Improving people’s health is not only a target but also a strategy of Vietnam ’s health care sector from now to 2020, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has affirmed at the 66 th session of the World Health Assembly.

The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Tien is leading a 27 member delegation to join other delegations from all WHO member countries at the session which is underway in Geneva , Switzerland , from May 20-28.
The prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases such as leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS, cancer, and diabetes has been given attention and become national target health programmes, she emphasised.

At the session, Tien also represents the West Pacific region which comprises 37 countries and territories as she is President of the 63 rd WHO West Pacific Conference.

Participants will concentrate on ways to monitor, prevent and fight emerging infectious diseases like bird flu in poultry and humans in Asia .
They will also touch on the issues of aging, health insurance for all, health finance and economics, WHO’s budget distribution in 2014-15and WHO’s reform.

The Vietnamese delegation will deliver presentations in various fields to this year’s session.

Over the past years, Vietnam ’s efforts in controlling infectious diseases such as SARS, bird flu and tuberculosis have been highly valued by the international community.

It was one of the first countries in the world that have successfully controlled SARS epidemic.

Established in 1948, WHO is the highest health professional organisation of the United Nations. It has 192 member countries in six regions.-VNA