member. And from 30 September to 4 October 2024, representatives from IHF Members were given the opportunity to attend a regional meeting of the WHO in the Americas.

With thanks to Barbara Joers, President & CEO, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, and Adonis Sucalit, Accreditation Canada, for sharing the highlights and benefits of their experience of the PAHO/WHO meeting.

The 61st Directing Council meeting at the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in Washington DC focused on presenting updates on progress of PAHO’s work with member countries, presenting and adopting strategies to address priority health issues, reviewing plans and budgets for 2025/2026, and passing organizational resolutions tabled for discussion.

The highlights of the session included:

• Adoption of the Strategy for Strengthening the Essential Public Health Functions to Accelerate Health Systems Transformation 2024-2034.
• Adoption of the Strategy on Integrated Emergency, Critical and Operative Care 2025-2030.
• Adoption of the Strategy on Epidemic Intelligence for Strengthening Early Warning of Health Emergencies 2024-2029.
• Adoption of the Policy on Long-term Care.
• There was also the presentation of the roadmap for developing the Strategic Plan of PAHO for 2026-2031.

Participating in the PAHO event is key to developing relationships and positioning IHF and its members as development partners for the Americas and Caribbean, particularly in the strengthening of health systems.

With thanks to Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General of the Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH), for sharing the highlights and benefits of his experience of the PAHO/SEARO meeting.

The 77th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia took place from 7 to 9 October 2024, in New Delhi, India, gathering health ministers, policymakers, public health experts, and representatives from non-governmental organizations. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General of  NATHEALTH, attended as the representative of the IHF.

During a high-level ministerial roundtable, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration on Adolescent-Responsive Health Systems, committing to policies, resources, and services specifically designed to address adolescent health needs.

The session provided a valuable platform to review regional progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The priority outcomes of the discussions were that an all-hands-on-deck approach to tuberculosis (TB) in this region is required and that more urgency is required to act on achieving the SDGs. Attendees were also urged to engage aggressively on the pandemic agreement and to support the investment round to strengthen the resources and capacity of the WHO.