The Sixteenth ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (16th AHMM) was held on August 5-9 in Vientiane, Laos. Various related meetings included the ASEAN-U.S. Special Session Health Ministerial Meeting, the 2nd ASEAN Finance and Health Ministers Meeting, the Ninth ASEAN-China Health Ministers Meeting (9th AC HMM), the 2nd ASEAN-Republic of Korea Health Ministers Meeting, and the Tenth ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers Meeting. Attending these meetings were health ministers from ASEAN countries, Timor-Leste, China, Japan, South Korea, and the US, alongside representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO). The theme of the 16th AHMM was Transforming ASEAN Health Development in a New Context, focusing on strengthening emergency preparedness and response to enhance regional resilience and envisioning priorities for ASEAN post-2025. The 16th AHMM fostered bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia as they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health efforts.
As a side event on August 7, Lao PDR partnered with UNICEF to launch the four ASEAN Nutrition Guidelines and Minimum Standards. The launch aligns with Lao PDR’s commitment as ASEAN chairman to ending all forms of malnutrition through the development of national nutrition programs. Furthermore, this initiative aligns with the broader regional objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 2 - ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030. On the same day, the health ministers also launched The Airborne Infection Defense Platform to strengthen ASEAN’s preparedness and response against tuberculosis (TB) and other airborne respiratory infections. Combating TB is a key priority for ASEAN as five member states (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) are listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as high-burden TB countries. Health Minister Dao Hong Lan from Vietnam emphasized the use of information technology systems for timely information sharing, digital healthcare, and artificial intelligence in disease prevention and control.
