The 69th Session of the World Health Organization Southeast Asia Regional Committee meeting opened in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday.
The meeting was inaugurated at a special ceremony held Monday morning at Nelum Pakun Theatre in Colombo by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe highlighted Sri Lanka’s achievements in developing the health sector and eliminating diseases such as lymphatic filariasis. Today, the World Health Organization, WHO-SEARO also officially certified Sri Lanka as Malaria free, which makes it the second country in the region to gain the achievement after the Maldives.
The event was also attended by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Rajitha Serarathne.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sri Lanka’s Health Minister noted that Sri Lanka was working towards tackling non-communicable diseases, which is a major health concern across the region and worldwide as well. Minister Rajitha said that “policies are being formulated and implemented in order to tackle NCDs which are mainly caused by sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy health and diet habits.”
Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, which kill nearly 8.5 million people every year and are the leading cause of deaths in the region, is a key agenda at the Sixty-ninth WHO Regional Committee meeting, the highest policymaking body of WHO in the region, being hosted by Sri Lanka.
Accelerating improvements in health in the era of Sustainable Development Goals, with the focus on the most vulnerable, is another key agenda of the meeting.
Speaking at the event, Regional Director of WHO Dr Poonam Khetraphal said “the countries in the region have a lot to learn from each other and the rest of the world.”
Speaking at the event, Director General of WHO Dr Margaret Chan praised Sri Lanka for its progress in development of the health sector. She expressed hope that “the committee meeting will be fruitful in addressing the major issues facing the region including NCDs.” Through the committee meetings the countries in the region can work towards achieving the SDGs, she added.
Health Ministers of the 11 member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region are meeting in Galle Face Hotel from 5 – 9 September to set health priorities for the region, home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population.
WHO Director General, Dr Margaret Chan; WHO South-East Asia Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh; other WHO experts and senior officials from health ministries of member countries are attending the meeting.