Bangladesh to get nomination for WHO executive board

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus yesterday told Bangladesh's State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque that he plans to visit Rohingya refugee camps in January next year and would extend support to make Bangladesh Drug Control Laboratory functional.

Tedros' assurance came when Maleque met him here and sought WHO's assistance to come up with a sustainable solution of universal health coverage in Bangladesh by protecting the population under extreme poverty line, a Bangladesh High Commission statement said.

The Bangladeshi state minister was here to attend the 71st Regional Committee Meeting of the Health Ministers of the World Health Organization (WHO) of South-East Asia Region which ended yesterday. The meeting began on September 3.

At the meeting, a special award was given to Bangladesh for outstanding performances in the control of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome.

It was informed in the WHO meeting that Bangladesh will be nominated as a member of the WHO Executive Board at Geneva Headquarter for a three-year period beginning from 2019.

The WHO DG, in his speech, praised Bangladesh's exemplary role in sheltering Rohingyas and said such a well-organised and well-coordinated camp healthcare for a displaced population was not found anywhere in the world, said the statement.

Maleque said WHO's immediate assistance is needed for making Bangladesh's Drug Control Laboratory functional and for making public hospitals more efficient and welcoming to ordinary people.

Tedros replied that he would extend necessary support in that regard.

The other members of Bangladesh delegation led by Maleque comprised Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, director general of Health Services; Rakebul Haque, deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh in New Delhi; and Mafizul Islam Bulbul, deputy programme manager of the National Nutrition Programme.