WHO Director-General's remarks at the Ministerial Roundtable at the 79th session of the Regional Committee for South-East Asia – 8 September 2026

Honourable Minister Dr Elia dos Reis Amaral,

Chair of the 79th Regional Committee, Honourable Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa,

Honourable Ministers, Ambassadors and Heads of Delegation,

Officer-in-Charge Dr Nilesh Buddha,

Dear colleagues and friends,

Thank you for a rich and productive discussion.

Equitable access to specialized care is essential for universal health coverage, health security and better health outcomes.

It is increasingly important as our populations age, noncommunicable diseases rise, injuries increase and health emergencies become more frequent and severe.

Demand for advanced diagnostics, treatment and specialized services is growing across our Region.

The question is not only how many specialists we have.

It is also where they are, how they are trained, how they are supported, and how effectively they are integrated into primary health care-oriented systems.

These decisions have a direct impact on equity, quality, efficiency and financial protection.

The Region has made important progress.

Since 2014, the density of doctors, nurses and midwives has increased by about 70%.

Almost all Member States now exceed the WHO threshold of 22.8 health workers per 10 000 population.

Yet major challenges remain.

In most countries, specialist density is still far below the global average.

Critical shortages persist in areas such as anaesthesiology, obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine and psychiatry.

At the same time, specialists are often concentrated in capitals and tertiary hospitals, while rural and remote communities remain underserved.

Private sector growth, urbanization and international migration place additional pressure on already stretched systems.

This underscores the importance of stronger retention policies and the effective implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

Moving forward, we must strengthen workforce planning based on population health needs.

We must invest in multidisciplinary and family medicine-based models of care.

We must create incentives that attract and retain specialists in the public sector and in underserved areas.

We must support task-sharing with strong governance, strengthen referral systems, expand the responsible use of telemedicine and AI, and build capacity in priority specialties according to national needs.

This agenda builds on the commitments Member States made through the Delhi Declaration on Strengthening Primary Health Care.

Today, it is being advanced through the Dili Declaration on Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialized Care.

I thank all Member States for the experiences, innovations and priorities shared this morning.

They will help guide WHO's support in the years ahead.

I warmly welcome the adoption of the Dili Declaration and thank the Government of Timor-Leste for its leadership.

Now we must turn commitment into action.

Together, let us ensure that access to specialized care depends not on where people live, but on what they need.

Thank you.