TOKYO, Dec 5 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) — The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) held the “ASEAN Services Trade Forum – Health and Social Services –” on 27 November 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. 107 participants from Japanese private sector, government agencies, academia as well as representatives from nine ASEAN countries and ASEAN embassies in Tokyo joined the Forum.
Human development depends on and determines economic and social development. The productivity of labour force, which depends on its health status, plays a crucial role in determining the overall productivity. The importance of sustaining availability and providing easy access to quality healthcare infrastructure to the residents of ASEAN cannot be overemphasized. ASEAN governments have been aiming to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)¹ by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Japan has been working closely with ASEAN to achieve this goal, including through the Japan-ASEAN Health Initiative which supports human resources development towards the promotion of healthy lifestyles, preventing diseases and raising healthcare standards in ASEAN, and the Japan-ASEAN UHC Initiative with focus on population ageing, which among others supports the conduct of Japan-ASEAN joint research, and explores future collaborative forums or mechanism towards sustainable UHC and addressing healthy and active ageing.