Partners and Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
A good morning to you all.
I am pleased to be here today for a timely and crucial discussion —because in a region increasingly affected by emergencies, standing still is not an option.
Climate-related disasters, disease outbreaks, conflicts and protracted crises are placing growing pressure on our health systems.
They disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, and cause a loss of lives that can, should and must, be prevented.
But even as needs rise, resources are tightening. Flexible and timely support is essential to prevent emergencies from escalating, and to protect hard-won gains.
Thus, we find ourselves between two competing realities.
On the one hand, health emergencies in our region are increasing in frequency and complexity. On the other hand, financing is becoming more constrained and uncertain.
Yet, in emergencies, the cost of inaction is always higher than the cost of preparedness.
We see can already see the consequences of resource constraints.
The Rohingya humanitarian response remains critically underfunded, constraining essential services for more than a million people in Bangladesh.
The 2025-26 Joint Response Plan calls for 934.5 million US dollars, and was only 38% funded, as of August 2025.
In Myanmar, shrinking resources have reduced humanitarian health coverage from 330 to 227 townships, with millions in need.
Malaria cases have surged by 300% in four years, and 1.5 million children have missed routine immunization.
When crises strike, health facilities, supply chains and essential services are disrupted. Surveillance weakens, routine care is interrupted, and mental health needs grow.
Health emergencies erode the progress made by long-term investments in health systems, disease control, and population health. Years of progress can be reversed in a matter of weeks. Delays in response cost lives.
Early, catalytic financing allows for the deployment of emergency teams, and timely procurement of essential supplies. It ensures continuity of essential services and effective coordination when every hour counts.
This is why the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund—SEARHEF—matters.
Since it was established in 2008, SEARHEF has supported 50 health emergencies.
It has disbursed nearly 8.15 million US dollars and allocated 1.1 million US dollars for regional stockpiling.
It is not just a financing instrument, it is an enabler of rapid action, coordination and trust when systems are under greatest strain.
When we protect health services in the first days of an emergency, we protect development gains for years to come.
Last year, our Member States modified and strengthened SEARHEF.
The Fund’s corpus has tripled from 1 million to 3 million US dollars, and the maximum allocation per emergency has been raised from 350,000 to 400,000 US dollars.
The revamped SEARHEF is not just bigger—it is also more agile and more adaptable.
The revised two‑tranche structure increased the first disbursement and links the second to use of the first.
The funding validity has been extended to six months, and the previous preparedness and response streams have been merged into a single flexible framework that covers stockpiling, preparedness and response.
SEARHEF is distinct, and complimentary, to WHO’s global Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE).
CFE is a global corporate mechanism that enables WHO to rapidly finance country-level response operations once emergencies are graded.
SEARHEF, by contrast, mobilizes resources based on regional priorities, routine IHR assessments and country needs—for both preparedness and response.
In practice, they layer support. SEARHEF often acts as the first rapid financing, in smaller or region-specific crises, filling gaps when CFE is not yet triggered or requested.
In major graded emergencies, CFE supplements once SEARHEF ceilings are reached, enabling WHO’s Level 3 surge.
Together, they create layered financing, avoiding overlap through coordinated eligibility, triggers and tracking.
Crucially, SEARHEF is now open to voluntary contributions—cash or in‑kind—from donors, partners and the private sector, alongside continued Member State support.
This positions SEARHEF as a true platform of solidarity in action.
In the coming days, we will unveil our new operational framework for 2026-28, the Banyan Framework.
This envisages expanding SEARHEF into a broader Regional Health and Climate Resilience Response mechanism, supporting anticipatory financing, climate-triggered health response and cross-border surge coordination.
This will be an enabler of our planned shift from programme silos to connected systems and integrated delivery.
The Framework also places a new emphasis on structured, results-oriented partnerships, with regional bodies, development banks, the UN system, the private sector, civil society and more.
In that spirit, I encourage your partnership and collaboration. Your support means faster action, resilient communities, and health gains being protected.
It means that together, we can help prevent emergencies from becoming disasters and can build a stronger and safer South-East Asia.
Thank you.