Looking forwards universal health coverage in APEC economies

During two days of sitting, the HWG and delegates will review the implementation of the APEC Roadmap to Promote Mental Wellness in a Healthy Asia Pacific Region by 2020 which was adopted in 2015. They were supposed to compose and pass a set of indicators to assess the Roadmap.

In addition, delegates will pass a joint declaration and recommendations on healthcare cooperation within APEC framework which will be submitted to the Heads of States on the occasion of the upcoming APEC Summit scheduled in November in Da Nang.

Ms. Tran Thi Giang Huong, Director of the Deparment on International Cooperation under the Ministry of Health reported that healthcare was among outstanding activities among APEC economies. The meeting drew the attendance of eight ministers and five deputy ministers on health, targeting to seek initiatives in developing economics, finance, and society via building sustainable healthcare finance for the community and build a roadmap towards universal health coverage.

According to Ms. Huong, the Vietnamese initiative was highly valued by other APEC economies as it looks to sustainable development solutions and considers healthcare finance investment as development for every country and economy.  

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Thomas Price said that APEC economies attach importance to healthcare cooperation within the bloc. The Secretary was convinced that the forum was of great significance as out of the 21 economies, the U.S., Canada, Japan, and the Republic of Korea with developed healthcare system would share experience with developing economies and deployed models on universal health coverage./.

By Kim Loan