Health ministers met in Dili to review priorities for regional healthcare.
Timor-Leste hosted the 79th Session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee for South-East Asia in Dili from 7 to 10 September 2026. Health ministers and senior officials from Member States met to review regional health policies, ongoing initiatives and future priorities.
The session was attended by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was making his first visit to Timor-Leste, and Acting Head of the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia Nilesh Buddha. Timor-Leste hosted the Regional Committee session for the first time in 11 years. The committee is WHO’s decision-making body for South-East Asia and includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
The programme included a Ministerial Round Table on “Health workforce: equity in specialist care”, where Member States examined workforce challenges and equitable access to specialist services. The discussions also addressed universal health coverage and health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Disease elimination, tuberculosis, access to high-quality medical devices and the resilience of healthcare facilities are also among the topics discussed. The agenda also covered digital transformation in healthcare, including a proposal to establish the South-East Asia Collaborative Network for Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence (SEA-DAC).
The participants also reviewed regional progress in maternal, neonatal and child health, alongside mental health and non-communicable diseases. Other areas of assessment included viral hepatitis, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, measles and rubella, polio eradication, preparedness for health emergencies and efforts to address malnutrition. The meeting also examined WHO budgetary and governance matters, along with issues arising from the 79th World Health Assembly and the 158th and 159th sessions of the Organisation’s Executive Board.
Source: Government of Timor-Leste
