WHO falls short of target to fight dengue in Western Pacific: official

The regional director for the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific region said on Monday that the international organization has fallen short of its target to control the spread of dengue, saying the number of dengue cases has more than doubled in recent years.

In a keynote address to the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, Shin Young-soo said, "despite the best efforts to members, WHO and our partners, we have had limited success fighting dengue."

"We have not met the targets we set in 2008 the Regional Committee endorsed the last dengue strategic plan," Shin said.

"While case fatality rates have been cut in half between 2008 and 2015, the number of dengue cases has more than doubled."

WHO regional committee for the Western Pacific region opened on Monday its annual meeting in Manila to discuss progress on key public heath priorities in the region, including dengue, malaria, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

At the meeting, Shin said ways to control the spread of dengue are the topic on Tuesday in a bid to "eventually control" the mosquito-borne disease.

Shin said the results will be included in the Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for Dengue Prevention and Control, a new draft action plan that will "provide fresh guidance on actions to slow down the expansion of dengue."

"The action plan will help us combat not only dengue, but also other arboviral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitos, including Chikungunya and Zika," Shin said.

Though Zika has been more prevalent in the Americas, Shin stressed that the first outbreak reported was in the Federated States of Micronesia in 2007.

Shin said the Western Pacific region "remains a hotspot for emerging infectious diseases, disasters and other public health emergencies."

"We are continuing to invest in preparedness, especially in between outbreaks and emergencies," Shin said.

The Manila-based WHO said in a statement that the five-day meeting will also tackle environmental health, the sustainable development goals, the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies.

At the end of the meeting on Friday, the statement said the meeting hopes to formulate policies to support Western Pacific countries combat the diseases in a bid to sustain the WHO goals.

At the meeting, the statement said, "progress report on HIV and sexually transmitted infections, expanded program on immunisation, disability prevention and rehabilitation including blindness" will also be discussed.

"Regional action plan for healthy newborn infants, anti-microbial resistance and essential medicines" are also among the health topics for discussions on the table, the statement said.

The meeting this week in the 67th session of the regional committee, WHO's governing body for the Western Pacific region, which includes 37 countries and areas from China in the north and west, to New Zealand in the south, and French Polynesia in the East.

The committee consists of representatives from the region's member states and associate members who meet annually.

Among other functions, the regional committee formulates policies governing matters of an exclusively regional character, guides the WHO Regional Office, and suggests additional work or investigation in health matters. Endit