Sept 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne will leave for the Maldives tomorrow (September 5) to attend the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region meeting.
Health Ministers of the 11 Member countries of World Health Organization South-East Asia Region (WHO-SEARO) will be taking part in its 70th session in Malé, Maldives from 6 – 10 September to set health priorities for the Region.
The Health Minister will preside over the Health Ministerial Session and will be handed over to Maldives Health Minister Abdul Naseem Ibrahim.
Minister Senaratne is scheduled to deliver a special lecture on the services rendered during his term as Chairperson and offer appreciation to those who supported the work.
The Sri Lankan Minister is expected to hold bilateral discussions with the health ministers of participating countries on the sidelines of the meeting.
The Regional Committee has eleven Member Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
SEARO meets annually to discuss its programs and budget which is hosted by a member country. The 69th session of the Regional Committee session of WHO South-East Asia Region was held in Colombo last year.
The focus of this year’s meeting will be on climate change – on how to build health systems’ resilience to climate change. A well prepared and responsive health system is crucial for preventing and minimizing the increasing health risks posed by climate change.
The meeting will also deliberate on non-communicable diseases, accelerating efforts to end tuberculosis, action against viral hepatitis, reducing road traffic injuries, controlling vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and lymphatic Filariasis, strengthening primary health care and the health workforce and progress towards universal health coverage
Meanwhile, the WHO Global Conference on Noncommunicable diseases will be held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 18-20 October 2017. President Maithripala Sirisena and Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne are scheduled to attend the conference.
Full details are available from the link below:
