Geneva: The 70th World Health Assembly (WHA70) concluded yesterday in Geneva by adopting the reports of major committees A and B on several health issues.
Addressing the closing session, Qatar's Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, who is also Chairperson of Committee A of the World Health Assembly, underlined the importance of the Assembly's resolutions that will seek to address health challenges around the world.
The Minister thanked members of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean for her candidacy for the chair of Committee A and the Member States on her election, for the President of the 70th World Health Assembly, the Vice-Chairpersons and the Rapporteurs, and the Director General of the World Health Organization for her efforts and wise management of the Organization during the previous period .
She also congratulated Dr Tedros Adhanomon for his election as the new Director-General of the World Health Organization.
For its part, the World Health Assembly commended the efforts of the Minister of Public Health and her good management of the Committee A , where the Assembly adopted the Committee's reports on Program Budget 2018-2019, as well as special arrangements for settling arrears.
The Assembly also adopted among other issues the Committee's resolution on human resources for health and the implementation of the UN High-Level Panel on Employment in Health and Economic Growth, as well as the two polio guidelines on poliomyelitis planning and the review of the pandemic influenza preparedness framework.
It also adopted the resolutions issued by Committee B on several topics, notably a procedural decision on the health situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, where it decided to request the Director-General of the World Health Organization to submit reports to the 71st World Health Assembly on the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations contained therein based on field monitoring and to continue to provide technical assistance to meet the health needs of the Palestinian and Syrian people.
