“It is indeed a pleasure, to be a part of this very important Symposium, on person-centred care. This is a concept that is well-integrated into WHOs thinking and approach to attainment of the global health goals.

As we are all aware, the global health agenda has coalesced around the need to assure sustained Universal Health Coverage with services that are important to them. This agenda is built around the need to ensure our people have the right to health, and are healthy enough to contribute to their personal, community and national development.

Through Universal Health Coverage, we aim to ensure that all people and communities receive needed health and related services (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliation) that they require to attain their health goals, without fear of financial hardship. This means people and communities:

1. Know which of these health and related services they are entitled to

2. Are empowered to demand, and use these services – with the physical, financial and cultural barriers that would hinder their access being removed

3. The services are available, and are of a level of both institutional and patient defined quality of care that would lead to the desired outputs

Only through this will we be able to attain sustained Universal Health Coverage with the services needed to assure sustainable achievement of the health goals.

Seychelles has made significant achievements so far in a number of these areas. There is currently universal access to available health services – a position unique amongst other countries in the Africa region. Physical and financial barriers to available services have been minimized and / or eliminated. There are ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of service provision, aimed at addressing institutional quality of care through the ongoing reforms of the health service delivery system

These efforts are primarily on the supply side, targeting improvements in capacity of the system to deliver required services. On the demand side, the sector is prioritizing the ‘My health my responsibility’ campaign that builds individual / community knowledge on health and health services, and promotes appropriate health seeking behaviors necessary for good health.

The next effort is how to link these demand and supply side efforts by ensuring the service delivery system supplied is responsive to client needs – and this is where the person centred and integrated approach to delivery of care comes in. by doing so, the gains made in Universal Health Coverage will be placed on a firm and sustainable footing.

This symposium is aimed at addressing this linkage.

We in WHO view person-centred care as the provision of services that are focused and organized around the health needs and expectations of the individual and communities, rather than on diseases. We look at this as helping ensure the services we provide are responsive to the legitimate needs and expectations of the people – one of the 3 goals of any health system. It is closely linked to the known concepts of integrated and holistic health services, which focus on ensuring people receive a continuum of services they require, through the different levels and sites of care within the health system, and according to their needs throughout the life course. By providing services that are person-centred, we are building the trust, confidence and relationships needed to facilitate more efficient and effective delivery of services. It is a win-win for both we the providers, and the persons using accessing the services we are providing.

It is therefore critical for countries to implement person-centred and integrated health services through developing policy options, reform strategies, evidence-based guidelines and best practices that ensure health goals are able to be met. As part of the process leading towards having person centred health services, it is important for the health sector to put in place a clear system and framework that will guide design, implementation and monitoring of actions that respond to the unique needs of person centred care services.

This symposium should therefore not be looked at as a one off event, but as a part of a very important process that is aimed at ensuring we are providing services that are responsive to the needs of the people of Seychelles. We hope that this symposium should assist to:

1. Familiarize health care stakeholders with the concepts of person centred care, and

2. Deliberate on and agree the application of patient centred care mechanisms, taking cognizance of the Seychelles context

This is a journey that we are committed to walking with you, till we reach its logical destination. As support, we have currently reorganized our health systems support in the African region and now have a cluster of expertise specifically focused on supporting service delivery systems, within which the work on person centred care fits. We are therefore confident we are aligned to respond to your needs and expectations as you walk this journey.

We hope that the discussions we are going to have over these 2 days will allow each of us to reflect on how we can ensure that we are providing the care that is expected of us by our communities and patients.

Now, is the time for action!

Thank you”