On 8 February 2023, H.E. Mr. Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, participated in the virtual COVID-19 Global Action Plan (GAP) for Enhanced Partnership Ministerial Meeting hosted by U.S. Department of States and chaired by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The event brought together high-level representatives from over 25 countries and international organizations who have worked as partners to enhance international coordination to end the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen preparedness and response for future health threats.

VFM shared thoughts on how to support continued engagement among GAP partners, especially through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ channels, beyond COVID-19 issues as follows:

(1) The interconnectedness between “foreign policy” and “global health” has illustrated that “foreign policy” can drive positive changes in global health, and advance fundamental values such as equity, human rights, and human security;

(2) The international community should pursue health as an end in itself, especially to achieve ‘Health for All’, which includes promoting equitable access to medical countermeasures and supporting the development and provision of global public goods for health, both in normal times and in times of emergencies;

(3) Political commitment must be heightened to address pressing needs of the people as a result of increasing new challenges, especially through renewal of commitments at the upcoming High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in September this year to accelerate the achievement of UHC by 2030 and put Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track.

This event also provided a platform for Thailand to reiterate the importance of reforming the Global Health Architecture to allow more policy space for stakeholders to interact and engage beyond COVID-19 issues, as well as building a shared and multifaceted vision of the aforementioned architecture for better preparedness and response. This also includes to move forward “health security” as part and parcel of “national security”.