Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

👩‍⚕️𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀.

The World Bank Group's 𝘼 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 report highlights that the nurse-to-doctor ratio in teams varies widely across East Asia and the Pacific, ranging from fewer than one nurse per doctor in some countries to more than six in others.

In Indonesia and Thailand, for example, public PHC systems have higher nurse-to-doctor ratios than other countries in the region, suggesting greater reliance on mid-level health professionals. Investing in supervised task-shifting and task-sharing strategies are among the approaches that can help expand PHC cost-effectively.

The analysis draws on the expert survey and document reviews conducted by the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ( ), working with ministries of health ( ) and 10 partner institutions across the region.

Learn more from report about how countries can strengthen primary health care ( ) systems to address the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases ( ).

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 (𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺) 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.

🌏 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 ( ) 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮?

💡 "𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨."

This Member Blog from Health Systems Global synthesizes reflections from the Regional Roundtable on Strengthening Primary Health Care Through Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice, co-hosted by Results for Development, the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ( ) and Sustainable Health Innovations Singapore.

The roundtable brought together policymakers, researchers, implementers and development partners from , , , , the and

🔗 Read the blog: https://healthsystemsglobal.org/news/from-evidence-to-action-rebuilding-the-bridge-for-primary-health-care-reform-in-asia/

📝 Co-authored by 's Dr Nima Asgari and Ma-Ann Zarsuelo with Priya Balasubramaniam, Kiesha Prem, Leah List and Amanda Folsom.

📝 The Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ( ) joined partners from the Ateneo School of Government and the Department of Health (Philippines) Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau ( ) at the writeshop series for the Philippines Health System in Transition Review ( ).

👩‍💻 The writeshop brought together authors and technical experts to refine the upcoming Philippines HiT, identify cross-cutting themes, strengthen coherence and ensure the manuscript reflects recent developments in the Philippine health system.

🌟 The 2018 Philippines HiT remains one of APO’s most widely accessed publications, drawing over 300,000 downloads from 2022 to early 2026.

📘 The third edition of the Philippines HiT is expected in 2027.

📸 © Ateneo School of Government

🌏 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.

At the Regional Workshop on Climate-Health Governance and Cooperation in South and Southeast Asia, the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ( ) contributed to a session on integrated climate-health data and information systems for preparedness and response.

The session featured Ms Ma-Ann Zarsuelo of APO, Dr Aakash Srivastava (Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health India), Prof Budi Haryanto (Research Center for Climate Change Universitas Indonesia) and Mr Royston Chng (Ministry of Health, Singapore), who shared country and regional perspectives on climate-health data and operational response.

Panel reflections included:

💡Dr Srivastava discussed India’s evolving climate-health governance framework and the integration of climate information into public health planning.

💡Prof Haryanto presented Indonesia's efforts to strengthen climate-health intelligence through integrated digital health platforms, surveillance and early warning systems.

💡Mr Chng shared Singapore’s whole-of-government approach to climate-health preparedness and the use of data-driven decision-making.

The regional workshop was organised by The Asian Collective For Health Systems ( ), a multi-actor platform for regional collaboration on health, and co-organised with , the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, UNU Global Health, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, REACH: The Regional Hub for Asia Climate Change and Health and Monash University Malaysia.

↗️ Learn more about TACHS: https://asianhealthcollective.org/

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱.

At the Global Health Learning Centre ( ), hosted by the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region ( ), the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ( ) co-led sessions on primary health care with the Service Delivery and Quality Unit ( ) of the Division of Health Systems and Services ( ).

APO’s Ma-Ann Zarsuelo and Heather Jue-Wong presented key findings and facilitated discussions on APO’s work on PHC status, health outcomes and research priorities in Asia Pacific, drawing on APO’s contribution to 𝘼 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 by the World Bank Group and APO's policy brief 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝.

SDQ's Dr Shogo Kubota and Chelsea Taylor led knowledge exchange on transformative PHC and collaborative efforts with Member States and partners.

Peer learning with 22 country representatives highlighted shared PHC reform priorities: stronger routine health information systems, better data quality and interoperability, reduced data fragmentation, and greater local capacity for evidence-informed planning and policy implementation. Discussions also surfaced research gaps on quality care and health workforce inequities across diverse local settings.

The sessions built on GHLC’s role as a learning platform for strengthening public health knowledge, leadership and collaboration across the Western Pacific Region.

📚 Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies at the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region Book Fair 2026

📖 We're proud to be among the most downloaded publications at this year's WPRO Book Fair.

➡️ Across 68 publications, APO recorded over 1 million visits on WHO IRIS from 2022 to 2026.

➡️ The Philippines Health Systems in Transition ( ) review alone drew 307,000+ downloads in the same period.

➡️ Meanwhile, HiTs for Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka have been cited in peer-reviewed journals including Springer Nature, the International Journal for Equity in Health and the Journal of Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology.

➡️ APO's comparative country study on public-private mix for continuity of care for older persons was presented at Kerala's Vision 2031 conference, co-convened by the State Planning Board and the Government of Kerala. The newly formed government also recently announced a new department for older persons.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?

📝 A new blog by Prof Rama Baru, lead author of APO's comparative country study on public-private mix and continuity of care for older persons, draws on findings across four Asia Pacific cities and what the lessons from Kerala, India reveal about bridging the research-to-policy gap.

💡 The answer, Prof Baru argues, lies not just in the findings, but in how researchers engage policymakers from the outset.

➡️ Read the full blog: https://bit.ly/lessonsfromkerala

📣 The Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (APO) is accepting expressions of interest for membership on its Internal Review Panel (IRP).

🔹The IRP provides independent technical oversight to the APO Board and Secretariat by reviewing research quality, advising on policy relevance and shaping APO's strategic research agenda in the Asia Pacific region.

🔹APO is a WHO-hosted regional initiative that generates and brokers evidence to strengthen health systems across South-East Asia and the Western Pacific. Working with a network of over 50 leading research institutions, APO produces policy dialogues, health systems reviews, policy briefs and comparative country studies that inform policymaking.

📋 Terms of Reference: https://bit.ly/apo-irp-tor

📥 Apply here: https://bit.ly/apo-irp-2026

📅 Deadline: 31 May 2026

📩 Inquiries: [email protected]

🤝 This , we stand and with health policy and systems researchers, institutions and partners collaborating toward evidence-informed policymaking.

🌏 The Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies works with over 50 institutions from 19 countries across 15 consortia, generating the health policy evidence that policymakers and ministries of health across Asia Pacific need.

Our consortia work across five thematic priorities:

1️⃣ Primary Health Care and Universal Health Coverage
2️⃣ Digital Health
3️⃣ Human Resources for Health
4️⃣ Health Equity
5️⃣ Health System Resilience to Climate Change and Pandemics

The best evidence is never produced in isolation. It is built through relationships, between governments and academic institutions, between policymakers and researchers. By sharing what works and what does not, we build the foundation for stronger, more equitable health systems across Asia Pacific.