Health Cooperation

What's New

  • The Asian Development Bank approved the technical assistance Strengthening Regional Health Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion – Phase 2 on 2 December 2024. This technical assistance supports the implementation of the new GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2024-2030. Strengthening regional health cooperation will help realize a healthy and sustainable GMS community. The project aims to achieve this through three outputs: (i) operationalizing the strategic pillars of the new strategy; (ii) promoting and expanding knowledge support for regional health cooperation in the GMS; and (iii) strengthening operational support for the GMS Woking Group on Health Cooperation and its secretariat.

    Phase 1 of the technical assistance, which concluded on 17 May 2024, established the GMS Working Group on Health Cooperation and its secretariat and developed the GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023.

  • The GMS Regional Health Cooperation Strategy 2024-2030 emphasizes health issues that are regional in nature and require collective action to address. It has two strategic pillars: regional health security and health system strengthening toward universal health coverage. 

  • Scaling Up One Health Approaches in the Greater Mekong Subregion provides an overview of One Health in the GMS and its relationship to addressing climate change. It details One Health activities in the subregion and recommends how they can be scaled up, including specific investment opportunities. 

 

GMS-2030 Health Agenda

The GMS health agenda under the GMS Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) focuses on communicable disease control through cross-border surveillance and modeling, information exchange, implementation of international health regulations, and pandemic preparedness. Since universal health coverage is a critical regional public good, GMS-2030 aims to accelerate its implementation through strengthening the performance of GMS health systems to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats such as COVID-19 and other emerging diseases; support countries to comply with the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations; apply a unified approach to environmental, animal, and human health (“One Health”); strengthen protection of vulnerable communities and migrants; build capacity and cross-border cooperation to address priority health issues; and advance in gender equality to build subregional health cooperation leadership and decision-making policy.

 

GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2024–2030

Vision: Through collective efforts, the GMS Program aims to foster a healthy and sustainable GMS community, where the well-being of all citizens is pursued.

This vision is aligned with GMS-2030. Central to its attainment are two outcomes also aligned with the GMS-2030 and with the GMS-2030 Results Framework:

  1. Improved GMS health system performance in preparing for and responding to all hazards and acute public health threats
  2. Decreased disparities in health care access among different vulnerable groups

The GMS HCS 2024–2030 is underpinned by two pillars:

Strategic Pillar 1: Regional Health Security: The vulnerability of the GMS to health security risks is widely acknowledged. The GMS is particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases due to its high biodiversity, frequent human to animal interactions, and rapid urbanization, which facilitate the spread of zoonoses and other pathogens. Additionally, cross-border trade, intensive livestock farming, weak health systems, and environmental degradation further contribute to the region’s susceptibility to outbreaks and the rise of AMR; thus, it is critical for the GMS to align activities and technical areas that contribute to public health, preparedness, response, and resilience

Strategic Pillar 2: Health System Strengthening Toward Universal Health Coverage: Strengthening the health system with an emphasis on equity and resilience is vital for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health security. This approach also supports broader socioeconomic advancement. According to UHC2030, it is the most effective and sustainable way to meet UHC and health security objectives. GMS-2030 aims to accelerate the implementation of UHC offering a chance for increased and more targeted investments in the core elements of health systems, particularly primary health care (PHC). Service accessibility, availability, and individual acceptability play important roles in facilitating or hindering vulnerable populations, including older people’s access to health care services. Addressing these factors is crucial for achieving UHC, since it ensures everyone—regardless of their vulnerabilities—can receive the health services they need without facing financial hardship. By prioritizing the unique needs of these groups, health systems can reduce disparities, improve health outcomes, and promote equity, ultimately leading to a more inclusive and resilient health care system.

The GMS HCS 2024–2030 will guide programming, foster innovation, increase engagement with the development and private sector partners, and mobilize new financing to support its implementation. In addition to its two strategic pillars, Its crosscutting themes are gender, climate change, and digital health.

 

GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023

The 5-year strategy focused on three strategic pillars: (1) health security as a regional public good, (2) health impacts of connectivity and mobility, and (3) health workforce development.

