History of WHO in the Western Pacific

Establishing the Regional Office

The WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific was established in 1951. From its earliest years, WHO worked hard to address the numerous health issues facing the Region. In the 1950s, malaria was widespread. Tuberculosis affected virtually every country and area. Leprosy was prevalent almost everywhere. Cholera, plague and bilharziasis posed threats in some countries. Infant mortality rates were a major concern. The median life expectancy in many countries was somewhere between 40 and 50 years. At that time, many of WHO’s activities in the region were reactive efforts to provide support to countries to combat outbreaks of communicable diseases. But even at this early stage, the Regional Office was well aware that supporting health services should be an important part of its mission. Thus, by the end of the first decade of the Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the emphasis had begun to shift to addressing problems of inadequate health services and the chronic shortage of trained personnel.

Regional priorities

In the first few years, as now, a significant portion of the Regional Office’s time and money was spent on training programmes and supporting the building of comprehensive local health services in order to allow the people of the Western Pacific Region to manage their own health services. As the years went by, the seeds sown in those first few years came to fruition, new programmes were launched, and the health status of almost all countries and areas in the Region underwent steady (and in some cases dramatic) improvements. The establishment of basic health services in the Region became a priority, while recognizing that communicable diseases remained a significant public health issue. At the same time, the increased prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, coupled with ageing populations throughout the Region, meant there needed to be a greater emphasis on preventive and health promotion activities, even as communicable diseases continued to require considerable resources.

Regional health status

The health status of the Western Pacific Region has undoubtedly improved during the 70 years since the founding of WHO in 1948. WHO has made significant contributions to the development of health systems in almost all countries and areas of the Western Pacific Region. Throughout the Region, basic health infrastructures are in place to meet health needs at national and community levels. With the exception of a few least developed countries, health for all targets have been or are close to being achieved. But despite WHO’s many achievements in the Western Pacific Region, all countries and areas, to varying degrees, continue to face problems of equity of access, quality and efficiency. Changes in disease patterns, urbanization, ageing populations, technological advances and the restructuring of global economic and political systems will lead to a new set of health challenges in the future.

People and countries at the centre

The Regional Office continues to represent WHO in the Western Pacific region. Our purpose is to lead the regional response to public health issues on all fronts - medical, technical, socio-economic, cultural, legal and political - towards the achievement of WHO's global health mission. Working together with a broad spectrum of partners from all sectors of society, WHO in the Western Pacific is involved in numerous public health and health promotion activities. Our story has been one of adapting to changing circumstances and of responding to the health needs of the countries and areas of the Region. Above all, WHO in the Western Pacific Region strives to remain relevant to the needs of a region that has changed out of all recognition since our earliest days.