보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Countries in the Asia-Pacific Region Gathered to Discuss “Strengthening Health Systems for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response”

- Minister Cho, KyooHong attended the 13th APEC High-Level Meeting on Health and Economy -

- Amending and finalizing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in healthcare with the United States, the host country -

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho, KyooHong attended the “13th APEC High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (HLMHE)” held in Seattle, Washington, United States, on August 6 (local time).

In attendance at the meeting were high-ranking officials, such as health ministers and vice ministers from APEC member countries, and delegates of international organizations, academia, and industry, to discuss the need for investment and international solidarity to “strengthen the health system for pandemic prevention, preparation, and response.”

* (Agenda for discussion) ① Sustainable health financing for a resilient health system, ② Linking pandemic prevention/preparation/response and primary healthcare for health impact and resilience

Minister Cho, KyooHong pointed out that the need for public spending to bolster the resilience of the healthcare system has been further emphasized after COVID-19, and explained the need for investments in the long-term perspective, on account of changes in the demographic structure and the impact of the pandemic.

Additionally, Minister Cho noted that the main driving force behind Korea's overcoming of COVID-19 was attributed to a strong healthcare system, and emphasized that investments in the foundations of the healthcare system, including primary healthcare and medical personnel, are complementary to those in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

Based on the experiences and lessons learned from COVID-19, the delegates from each country unanimously agreed that “pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response” cannot be overcome through the stand-alone efforts of individual countries, and that international cooperation and solidarity play key roles.

Meanwhile, Minister Cho met with Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra of the United States, the APEC host country, and signed a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Korea-U.S. healthcare cooperation, reaffirming the two countries’ aspirations to strengthening healthcare cooperation. This revision is the first revision in 8 years since the revision in 2015 and contains recent points of interest for both countries to respond to global crises in terms of healthcare and pharmaceutical research, and digital health including health information technology.

Additionally, Minister Cho met with the Vice Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, an APEC member country, and discussed ways to promote cooperation in the healthcare sector.

As a follow-up, Minister Cho plan to visit the University of Washington School of Medicine and IPD (Institute for Protein Design)* to examine the local health and medical personnel education system and the support system for basic research and technology commercialization. ///

* (IPD) As a research institute that develops treatments and vaccines based on protein, it has commercialized technology from basic research, performed activities linked to social contribution, and jointly developed SKYcovione, Korea's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in cooperation with Korea-based SK Bioscience. (Approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, listed on the WHO emergency use vaccine list)