The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has pledged to strengthen cooperation in addressing healthcare issues in the region towards a healthier and sustainable ASEAN community.

The joint statement was made during the 5-day ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM 12) in Vietnam earlier this week. The event was attended by around 450 delegates from ASEAN members, including partners from China, South Korea and Japan, and representatives from international health organizations.

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So far, the ASEAN has been successful in achieving over 80 percent of its targets in building the ASEAN community with the help of bloc's health initiatives, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during his opening remarks.

Now, the coalition hopes to improve access to healthcare, prevent the spread of communicable and emergent diseases, and establish a sustainable and efficient health financing procedure.

The challenges faced by ASEAN nations such as limited health resources, environmental pollution and climate change need to be dealt with to meet the region's increasing healthcare demands, Dung said.

He added that priority should be given to the impoverished and vulnerable citizens and those living in the island and mountain areas.

ASEAN members said addressing the treatment and spread of highly-infectious diseases like Ebola, H7N9 MERS-CoV, and infections common to the region including dengue, rabies and hand-foot-and-mouth disease would require cooperation not just among themselves, but with support from China, Japan and South Korea.

At the sidelines of the AHMM 12, ASEAN and Japan, China and South Korea also vowed to cooperate on issues related to HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases and aging, and policies on preparedness and response.

On Thursday, Secretary General for the ASEAN and delegates for the World Health Organization signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct joint healthcare programs for 2014-2017.

The summit, titled "Better Health for ASEAN Community After 2015," was hosted by Vietnam's Health Ministry and focused on healthcare policies in relation to regional and global challenges present today.

TagsAHMM 12, ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, ASEAN, healthcare