WHO Southeast Asia region Health Ministers to meet in Delhi

Health Ministers from the World Health Organization (WHO) member countries of the Southeast Asian region will be meeting in the national capital next week to discuss issues like the health impact of climate change, the high burden of tuberculosis (TB) and strengthening capacities for emergency risk management.

The seventy-second regional committee session of the WHO Southeast Asia will be held from September 2 to September 6 at the Hyatt Regency hotel here. 

Some key issues which will be discussed at the meeting, include the elimination of measles, cervical cancer and other non-communicable diseases, as well as strengthening of health services and workforce for universal health coverage. 

India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav and WHO Regional Director Southeast Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh will be addressing the inaugural session of the Regional Committee, the WHO's governing body in the region.

Health Ministers and senior officials from eleven member countries and WHO officials will also attend the week-long deliberations. 

This would be the first Regional Committee session after the unanimous re-election of Khetrapal Singh as Regional Director for a second five-year term. Her vision for the next five years is to sustain progress, accelerate efforts and innovate to achieve the targets of priority health programmes.

The region has eight flagship priority programmes -- measles elimination and rubella control; preventing non-communicable diseases; reducing maternal, under-five and neonatal mortality; universal health coverage with a focus on human resources for health and essential medicines; combating antimicrobial resistance; scaling up capacities for emergency risk management; eliminating neglected tropical diseases and accelerating efforts to end TB. IANS