WHO Regional Committee meeting ends with 12-point declaration

KATHMANDU: The 74th meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Southeast Asian Nations concluded here Tuesday with a 12-point declaration on further strengthening the health system to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The declaration issued by the virtual two-day meeting stressed the need for participation of the political leadership in ensuring health security, universal access to health, and achieving sustainable development goals by learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Declaration seeks to engage the community in conducting emergency health care and public health programs during and after an epidemic, to empower communities, to provide effective response to vulnerable and affected communities, to integrate public health emergency and disaster risk management strategies, and to monitor primary health care.