 

GMS Working Group on Health Cooperation

Established under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded technical assistance Strengthening Regional Health Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion – Phase 1 in 2019, the GMS Working Group on Health Cooperation (WGHC) serves as a platform for addressing regional health challenges. It facilitates dialogue and supports the development of policies, strategies, and programmatic responses. WGHC operationalized, governed, and institutionalized the GMS Health Cooperation Strategy (HCS) 2019–2023, with nominated representatives from the six countries, terms of reference, and reporting systems endorsed by the respective health ministers

 

Functions of the GMS WGHC

  • Support the implementation of HCS 2024–2030
  • Maintain the GMS WGHC Secretariat
  • Convene annual GMS WGHC meetings to set policy directions for regional health cooperation
  • Conduct regional meetings as necessary to address unforeseen health needs

 

Strengthening Regional Health Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion – Phase 2

Approved by ADB on 2 December 2024, this technical assistance supports the implementation of the new GMS HCS 2024-2030. Strengthening regional health cooperation will help realize a healthy and sustainable GMS community. The project aims to achieve this through three outputs: (i) operationalizing the strategic pillars of the new GMS HCS 2024-2030; (ii) promoting and expanding knowledge support for regional health cooperation in the GMS; and (iii) strengthening operational support for the GMS WGHC and its secretariat.

 

Strengthening Regional Health Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion – Phase 1

This technical assistance, approved by ADB on 22 August 2018 and concluded on 17 May 2024, supported the establishment of the GMS Working Group on Health Cooperation and its secretariat and supported annual meetings of the WGHC; developed the (a) GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023, and (b) GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2024–2030; supported annual meetings of the GMS WGHC and annual health cooperation workplans; produced knowledge products, including on migration, health, and One Health; and yielded six new GMS health sector investment projects.

 



Health

Focal Persons at the Asian Development Bank

  • Rikard Elfving 
    Human and Social Development Sector Office
    Sectors Group

  • Najibullah Habib 
    Human and Social Development Sector Office
    Sectors Group

Other Concerned Staff & Consultants

  • Asadullah Sumbal 
    Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
    Southeast Asia Department 

  • Rowena Sancio 
    Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
    Southeast Asia Department/GMS Secretariat

Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat. 



Meeting plenary at the 23rd GMS Ministerial Conference held on 18 November 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo by Asian Development Bank.  

GMS Ministers Launch 5-year Regional Health Cooperation Strategy

Ministers of the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries launched the GMS Health Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023, which provides a framework to guide GMS countries in collectively tackling health issues impacting the subregion through regional cooperation at the 23rd GMS Ministerial Conference (MC-23) held on 18 November 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

GMS Risk Communication Specialists Stress Importance of Regional Approach for Health Emergencies

Risk communication is a critical component of countries’ effective response to health emergencies. This is why it is one of the focus areas of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (APSED), the common strategic framework for World Health Organization member countries of the Asia Pacific region to effectively detect, prepare for, and respond to threats posed by emerging infectious diseases. Risk communication helps inform decision making, encourage positive behavior change, and maintain public trust.  

Phnom Penh skyline reflecting the city's rapid growth. The Central Market, built in 1937, is seen in the foreground. Photo by Lor Teng Huy - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

GMS Ministers to Gather in Phnom Penh for the 23rd GMS Ministerial Conference

The Ministers of the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are set to lay the groundwork for the preparation for the 7th GMS Summit of Leaders. 

Hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the 23rd GMS Ministerial Conference (MC-23) will take place in Phnom Penh on 18 November 2019, with the theme "Greater Integration, Inclusivity and Sustainability in the GMS.”   

Writeshop to Finalize the Strategic Results Framework and Prepare Regional Action Plan for the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Health Cooperation Strategy 2019‒2023

Writeshop to Finalize the Strategic Results Framework and Prepare Regional Action Plan for the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Health Cooperation Strategy 2019‒2023

The Asian Development organized the Writeshop to Finalize the Strategic Results Framework and Prepare Regional Action Plans for the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Health Cooperation Strategy 2019‒2023 on 26‒27 September 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Regional Exchange Workshop on Malaria Interventions Among Mobile Migrant Populations

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in coordination with International Organization for Migration
(IOM) organized the Regional Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Malaria Interventions Among
Mobile Migrant Populations in Bangkok on 17 to 18 May 2018 to share successes, challenges,
and lessons learned during the implementation of RCDTA 8959-REG: Malaria and
Communicable Diseases Control in the GMS.