About us

The Division of Health Systems and Services (DHS) supports Members States across the Western Pacific in building resilient, sustainable, and people-centred health systems that deliver quality care and essential medicines without financial hardship.  

Guided by primary health care as the central approach to achieving universal health coverage (UHC), and by the Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific (2025–2029), the Division works to:  
 

• Strengthen health governance and financing through support for national health policies, strategies, and financing mechanisms that promote equitable access to essential services.
• Support health workforce policy and planning with evidence and technical advice to help countries achieve the right number, skill mix, and distribution of health workers to meet their populations’ evolving needs.
• Improve access to quality medicines and health technologies by strengthening pharmaceutical systems, regulatory frameworks, and action on antimicrobial resistance.
• Advance integrated and people-centred service delivery and quality across all levels of care – from primary health care to hospitals – including patient safety, surgical care, rehabilitation, and traditional medicine.
• Review health system laws and support parliamentary engagement by working with Member States to realize their health priorities and strengthen their health systems through context-specific use of legislation and governance arrangements. We also work with parliaments and parliamentarians across the Asia-Pacific to act on health at national and global levels.
• Generate and apply health systems evidence to inform policy decisions through the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.