The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on Asia-Pacific countries to strengthen their emergency workforce capacities to better manage shared health risks. This appeal follows a comprehensive regional analysis presented at the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework Stakeholders Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attended by over 100 delegates from 49 countries.
The analysis, which synthesised insights from 21 strategic risk assessments and over 800 experts, emphasised the need for proactive investment in emergency workforce preparedness. The region faces a complex landscape where climate hazards, disease outbreaks, and geophysical events increasingly overlap, creating devastating impacts on health systems and communities.
Key findings revealed that more than half of the participating countries identified flooding, cyclones, dengue, and pandemic-potential respiratory pathogens as high-risk threats. WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Saia Ma’u Piukala, stated, “Isolated health interventions are no longer sufficient,” highlighting the interconnected nature of these hazards.
To address these vulnerabilities, WHO recommends several strategic actions, including bridging workforce capacity gaps, fostering multisectoral coordination, securing sustainable financing, enabling emergency-ready primary health care, ensuring inclusive emergency planning, and optimising communication strategies.
Despite significant gaps, the region has strong foundational pillars such as dedicated clinicians and rapid response teams. WHO is advancing regional workforce capacities through the Global Health Emergency Corps initiative, supported by the Gates Foundation and Institute of Philanthropy, to create a cohesive and rapidly deployable emergency workforce.
Gina Samaan, WHO’s Regional Emergency Director for the Western Pacific, stressed, “Scaling up emergency workforce readiness is no longer optional,” underscoring its importance in safeguarding health and protecting lives in an unpredictable future.
