REMARKS OF THE SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Diplomatic Reception in Honor of Dr. Susan P. Mercado Philippine Candidate for Regional Director of the WHO-Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO)

Joint hosting by the DFA and DOH

17 August 2023 | 1800-2000H | Sheraton Manila Bay Hotel

Honorable Undersecretary Eric Tayag; Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps in Manila;

(Other VIPs onsite);

Esteemed colleagues in the civil service;

Distinguished guests, dear friends, ladies and gentlemen; Good evening and thank you for joining us in this reception.

Health is the basis for strong and vibrant societies. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address last month highlighted the Philippines’ advocacy for healthy communities and lifestyles, and announced new investments in public health as among the Administration’s top priorities.

This emphasis on health is part of our national identity and a key component of our long-term development aspirations to become a caring and nurturing society in which all individuals, regardless of status, can receive quality care and treatment from a more inclusive, accessible and effective system of healthcare.

Under the leadership of the Department of Health, the Philippines remains at the forefront of improving the quality, delivery and resilience of health services for its people, in as much as we share this competence through Filipino health professionals around the world.

The Covid19 pandemic showed us how much the Filipino health professional contributes to global health, with their expertise and hard-to-match professionalism in healthcare. WHO Director-General Tedros himself shared this impression with me during his visit to the Philippines last year.

There are many ways the Philippines brings its values and resources to the cause of global health. Let me cite three points:

First: The Philippines is among the few middle income countries that support the Contingency Fund for Emergencies and the COVAX Facility, which provided much- needed vaccines to developing and least developing countries during the pandemic.

Second: The Philippines takes an active leadership role in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the WHO Pandemic Treaty, ongoing in Geneva, advocating for equity in all facets of the negotiations, including access to response products and countermeasures, primary healthcare capacities, and the equitable distribution of the healthcare workforce.

Third: The Philippines is steadfast in its support for the WHO and its evolving needs, and is ahead of the curve in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all, at all ages.

In the three High-Level Meetings at the 78th UN General Assembly next month on Universal Healthcare, Tuberculosis, and Pandemic, Prevention, Preparedness and Response, the Philippines, through Secretary Ted Herbosa will seek to advance the interests and priorities of developing and middle-income countries.

Even when the Philippines was a young republic, health cooperation was at the heart of our engagements with the international community. Emerging from the ravages of war, we joined the nations of the free world in founding the World Health Organization 75 years ago.

For our region, the Philippines led the first “Asians helping Asians” initiative by extending medical assistance, training, and community development to support Laos and Vietnam from 1957 to 1975 in what came to be known as Operation Brotherhood. Filipino doctors, nurses, nutritionists and social workers assisted more than 1 million Lao citizens and undertook projects, including 13 major hospitals in numerous small clinics, in Vientiane and several provinces.

Filipino teams also provide emergency medical assistance and address the health needs of disaster-affected communities. The biggest contingents were dispatched to assist our neighbors in the aftermath of major natural calamities in the region such as the Aceh earthquake and tsunami and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

Our solemn commitment to the ideals and purposes of the WHO was further cemented when we offered to host the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office or WPRO in Manila in 1951.

I recall this Philippine legacy of engagement with international partners on health, as I enjoy the honor of being part of this evening’s occasion to present the candidature of Dr. Susan Pineda Mercado for the position of WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific (WPRO).

Dr. Mercado has an impeccable track record as a public health professional. She brings with her the depth of experience and knowledge of the organization that WPRO needs at this time, for it to play a stronger and more agile role in promoting high quality health services to our region.

She embodies the Philippine tradition of professionalism and competence on health issues, but also the finest of Filipino virtues of excellence, service and compassion.

The Philippines firmly believes that WPRO, under the leadership of Dr. Mercado, will contribute ever more to the strengthening of the most vulnerable healthcare systems in our region, including those in the Pacific Island states, especially amidst new risks associated with diseases and climate-related emergencies.

To the Philippines, which has ranked high in the gender equality index in Asia Pacific, the election of a woman to the leadership of WIPRO is long overdue.

This is primarily about merit and competence, which Dr. Mercado, undoubtedly possess, but this is also about bringing new energy to WPRO, to ensure that it keeps apace with the aims of the global health community for more inclusion, efficiency, transparency, resilience and innovation in our international and regional public health institutions.

The demands on WPRO leadership are high, especially at this time, and that it would take Dr. Mercado has extraordinary passion, intelligence and service to meet those demands, as WPRO head, if elected.

Excellencies, dear friends from the diplomatic community:

Your support for Dr. Susie Mercado will be important for the Philippines, but more so, for the region and WIPRO as this institution moves onwards in shaping a healthier and more resilient future for our region and all our peoples.

Maraming salamat po at magandang gabi sa inyong lahat. END.