ASEAN renews commitment for a healthier ASEAN

11-Sep-2017

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

ASEAN renews commitment for a healthier ASEAN

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 11 September 2017- The 13th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) was held on 6 September at the International Convention Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, with the theme “Together Towards a Healthy ASEAN.”

At the meeting, the health ministers and heads of delegations reiterated important health issues including the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly obesity and diabetes; the prevention of risk factors such as tobacco, physical inactivity and poor nutrition; as well as ASEAN Member States’ interventions and best practices to prevent risk factors and to promote health through the delivery of relevant health services.

They also recognised that curbing the regional prevalence of NCDs requires the efforts of both the government and the society. In the adopted 13th AHMM Joint Statement, the ministers and heads of delegations renewed their commitment to the Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases in ASEAN adopted by the ASEAN Leaders at the 23rd ASEAN Summit in October 2013 in Brunei Darussalam.

“We must not forget that disease is not a simple physical condition of ill-health. For our work to be effective, we must look beyond the immediate determinants of disease towards the social, economic and environmental determinants of health and wellbeing. We have to dig deep and focus not just on the causes, but the causes of the causes,” said Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Zulkarnain Bin Haji Hanafi, Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam and Chair of the 13th AHMM.

On broader prevention, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) proposed the Declaration on Culture of Prevention which it initiated. It was highlighted that the health sector can play a major role in preventing risks to physical and mental well-being.  Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASCC, stressed that “it is important to foster a ‘culture of prevention’ that promotes ASEAN’s shared values of tolerance, mutual understanding, respect for life, as well as to ingrain a ‘culture of prevention’ mindset in the consciousness of our people, particularly our children and youth.”

To further the realisation of the ASEAN Leaders vision for “A Healthy, Caring, and Sustainable ASEAN Community” pledged at the 12th AHMM held in September 2014 in Ha Noi Viet Nam, important outcome documents were adopted during the 13th AHMM. These include the ASEAN Leaders’ Declarations on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance through One Health Approach, Ending All Forms of Malnutrition and Disaster Health Management; the ASEAN Health Cluster Work Programmes of the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda 2016 – 2020 and the Terms of Reference of All Health Clusters.

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