Bangladesh will be nominated as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board at Geneva Headquarters in Switzerland for a 3-year period beginning from 2019.
The disclosure came at the 71st Regional Committee Meeting of the Health Ministers of the WHO of the South-East Asia Region held in India.
The 5-day meeting began on 3 September 2018 at 9:30 am at the Tajmahal Hotel of New Delhi and ended on Friday.
A 4-member delegation headed by the State Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque represented Bangladesh.
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Director General Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in New Delhi Rakebul Haque, were also present at the meeting.
The other members of the delegation comprised Private Secretary to the State Minister Arifur Rahman Sheikh and Deputy Programme Manager of the National Nutrition Program of DGHS Dr Mafizul Islam Bulbul.
Indian Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda chaired the meeting. WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh also joined the function.
The meeting took important decisions on elimination of malaria, control of Dengue, and other vector-borne diseases from the region, said a press release.
As part of the meeting, a special award was given to Bangladesh for outstanding performances in the control of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome.
In the Annual Report of the WHO’s Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh made special highlights on the sufferings of 1.3 million Rohingya people who took shelter in Cox’s Bazar.
In her speech, she deeply appreciated Bangladesh’s all-out support in the full range of care, including good healthcare for these suffering people.
WHO DG Dr Tedros, in his speech, also praised Bangladesh’s exemplary role for the Rohingya people.
Dr Tedros mentioned categorically that such a well-organised and well-coordinated camp healthcare for displaced population were not found in anywhere in the world.
Zahid Maleque held several bilateral meetings. He met with Health Minister of India Mr Jagat Prakash Nadda, with WHO-DG Dr Tedros and with WHO-Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh.
In his meeting with WHO-DG, Maleque extended invitation to Dr Tedros to visit Bangladesh.
He sought WHO’s assistance to make a sustainable solution of universal health coverage in the country to begin with protecting the population under extreme poverty so that the extreme poor get full healthcare support without need to pay anything.
WHO’s immediate assistance is also needed for making the National Drug Control Laboratory with international experts, and for making the public hospitals more efficient and welcoming to the ordinary people.
The state minister also requested for more opportunities for Bangladeshi nationals to be employed in WHO positions.
Dr Tedros expressed his hope that he will plan to visit Bangladesh sometime in January 2019 and will visit the Rohingya camps during this visit.
The WHO-DG also promised that he would extend necessary support to make the National Drug Control Laboratory functional and the Bangladeshi public hospitals more people-centered and efficient.
He promised to explore opportunities for absorbing more Bangladeshi nationals in WHO positions.
Tedros advised to encourage Bangladeshi nationals to submit applications whenever such application is invited for WHO vacancies.
