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APEC health ministers: World faces ‘triple burden’ of infectious diseases, mental health, ageing

Posted on September 10, 2015

CEBU CITY, Sept. 10 (PNA) — The world faces the “triple burden” of infectious diseases, mental health, and ageing, health ministers of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies said in a joint statement issued here.

Recognizing that good health and quality of life contribute to the APEC’s overall goal of advancing inclusive economic growth in the region, health ministers across the Asia-Pacific are thus pushing for the adoption of their Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020 Initiative.

“Good health allows citizens to reach their full productive potential, and the innovations that drive good health provide an astounding economic return,” said Health Secretary Janette Garin, head of the 5th APEC High Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (HLM5).

In the statement issued following the HLM5 meeting, health ministers of the 21 APEC economies said disasters, as well as the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, pose a threat to the health security of everyone in the region.

They commended the Philippines for its response to the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) and South Korea for effectively curbing the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) earlier this year.

They further noted that health emergency preparedness, surveillance, response, and recovery systems in such instances must be improved.

In the case of the Philippines’ Yolanda experience, the APEC health ministers encouraged “APEC economies to learn from this experience to enhance their response to disasters.”

To South Korea’s actions during the MERS-CoV outbreak, they recommended “that the protocols used be shared with other economies.”

The APEC health ministers also encouraged greater research collaboration with other countries most impacted by the MERS-CoV threat to better understand and control its spread.

“Recent global and regional experience has demonstrated the need for increased investment in health and improved capacities of health systems in this area,” they added.

Member economies of the APEC must establish core capacities for prevention, detection, and control of infectious diseases, as provided in the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (2005), the health ministers further said. (PNA)

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