Honourable representatives of the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Environment of Thailand
Secretariat of the Minamata Convention
Distinguished delegates from Member States of the WHO South‑East Asia Region
Partners from academia, professional associations, civil society and the private sector
Colleagues from UNEP and WHO
Good morning.
Mercury is one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern1.
And yet, for more than 175 years, dental amalgam—a significant source of mercury—has been a routine material in dental restorative care.
Mercury can be released at multiple points in the amalgam lifecycle: production and trade, placement and removal, and the final disposal of waste.
This poses risks for not just our health, but for the environment as well.
The world has made a decision.
The 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury moved beyond phasing down to phasing out dental amalgam by 2034, with national action plans to follow.
That decision shifts our task from deliberation to implementation, giving us the opportunity—and responsibility—to align health and environmental policies accordingly.
The world is also advancing a vision for oral health.
The future is prevention-first, less invasive, and more environmentally sustainable care.
It is rooted in greater equity and patient-centred approaches—and belongs in primary health care, under universal health coverage.
The frameworks are clear.
The 2021 World Health Assembly resolution on oral health, and the Global strategy and action plan on oral health 2023–2030 set the global direction.
The Action plan for oral health in South-East Asia 2022–2030 translates that into priorities for our Region, grounded in context and responsive to our needs.
Among the targets of the Global Action Plan, 90% of countries should have implemented measures to phase down dental amalgam by 2030 or have phased it out entirely.
That target is just four years away, and we must move together with urgency and purpose to achieve it.
This is where the GEF-7 project has been instrumental.
Funded by the Global Environment Facility, implemented by UNEP, executed by WHO, with targeted technical support from the Global Mercury Partnership, it helps countries accelerate the transition away from dental amalgam, while strengthening environmentally sound management of the associated waste.
In this context, our host Thailand has already generated valuable lessons: on prevention‑oriented policies, restrictions on amalgam use and trade, expanding access to mercury‑free alternatives, and strengthening waste management systems.
We are in the second of three regional workshops under this project.
The first, hosted by Uruguay in the Region of the Americas, demonstrated what strong intersectoral governance can deliver.
We convene here with the same purpose: to take stock of what has been learned, and to design solutions recognising that solutions must be relevant to the contexts and realities of each country.
Over the next two days, I ask us to focus on three outcomes:
strengthening collaboration between health and environment sectors, within and between countries;
identifying the most practical policy, financing, supply chain and workforce actions to accelerate mercury‑free oral health care; and
advancing the environmentally sound management of dental amalgam waste, in line with Minamata and relevant Basel conventions.
I am grateful to the Government of Thailand for hosting us in Bangkok, and for the leadership demonstrated through the GEF-7 project.
I wish you a productive meeting, and look forward to the priorities and partnerships that will emerge.
Thank you.