Building Resilient Health Systems Against Dengue

APEC economies have launched the Roadmap to Advance Dengue Prevention and Control in APEC Economies 2026-2030, unveiled on the margins of the APEC High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy in Seoul on last week.

Opening the session, Vice Minister of Public Health of the Minister of Health of Peru, Eric Ricardo Peña-Sanchez underscored the urgency of collective action on combatting dengue. Peru is the sponsoring economy and project lead of this initiative.

"The APEC dengue roadmap marks a pivotal milestone in our effort to enhance public health surveillance and response capacity to dengue at both local and regional levels. Through this framework, we aim to strengthen collaboration, share best practices, and leverage our collective expertise to lessen the impact of dengue in our communities," Peña-Sanchez said.

Dengue has become a major public health and economic threat, with 14.1 million cases reported worldwide in 2024 -the highest on record. Driven by urbanization, globalization, and climate change, the disease is placing unprecedented strain on health systems and communities.

The roadmap charts a path toward stronger coordination, innovation, and sustainable investment. Its four priorities are to strengthen domestic policies and financing for long-term prevention, accelerate innovation and surveillance through research, data sharing, and integrated control measures, deepen partnerships that engage governments, businesses, academia, and communities, and enhance regional cooperation through APEC to expand joint learning, preparedness, and rapid response.

Reflecting on the achievement, Dr Carlos Luis Vela Barba, Chair of the APEC Health Working Group, highlighted the regional significance of the initiative.

"This roadmap is the first of its kind in APEC, and its adoption reflects our shared responsibility to tackle dengue collectively. By anticipating outbreaks and building resilient health systems, we're laying the foundation for a healthier Asia-Pacific by 2030," Dr Vela Barba said.

The launch of the dengue roadmap builds on momentum from APEC's 2025 Senior Officials' Meeting in August, and complements APEC's broader health agenda, which is shifting from emergency response to long-term system resilience. By combining science, policy, and community action, economies aim not only to save lives but also to reduce the heavy social and economic burden dengue places on families and communities.

Access the Roadmap to Advance Dengue Prevention and Control in APEC Economies 2026-2030
Also access the two factsheets in these links: Factsheet 1 and Factsheet 2