All countries in the Western Pacific Region face significant health security threats. The next outbreak of infectious disease could strike at any time. At the same time, natural disasters, like floods, cyclones and storms, have increased in frequency and severity in recent decades. People are falling ill, and even dying, from unsafe food, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is making many antibiotics ineffective for treating common infections.

We will support countries to:

• prepare for pandemics, health emergencies and outbreaks, and build resilient health systems that prevent epidemics and AMR.
• combat the threat of AMR through fully implementing the Regional AMR framework.
  

We want to ensure a Region where countries have strong and resilient health systems that are prepared to detect and respond to public health emergencies and health security threats – so that everyone is safe during outbreaks and natural disasters, and protected from the risks of AMR and unsafe food.

Learn more about how we are tackling these challenges in For the Future.

• Over the past decade, the Region has seen outbreaks of avian influenza in humans, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), dengue and a range of other emerging infectious diseases.
• Every year, more than 50 000 people in the Region die from consuming unsafe food, and another 125 million fall ill.
• Of the top ten countries most prone to natural disasters, six are in the Western Pacific Region.
• Nearly 90 000 cases of multidrug-resistant TB were estimated to have occurred in the Region in 2017, yet only 30% of them were diagnosed.