WHO in the Western Pacific Region held its second virtual Partners’ Forum from 30 June-2 July. Attended by almost 700 participants representing over 35 countries and areas, the Forum focused on the essential role of partnerships in Western Pacific Region in advancing health priorities, how partnerships have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and how institutions must work together to address future public health challenges. The three-day agenda included sessions on partnering beyond the health sector, communicating on COVID-19 vaccines, WHO in the Western Pacific Region’s main thematic priorities, youth engagement and more.
WHO’s partners representing nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, academia, WHO Collaborating Centres, professional societies and other networks were invited to participate in a range of sessions including panels, interactive discussions, a partner exhibition and networking.
Partnerships in the COVID-19 response
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged WHO and partners to work together in new and agile ways. Sessions on working together during COVID-19 and on the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) recognized the incredible amount of work partners have
contributed to the COVID-19 response and showed how partnerships aided the work of WHO and other agencies.
“COVID-19 has provided an opportunity for us not to just maintain the partnerships we have, but also to develop new partnerships
as well, as we all face this common threat... [COVID-19 recovery and response] is a great opportunity to build the future, and also to involve our partners to build that future,” said Dr Babatunde Olowokure, Director of WHO in the Western
Pacific’s Division of Health Security and Emergencies and Regional Emergencies Director, during a session on working together during COVID-19.
While longstanding arrangements such as WHO’s partnership with DHL to ship medical supplies to the Pacific have been essential to the COVID-19 response, speakers also showed how new partnerships paved the way for WHO to work innovatively. In the session, “Leveraging partnerships to communicate on COVID-19 vaccines,” panelists highlighted how ongoing collaboration with Facebook has helped combat mis- and disinformation related to vaccines.
Panelists host a session on the role of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network on day two of the Forum from the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in Manila, Philippines.
Advancing the For the future vision
Strengthening partnerships is one of the key mechanisms to be used to deliver better health, as outlined in For the future: towards the healthiest and safest Region, WHO in the Western Pacific Region’s strategic vision. While the first WHO Western Pacific Region Partners’ Forum sought partners’ feedback on the vision, this Forum included sessions on the role of partnerships in advancing each of For the future’s thematic priorities: health security, including antimicrobial resistance; noncommunicable diseases and ageing; climate change, the environment and health; and reaching the unreached.
“We need to inspire joint action and clearly articulate the benefits of actions taken by non-health sectors to address the impacts of climate change and environmental threats to health,” said Dr Corinne Capuano, Director of WHO in the Western Pacific’s Division of Programme Management, on the importance of working with partners beyond the health sector to address complex challenges, such as climate change.
Looking ahead
Sessions also nodded to the public health challenges of tomorrow. In the session, “Working with young people, for young people,” speakers highlighted issues of concern for the Region’s youth and how to support them in achieving their desired future. The closing session featured remarks from Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, who spoke about how partnerships must evolve to meet the Region’s ever-changing needs: “Partnerships are a key enabler of the For the future vision. This has been demonstrated throughout COVID-19, when partners showed that they were able to adapt under the circumstances of the pandemic. Now, our challenge is to maintain the momentum – we must use this experience to determine what the partnerships of the future will look like.”
Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, and Dr Angela Pratt, Director of the Regional Director’s Office & Communications and External Relations close the Forum by looking towards the future.
For more information about WHO’s partnerships in the Western Pacific Region, please visit this page or email wprpartnerships@who.int.