The three-day conference, Partners for Health in South-East Asia, organised by the World Health Organization concluded in New Delhi. The Delhi Call for Action on Partnerships for Health was issued by representatives of national governments, parliamentarians, academia, civil society, patients rights groups, NGOs, the private sector, professional organisations, bilateral and multilateral donors, global health partnerships, development partners, media and UN organisations attending the conference.
The conference discussed health partnerships that are already working and explored innovative ways to improve their effectiveness. The interrelation of health issues and underlying problems such as lack of sanitation, gender and human rights, and fragmented systems was stressed. It was noted that not just more money, but also more openness and tolerance are sometimes what is need to make health programmes work. Participants frankly discussed such problems and ways to solve them.
The eleven countries of WHO's South-East Asia region hold more than a quarter of the world's population and bear a disproportionate share of the global disease burden. These diseases include a heavy burden of maternal and child mortality and morbidity, infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and neglected tropical diseases such as leprosy and dengue, as well as emerging threats like SARS and pandemic influenza.
In addition, the conference expressed concern that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and conditions such mental illness, injuries and disabilities, are
placing a further burden on health systems and society. NCDs account for more than half of annual deaths in the Region, and affect the poor as much as those better off.
Both natural and human factors contribute to the Region's vulnerability. The region's susceptibility to natural disasters, rapid demographic and epidemiological transition, limited and inconsistent political support and uneven implementation of health-promoting laws increase this vulnerability.
The conference acknowledged that strong health systems based on the primary health care (PHC) approach are the cornerstone of achieving better health outcomes. But health systems in the Region too often remain ineffective, too medically oriented, underfunded, and fragmented, and are further challenged by difficulties in training and retaining health workforce.
The health challenges with social, political and economic determinants can only be addressed by a spectrum of partners acting decisively and in concert. The community itself must be empowered so that it can be a partner in improving health.
The Partners resolved to accelerate efforts towards achieving key goals and targets outlined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in consonance with national development priorities and through revitalisation of primary health care.
