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The article frames the shift as health diplomacy and a recalibration of regional cooperation, amid calls to strengthen governance, transparency, and accountability. It reviews SEARO’s achievements and limitations, then assesses how WPR’s focus on primary care, UHC, digital health, and oral health may align with Indonesia’s reform goals while highlighting integration challenges.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/comment-indonesia-leaves-searo-what-it-means-for-regional-health-and-who/434838/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/comment-indonesia-leaves-searo-what-it-means-for-regional-health-and-who/434838.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Cart","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"When did Indonesia officially transition from SEARO to WPR?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Indonesia’s transition became effective 23 May 2025 after approval by the World Health Assembly.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What governance issues does the article link to Indonesia’s decision to leave SEARO?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It highlights frustrations about SEARO governance, including decision-making, accountability, inclusive management, transparency in appointments, and leadership allegations and investigations.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What SEARO successes does the article acknowledge despite ongoing challenges?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It cites notable achievements in communicable disease control and national disease eliminations, including polio, HIV transmission prevention, syphilis, lymphatic filariasis, and measles.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},434838,1790918157,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":39,"preview_page_count":4},18829141979164,"https://eur-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Comment  \nIndonesia leaves SEARO: what it means for regional health and WHO  \nHabib Benziana,b,∗ and Manu Raj Mathurc,d  \naCollege of Dentistry New York University, New York, USA  \nbFaculty of Dentistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa cPublic Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India  \ndCentre for Dental Public Health & Primary Care, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom  \nIn May 2025, Indonesia quietly reshaped part of the global health map. With the approval of the World Health Assembly, it formally transitioned from the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR) to the Western Pacific Region (WPR) .1 The move followed a written notification in May 2024, endorsed by the WHO Regional Committee in October 2024. With the approval of the World Health Assembly, it formally transitioned from the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR) to the Western Pacific Region (WPR), effective 23 May 2025.  \nOn the surface, this might look like a bureaucratic adjustment, but the shift speaks volumes about regional cooperation, health diplomacy, and the unfinished business of universal health coverage (UHC) . It may also reflect broader shifts in how countries engage with global and regional institutions, as the multilateral order established after the Second World War is increasingly questioned and adapted in today’s multipolar world.  \nSEARO’s evolving boundaries make Indonesia’s move not without precedent.2 Established in 1948 as WHO’s first operational regional office created under the constitutional mandate for regionalisation, SEAR has seen substantial changes in its composition.3 Initially comprising five member states, the region expanded to include Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Mongolia, Maldives, Bangladesh, DPR Korea, Bhutan, and Timor-Leste. Several countries subsequently exited, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Afghanistan (a founding member), Mongolia, and now Indonesia.  \nThe move is less remarkable for the act itself than for what it signals: a search for structures that better serve national ambitions and deliver results. Despite their ambitious health agendas, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) lack the institutional mandate and operational capacity to fulfil the functions of a WHO regional body. They cannot provide the technical leadership, coordination, and  \n*Corresponding author. 380 Second Avenue, New York, NY, 10010, USA.  \nE-mail [address:](address: habib.benzian@nyu.edu)[ habib.benzian@nyu.edu](address: habib.benzian@nyu.edu) (H. Benzian).  \n© 2025 The Author(s) . Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([http://creativecommons](http://creativecommons). org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) .  \nnormative guidance required to support countries’health systems effectively. In the case of SAARC, geopolitical tensions have historically hindered progress on establishing robust regional health mechanisms.4–6  \nThe move also comes against the backdrop of mounting frustrations focused on SEARO’s governance. Indonesia announced its decision to leave the region in early 2024, just four months after the newly elected Regional Director took office. Despite being SEARO’s second-largest member state with major achievements in several health areas, Indonesia held no senior director or advisor posts at the regional level. In July 2025, the Regional Director was placedon indefinite leave amid serious allegations and an official investigation, underscoring the governance challenges facing the organisation.7 , 8 These issues have fuelled perceptions that SEARO struggles with decision-making, accountability, lacks inclusive management as well as transparency in appointments. Indonesia’s departure, along with indications that Bangladesh and Timor-Leste are equally reflecting on their regional alignment, underscores the need to rethink and reinvigorate regional cooperation in an increasingly volati","cbCaimH3ZLGonIVM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimH3ZLGonIVM","pdf",141555,"English","# Indonesia’s transition from SEARO to WPR\n# Governance concerns and regional cooperation\n# SEARO achievements and ongoing challenges\n# Implications for UHC, NCDs, and WPRO priorities\n# Tobacco control and regional public health actors","[{\"question\":\"When did Indonesia officially transition from SEARO to WPR?\",\"answer\":\"Indonesia’s transition became effective 23 May 2025 after approval by the World Health Assembly.\"},{\"question\":\"What governance issues does the article link to Indonesia’s decision to leave SEARO?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights frustrations about SEARO governance, including decision-making, accountability, inclusive management, transparency in appointments, and leadership allegations and investigations.\"},{\"question\":\"What SEARO successes does the article acknowledge despite ongoing challenges?\",\"answer\":\"It cites notable achievements in communicable disease control and national disease eliminations, including polio, HIV transmission prevention, syphilis, lymphatic filariasis, and measles.\"}]","Comment - Indonesia leaves SEARO: what it means for regional health and WHO | PDF",1790670766]