Draft Concept Paper of the NEAT Working Group on
Enhancement of Regional Health in East Asia with
Special Reference to the Public Health and Universal Health Coverage
Theme
This Working Group aims to clarify the current situation and challenges on issues related to healthcare in East Asia, thereby seeking ways to enhance regional cooperation, with special reference to promotion on a regional basis of public healthcare and the universal health coverage.
Background
In East Asia, as exemplified by the institutionalization of ASEAN+3 (APT) in 1997 and East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2005, regional cooperation and integration have advanced particularly in such areas as economy, finance, education, and disaster prevention, etc. Worthy to note is the burgeoning economic interdependence deriving from the establishment of an intra-regional supply chain in parallel with the rapid economic development. Under the circumstances, the question of how to maintain and promote the health of the people or how to develop cooperation in healthcare appears to be an indispensable agenda for sustainable development in the region, let alone a common issue for humanity at large.
The international society has made efforts for health promotion including improvement of the health condition of pregnant women, prevention of such disease as HIV / AIDS and malaria, etc., as an integral development goal under the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established in 2000. The issue of healthcare has been on the agenda of the summit meetings among major countries, leading to the establishment of the Global Fund in Geneva to fight diseases. These efforts have resulted in many achievements, such as the significant decreases of such disease as malaria and tuberculosis as well as the fatality rate of pregnant women.
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