Key Priority Areas

Reaching the unreached, including infectious diseases and infant and maternal mortality

As part of our unfinished business, there are still health issues that require our attention. To continue to address these issues, means we need to start doing business differently, starting with applying a gender and equity lens. In many countries in the Western Pacific Region, gender inequalities and social inequities in health predominantly burden the poorest and least educated groups, including those living in areas with weaker health systems and in in rural and hard to reach areas—with women often being extra vulnerable to poor health. This ultimately affects maternal and child health, including vulnerability to infectious diseases. In our efforts to better understand health in the region, we must apply a gender and equity lens to address differences between countries and within population groups, to ensure that the challenges and needs of all people are met and addressed to truly leave no one behind.