79th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia Concludes in Dili with the Adoption of the Dili Declaration
The 79th Session of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Committee for South-East Asia concluded on September 10th, 2026, in Dili, following four days of discussions that brought together Ministers of Health, senior officials, and Member State delegations to set priorities and adopt decisions aimed at strengthening health systems and access to healthcare in the region. 
Timor-Leste hosted the meeting from September 7th to 10th, for the first time in 11 years, with the participation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who made his first visit to the country, and the Officer-in-Charge of the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, Nilesh Buddha.
The Minister of Health, Élia A. A. dos Reis Amaral, was elected Chairperson of the 79th Session and presided over the proceedings of the Regional Committee, the decision-making body of the WHO for South-East Asia, which brings together the region’s ten Member States.
At the closing session, Member States adopted the resolutions and decisions resulting from four days of work. Key outcomes included the adoption of the Dili Declaration on Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialist Care, which sets out commitments to strengthen the health workforce and improve access to specialist care, particularly for populations in rural, remote, and underserved areas.
The Declaration provides, among other measures, for improved planning, training, distribution, and retention of specialist health professionals; stronger referral systems and multidisciplinary teams; and greater use of digital health solutions, including telemedicine, teleconsultations, and other technologies that can bring specialist care closer to communities.
During the Ministerial Roundtable dedicated to this issue, the Minister of Health highlighted Timor-Leste’s progress in developing specialist services and the challenges that remain in ensuring access outside main urban centres.
“Over the past two decades, Timor-Leste has invested in health infrastructure and strengthened national capacity to provide specialist services. Hospitals have progressively developed their capacity to provide services that previously depended primarily on international personnel and external support,” stated Élia A. A. dos Reis Amaral.
The Minister added that “simply increasing the number of doctors will not guarantee equitable access to specialist care”, stressing that Timor-Leste’s priority is to organise the health system so that people who require such care can receive it in a timely and appropriate manner.
The Regional Committee also adopted resolutions concerning access to medical devices, diagnostic technologies, and assistive technologies; the resilience of health facilities; patient and blood safety; sustainable health financing; strengthened measures to end tuberculosis; and increased confidence in and uptake of vaccines, as part of efforts to eliminate measles and rubella.
Member States also decided to extend the Integrated Regional Action Plan for viral hepatitis, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections until 2030, and strengthened regional cooperation on digital health and artificial intelligence by establishing the South-East Asia Collaborative Network for Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence.
One of the main highlights for Timor-Leste during the session took place on September 8th, when the Minister of Health received an award from the WHO Director-General in recognition of public health achievements, granted for the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in the country.
The WHO had officially validated this result on September 3rd. Timor-Leste became the fourth country in the WHO South-East Asia Region and the 33rd worldwide to receive this validation. As the last country in the region where trachoma was known or suspected as a public health problem, Timor-Leste’s validation also means the disease is no longer a public health problem throughout the WHO South-East Asia Region.
On the same day, Member States reviewed progress across various areas of public health, including maternal, neonatal, and child health; mental health; communicable and non-communicable diseases; adolescent health; oral health; eye health; and the elimination of measles and rubella.
Throughout the session, participants also discussed universal health coverage, the fight against tuberculosis, preparedness for public health emergencies, malnutrition, immunisation, the digital transformation of health systems, climate change and health, and access to quality services.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Ministry of Health also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Leprosy Mission Foundation of Timor-Leste on September 8th to strengthen cooperation in preventing, detecting, treating, and controlling leprosy, and to integrate these efforts into the Integrated Health Programme.
The programme also included technical sessions and side events, a health walk at Cristo Rei, bilateral meetings, and opportunities for delegations to interact. On September 7th, the Government hosted a reception at the Lahane Noble Palace, where President of the Republic José Ramos-Horta awarded the Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the former WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste.
On the final day of the meeting, Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão attended the plenary session and greeted the heads of Member States’ delegations, delegates, and WHO officials.
At the closing session, representatives of Member States expressed their gratitude to Timor-Leste for hosting and organising the meeting. The Vice-Minister for Hospital Operationalisation, Flávio Brandão Mendes de Araújo, spoke on behalf of Timor-Leste and thanked the delegations and partners for their participation.
The Minister of Health, as Chair of the 79th Session of the Regional Committee, declared the session closed and thanked national institutions, the WHO, Member States, development partners, and entities involved in the organisation for their support.
The 79th Session concluded by adopting decisions that will guide regional health cooperation and the implementation of priorities agreed upon by Member States in the coming years.
