1st Steering Group Meeting on Revitalizing Primary Health Care in the Pacific
Summary
At the Eighth Meeting of Ministers of Health for Pacific Island Countries in Madang, Papua New Guinea, 7–9 July 2009, health systems strengthening and primary health care discussions focused on applying the Healthy Islands approach as a vision for implementation. The meeting also endorsed:
(1) a process of country consultation in the Pacific as part of the development of a regional strategy for health systems strengthening to ensure that Pacific and country concerns and ideas are incorporated; and
(2) the establishment of a steering group on revitalizing primary health care in the Pacific.
The health ministers also called for WHO support in convening the steering group at the earliest convenience so that finalized terms of reference and a road map for the steering group could be presented and endorsed during a special meeting of Pacific island ministers of health prior to the sixtieth session of the Regional Committee in September 2009.
In line with the outcomes of the Meeting of Ministers of Health for Pacific Island Countries, the 1st Steering Group Meeting on Revitalizing Primary Health Care in the Pacific was held from 8 to 9 September 2009 in Nadi, Fiji.
The membership of the steering group on revitalizing primary health care in the Pacific includes representation from Cook Islands, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Republic of Korea, with Secretariat support from the WHO Representative Office for the South Pacific.