Brisbane (Australia) – The 68th Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific will convene from 9 to 13 October 2017 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
The Western Pacific Region, one of the six regions of WHO, is home to approximately 1.8 billion people, more than one-fourth of the world’s population. The event involves health officials and experts from 37 member nations and Western Pacific territories meeting annually to set policy and approve budgets and programmes of work.
This meeting in Brisbane will deliberate on main health agenda items, namely:
- measles and rubella elimination;
- protecting children from the harmful impact of food marketing;
- health promotion in the Sustainable Development Goals;
- triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis;
- transitioning to integrated financing of priority public health services and food safety.
Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam, Minister of Health, will be leading the Malaysia delegation to the meeting. The Minister Health Malaysia also the outgoing Chairman of World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific will address the opening ceremony of the 68th session and opening meeting, which the Minister will preside over until the election of the new Chair.
Dr Subra, will also share the success stories of Malaysia: Medication safety strategies during the WHO Western Pacific regional launch of the Third Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medications Without Harm on 10 October.
During the 68th session, Dr Subra, who is also the MIC President, will call for member states’ commitment to continuously develop sustainable and high-performing health systems, in advancing the health and well-being of the people of the Western Pacific Region.
