130th Session of the WHO Executive Board Takes Place in Geneva

18 January 2012

On January, 16 – 23, 2012 the 130th session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) is taking place in Geneva.

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the international organizations in Geneva participates in the work of the Executive Board as an observer.

The agenda of the session includes more than 30 issues concerning the most urgent ways of expanding international cooperation in the field of public health, including the issues of prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, preparedness to pandemic influenza, implementation of the International Health Regulations. The participants plan to discuss the results of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, held on October, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro.

The sides will also consider personnel matters, including the issue concerning the candidates to the post of the WHO Director-General. The Executive Board will consider the candidature of Dr. Margaret Chan (China), current Director-General of the WHO, for nomination to a second term of office as Director-General from July, 1, 2012.

The meeting is an important step in preparing to the WHO World Health Assembly, which will be held in May, 2012.

Note: The Executive Board is composed of 34 members, elected for three-year terms. The Board meets at least twice a year. The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.

The cooperation of Belarus with the WHO is conducted in the framework of the biennial Agreements on Cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Belarus and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The experts of the Regional Office highly assess the level and quality of the cooperation with the Republic of Belarus. This allows to expand spheres and amounts of financing of the technical assistance programs in our country.

Another two-year Plan of Cooperation for 2012 – 2013 was signed in September, 2011. Its program budget is more than US$ 1 million.

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