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. 



The second Mekong-RoK Summit was held online on 13 November. Photo by VNA via Viet Nam Plus.

Mekong Countries, Republic of Korea Upgrade Relations to Strategic Partnership

Countries of the Mekong subregion and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed to raise bilateral relations to a "Strategic Partnership for People, Prosperity, and Peace" at the second Mekong-RoK Summit held on 13 November 2020, which was chaired by RoK President Moon Jae-in and Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.  

The meeting noted the reinforced cooperation in public health amid the pandemic, and hailed recovery of trading volumes between the RoK and the Mekong subregion to 2019 level.  


Migrant workers are returning to Southeast Asia in large numbers as governments grapple with how best to keep them employed. Photo: Ina Carolino

COVID-19 is Sending Millions of Overseas Workers Back Into Southeast Asia’s Rural Areas

With the right policies, enough jobs can be created to employ returning workers and creating the opportunity for a new era in agricultural entrepreneurship in the region.

Mekong Countries, Republic of Korea Convene 10th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

The 10th Mekong-Republic of Korea (RoK) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held on 28 September online, with the participation of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the RoK. The meeting highlighted achievements in cooperation on infrastructure, information technology, education, agriculture, environmental protection, and water resources management, and adopted the action plan for 2021-2025.

COVID-19 equipment donated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to to Viet Nam. Photo: IAEA Imagebank (CC BY 2.0)

How Universal Health Coverage in Thailand and Viet Nam Helped Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19

Strong commitments toward achieving universal health coverage (UHC) made by some developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), including Greater Mekong Subregion members Thailand and Viet Nam, prepared these countries to better manage the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.