Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Vietnam and Fiji have been elected as representatives for the Western Pacific region in the World Health Assembly’s Executive Board for a three-year tenure from May 2016 – May 2019.
The choice was made at the 66th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, which concluded in Guam, the US, on October 16, after five days of sitting.
The executive board holds an important role in global health policy making as it is responsible for proposing and designing agendas for the World Health Assembly.
As a representative for the ASEAN bloc in the Western Pacific region, Vietnam is expected to add voices of developing countries.
Within the framework of the five-day session, Vietnam was invited to co-chair a debate on how countries implement the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) beyond 2015, during which the country shared its achievements in deploying millennium development goals (MDGs) and its strong commitments to SDGs.
To successfully reach the goals, it is necessary to include them in the nation’s socio-economic development strategies and five-year plans, and the five-year plans of the health sector in particular.
At the session, Vietnam was praised by the international community for its achievements in implementing MDGs. The country was assessed by the WHO as one of the 10 leading nations in reducing mother and child fatalities. It was also hailed for success in ending serious diseases, including SARS, and its efforts for global health security.
Vietnam expressed its willingness to share its experience with other countries and its wish to receive continued support from the international community.
Five resolutions related to the prevention of viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, and violence and injury, and the promotion of universal health coverage and urban health were approved during the five-day session.-VNA
