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2014 APEC High Level Meeting on Health and the Economy

Beijing, People's Republic of China | 15 - 16 August 2014
APEC health ministers from China; Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; and Chinese Taipei; deputy health ministers and senior health officials, academic and industry leaders, and representatives of non-governmental and international organizations met in Beijing on 15 August, 2014 for the Fourth High Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (HLM4) to discuss issues of health and economic development that are of priority concern to APEC Member Economies.

HLM4 endorses the “Healthy Asia Pacific 2020” initiative (2014/SOM3/HLM-HE/002) which provides key guidance for actions and contributions to the sustainable economic development of the region. Given the role of health in the economy, participants agreed that APEC economies should be encouraged to develop sustainable and high-performing health systems by adopting, or adapting, as appropriate to their national context, “health in all policies” and a holistic approach, namely “whole of government”, “whole of society” and “whole of region” to achieve people’s health and wellbeing throughout the whole life course to 2020.

HLM4 agrees that the proposed areas of focus for the “Healthy Asia Pacific 2020” initiative should include: unfinished business from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a manner that complements activities of the post-2015 agenda; prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases, as well as injuries and mental health; strengthening health systems to support Universal Health Coverage and enhance capacity in health research development and innovation; and improved emergency preparedness, surveillance, and recovery systems in the APEC region..

Regional Health Security and the Economy

Pandemic Preparedness
Recognizing the significant progress made by economies to respond to infectious disease threats, HLM4 reaffirms the need to coordinate and collaborate on matters of health security. HLM4 encourages economies to work with stakeholders to prevent and or mitigate the impact of outbreaks.

Anti-microbial Resistance and Infection Control
Infections from pathogens resistant to standard antibiotic treatment are a serious threat that requires action across all government sectors and society. HLM4 endorses ongoing efforts by APEC to take action against anti-microbial resistance and efforts to build capacity for surveillance. Cross-sectoral action is needed to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance including drug-resistant tuberculosis and malaria.

Safe Medicines and the Health Value Chain
HLM4 welcomes work underway to address barriers to assuring the quality and integrity of the health value chain. HLM4 encourages APEC economies to consider the adoption of common data standards in the supply chain based on international guidance. HLM4 recognizes the need to address sub-standard, spurious, falsely labelled, falsified and counterfeit medical products and the use of illegal internet pharmacies and welcomes additional research and public awareness building. Participants urge APEC to increase the efficiency of global value chains by examining barriers in the health supply chain that impede population access to affordable, safe and effective medical products and services.

Health in Population Productivity and Participation in the Economy

Investing in Health and Wellness to Drive Workforce Productivity
HLM4 observes that workforce participation and productivity are important to the region’s economic competitiveness. Over the next two decades the total global economic burden of chronic disease, including mental health, is estimated to be USD $47 trillion[1], with impacts on labor supply, capital accumulation and GDP worldwide. HLM4 welcomes the development by APEC of a road map for mental health, and efforts to address cervical cancer, and the work of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on the impact of chronic/Non-Communicable Disease on worker productivity.

Enhancing Economic Participation by Improving Access to Healthcare for Women and for Ageing Populations
HLM4considers that demographic shifts require a fresh approach to ensuring that women are empowered through improved health to enter the work force in a sustainable way and that ageing populations remain productive. Studies suggest that increasing the number of women in the work force would raise GDP significantly. HLM4 welcomes the new cross fora work in APEC on ways to increase the participation of women in the economy through improved health outcomes. HLM4 advocates cross-fora work on the financial and social implications of maintaining healthy seniors in the workforce.

Enabling Innovation in Medical Life Sciences

Recognizing that the APEC region is rich in health research for development and innovation but that the ability of economies to translate their discoveries into cost-effective preventive interventions and therapies is limited by lack of capacity and financing mechanisms, HLM4 welcomes the collaboration on the establishment of the APEC Biomedical Technology Commercialization Training Center and the establishment of the first APEC Center of Excellence for Regulatory Sciences. HLM4 encourages APEC to work with the APEC Business Advisory Council on innovative financing mechanisms for research and development.

A Whole of Government, whole of society and whole of region Approach to Health

Whole of Government
HLM4 welcomes recommendations to include “non-health” sectors such as commerce and trade, finance, agriculture, transportation, information and communications technology, science and technology, education, infrastructure and the environment in health policy development and resource setting along with agencies such as border inspection and enforcement, labor, and, regulatory supervision. HLM4 concludes that this would help assure the development of comprehensive health policies.

Whole of Society
HLM4 recalled the Leaders’ direction in 2002 that vulnerable populations such as women, seniors, disabled, and migrant populations require special attention in health planning, innovation, and services delivery. Involving communities in projects to raise health awareness, and building community capacity to address health challenges in partnership with state and local governments and the private sector should be key areas of focus. APEC economies should be encouraged to share best practices and to volunteer as model or pilot economies on the empowerment of communities and vulnerable populations.

HLM4 encourages governments to collaborate and work with academia, professional groups, and the private sector in the development and implementation of community wide projects and to inform health priority and resource setting. APEC economies should be encouraged to consult with and incorporate academic, civil society and the private sector in policy development and implementation, including the development of capacity building projects that support their key health priorities.

Whole of Region
HLM4 notes that economies would benefit significantly from Asia-Pacific partnership by enhancing regional and sub-regional cooperation in areas such as best practices in health care reform and development; efficient and effective use of assistance programs to strengthen health systems; and, expanded dialogues with government, civil society, industry, and academia. HLM4 calls for the mainstreaming of health, with an emphasis on health systems strengthening, in APEC through strengthened and expanded dialogue between the Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) and the Health Working Group (HWG), other APEC fora and appropriate international institutions to help ensure that APEC economies are equipped to begin the process of a health in all policies/whole of government and whole of society approach to health care policy development and implementation.

Recommendations

Recognizing the critical role of health in economic development, HLM4 recommends that Ministers and Leaders:

  • Endorse the “Healthy Asia Pacific 2020” initiative;
  • Request that, where appropriate to the national context member economies to adopt “health in all policies” and the “whole of government”, “whole of society”, and “whole of region” approach for sustainable health systems and a more prosperous Asia Pacific region;
  • Welcome cross-fora collaboration in APEC on health and health sciences as a step towards developing best practices for a “health in all policies”/”whole of government” and whole of society” approach to health policy development and implementation;
  • Recognize the important role of APEC in fostering public-private partnerships to inform policy development and leverage resources, and encourage the identification of model partnerships;
  • Encourage multi-sectoral collaborations for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, as well as injuries and mental health, as a key determinant of work force productivity, and the prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including anti-microbial resistance and drug resistant tuberculosis and malaria;
  • Encourage the development of best practices for addressing health challenges that adversely impact the participation of women, seniors, and disabled populations in the economy;
  • Endorse work underway in APEC to ensure the quality and integrity of the health value chain and request that officials examine other barriers in the health value chain inhibiting access to medical products and services;
  • Welcome the establishment of collaborative centers in health regulatory sciences and the commercialization of research;
  • Welcome the recommendations of the HWG Policy Dialogue on Universal Health Coverage.