The head of the decision-making body of the United Nations World Health Organization today stressed the importance of rapid, world-wide sharing of knowledge on diseases, as he opened the annual policy meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
?In a globalized world, health issues present new challenges that go far beyond national borders and have an impact on the collective security of people around the world,? Paulo Ivo Garrido, Minister of Health of the Republic of Mozambique and the President of the 59th World Health Assembly told the Assembly.
Issues to be discussed by participants include avian and pandemic influenza, polio and smallpox eradication, malaria and tuberculosis control, health systems and progress in the use of medicines.
?To handle new and emerging diseases, the most important issues are how to get the relevant information to the most peripheral level of health workers and how to increase access to knowledge regarding the preventive and control measures for populations at large,? Mr. Garrido told the Assembly.
In this context, he said the strength of multiple players ? governments, international organizations, the corporate sector and civil society ? must be leveraged to improve global response.
The World Health Assembly, which is attended from 193 Member States, will run through 14 May.