Opening remarks at the seventy-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific

Honourable Chair,

Honourable Ministers,

Distinguished delegates,

Partners, dear colleagues and friends, 

Good morning and mabuhay. A very warm welcome to Manila. 

It is my great honour and privilege to welcome you to the seventy-seventh session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific. 

Thank you for being here. 

Some of you have travelled long distances to join us. 

Your presence reflects not only your commitment to health, but also your belief in the value of coming together as one regional family. 

I am deeply grateful for your trust, your friendship and your partnership. 

And before we begin, let me sincerely thank our outgoing Chair, Honourable Ratu Dr Atonio Lalabalavu, for his leadership, his wisdom and steady guidance provided over the past year. 

You guided our deliberations with fairness, patience and steady hand. 

And on behalf of all of us, thank you for your outstanding service. 

And can you join me in thanking our outgoing Chair for his leadership? 

Excellencies, dear colleagues, I am especially honoured to welcome our WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

Director-General, Dr Tedros, my dear brother, this is the final time you will join our Regional Committee in your current role. 

That makes this gathering especially meaningful, and emotional, for many of us. 

You have led WHO through some of the most difficult years in modern global health. 

You led us through a pandemic that changed our world. 

You defended science when it was questioned, solidarity when it was tested, and multilateralism when it came under pressure. 

And throughout it all, you reminded us of one simple truth – no one is safe until everyone is safe. 

But beyond the policies, agreements and institutions, what I have always valued most is your humanity. 

You never forgot the people behind the numbers – families who lost loved ones, exhausted health workers, children missing essential care, and communities facing conflicts, disasters and displacement. 

And you have been a dear friend to our Western Pacific Region, particularly to our Small Island Developing States and to countries facing some of the greatest health and climate challenges. 

Director-General, your tenure may be moving towards its conclusion, but your place in our Western Pacific family will not. 

You will always be one of us. 

And we will carry forward your legacy by continuing to stand for health, for equity and for solidarity. 

And now may I invite you all to join me in warmly welcoming our Director-General. 

We are also delighted to warmly welcome six prospective candidates for the election of our next Director-General. 

Thank you for your willingness to serve this organization and the cause of global health. 

Putting yourself forward for such a responsibility takes courage, commitment and a deep belief in WHO. 

Whoever is chosen will face enormous challenges, but also extraordinary opportunities. 

And whoever has the privilege of leading WHO next will need the support of all Member States. 

Because the strength of this Organization has never rested on one person. 

It rests on all of us. 

Excellencies and distinguished delegates, before turning to our agenda, I want to briefly raise something that is very personal to me, because it touches my team. 

Many of our internationally recruited colleagues here in Manila are facing a significant reduction in post adjustment, which will eventually mean a noticeable reduction in take-home pay. 

The decision is outside the authority of the Regional Office, and we respect the established process. 

But I want you, our Member States, to be aware of its human impact. 

For our colleagues, this is not simply a technical adjustment or a number on a salary statement. 

It affects families.

It affects school fees, rent, responsibilities to loved ones, and commitments made in good faith. 

And understandably, it creates anxiety about the future. 

This concerns me deeply. 

Our staff are not simply a cost. 

They are the heart of this Organization. 

They are the people who work every day alongside you, our Member States, responding to emergencies, supporting health systems, and helping turn our decisions made in this room into action. 

We are engaging through the appropriate channels to seek reconsideration and greater transitional support. 

And I raise this today for one simple reason. 

If we want WHO to care for the health of others, we must also care for the people who make our work possible. 

And I want our colleagues and their families to know, we hear you, we care about you, and we will continue to stand with you. 

Despite these challenges, we continue to adapt, to innovate and find better ways of working, always with one goal – to serve you, our Member States, better. 

For the first time, we have shortened our Regional Committee from five days to four, making our time together more focused and purposeful. 

And held five virtual side events before coming together here to Manila. 

And I have been very encouraged by the strong engagement of Member States. 

It is a small change, but an important sign of what we can achieve when we are willing to rethink old ways and try something new together. 

This is our most digitally enabled Regional Committee so far. 

Online documents, the WHO Meetings app, and our AI assistant, MabuhayBot, are making participation easier. 

They are also helping us deliver a more sustainable, paper-light meeting. 

These innovations are part of our wider drive to modernize WHO. 

They also help build a more connected, agile and future-ready Organization. 

Excellencies, we have an important agenda before us this week. 

But we cannot forget that behind every agenda item are people. 

Parents seeking care for their children. 

Older people hoping to live longer and with dignity. 

Health workers serving their communities, often under tremendous pressure. 

And families simply hoping for healthier, safer and more secure futures. 

That is why we are here. 

Our regional vision, Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region, is grounded in three values: respect, trust and solidarity. 

These cannot simply be words in a document. 

They must shape how we listen to one another, how we make decisions, and importantly, how we stand together when times are difficult. 

We live in unpredictable times. 

But I know the strength and the resilience of this Region. 

Water does not stop flowing when it meets an obstacle. 

It finds another path and continues its journey. 

So must we. 

When the path becomes difficult, we do not stop. 

We adapt. We learn. And we find a way forward, together. 

Finally, I warmly invite you all to join me for the Regional Director’s dinner this evening. 

After a full day of serious discussions in this room, I hope we can relax a little, renew old friendships, make new ones, and celebrate the wonderful diversity of our Western Pacific family. 

Director-General, Dr Tedros, because this will be your final Regional Director’s dinner with us in your current role, tonight will be particularly special. 

And we look forward to honouring you, not only as our Director-General, but as our dear brother, our friend and a cherished member of our Western Pacific Regional family. 

And colleagues, please come ready to share a little piece of your culture, as is our WPRO tradition. 

Consider this your advance warning, so no excuses tonight! 

Colleagues, let us approach RC77 with purpose, with humility, with courage and hope. 

Let us listen to one another with respect. 

And let us speak honestly. 

Let us work with the solidarity that has always been one of the greatest strengths of this organization. 

And with families and communities as our compass, let us make the decisions of this Regional Committee worthy of the people we are privileged to serve. 

Once again, welcome to Manila, mabuhay and welcome to RC77. 

I wish you productive deliberations, meaningful dialogue, and most importantly, decisions that make a real difference to the health and the lives of our people. 

Maraming salamat po. And thank you, Chair.