As climate-related disasters, disease outbreaks and other health emergencies become increasingly frequent and complex across South-East Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States on Thursday discussed strengthening and expanding the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) to ensure countries can quickly access life-saving support during crises.
"Health emergencies are becoming more frequent, more complex and more costly. Countries need rapid, flexible financing that can be mobilized immediately when lives are at risk. SEARHEF represents regional solidarity in action, enabling Member States to support one another when emergencies strike," said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge WHO South-East Asia Region. She was addressing the Fifteenth Meeting of the Working Group on the Governance of SEARHEF.
Established in 2008 following the Indian Ocean tsunami, SEARHEF has become the Region's flagship emergency financing mechanism. Since its inception, the Fund has supported 51 emergencies across 10 Member States, disbursing more than US$ 8.2 million for emergency response while strengthening preparedness through investments in emergency operations centres, rapid response teams and regional emergency stockpiles.
At the Working Group meeting, convened virtually by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, Member States and WHO reviewed the Fund's progress and discussed the SEARHEF Resource Mobilization Strategy, which aims to strengthen sustainable financing to ensure timely support for health emergencies across the Region.
These included broadening the donor base by enhancing engagement with philanthropic organizations, development partners and the private sector, as well as mobilizing in-kind contributions by leveraging the Region's manufacturing, logistics and technical expertise.
The Working Group's recommendations will be further considered at the Seventy-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia in September this year.
Strengthening SEARHEF is part of WHO and Member States' ongoing efforts to reinforce regional health emergency preparedness and ensure countries have access to timely financial and operational support to respond swiftly during a crisis to protect and save lives.