154th Session of the WHO Executive Board meeting has commenced

Minister of Health Dr. Abdulla Khaleel has attended the 154th Executive Board Meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO). His Excellency is a member of the Executive Board which represent South-East Asia Region.

The meeting is the highest-level international decision-making governance meeting attended by health professionals from 34 Member States.

This meeting will be held from 22-27 January 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland. The six-day meeting, which began today, will include participation of the member and non-member States of the Executive Board. Maldives will continue to represent the South East Asian region on the Executive Board for a period of three years, from May 2022.

The board will deliberate on the decisions taken at the 76th World Health Assembly, the reports of the Program, Budget and Administrative Committee meeting, and the agenda to be discussed at this year's 77th World Health Assembly. Additionally, the board will discuss on the preparedness, prevention and response of health emergencies, universal health coverage and prevention of TB disease, and discuss on reducing the impact of climate change on health, and important decisions will be taken in this regard. At this year's executive board meeting, regional director for eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific and South-East Asia region will be appointed for the next five years.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Maldivian delegation will be meeting with high level officials from other countries to discuss bilateral collaborations on strengthening the health workforce and other collaborative areas.

In addition, a delegation of Ministry of Health represented the Maldives at the 39th Programme, Budget and Administrative Committee (PBAC) meeting of the World Health Organization Executive Board, held in Geneva, Switzerland from 16-19 January 2024. The meeting, attended by health professionals from 13 countries, took important decisions through discussions among countries on program budget, sustainable financing, draft 14th General Programme of Work and human resource development. The Maldives will continue to represent the South East Asian region on the Programme, Budget and Administrative Committee for a period of two years from May 2022.