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SEA/PR/1313
29 August,2000
New Delhi, 29 August,2000: The
World Health Organization and the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote
close collaboration in several key health areas. The Memorandum of
Understanding was signed by Mr Nihal Rodrigo,
Secretary General of SAARC and Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional
Director for WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR) in Kathmandu, on 23 August 2000.
The two organizations have agreed to mutually
cooperate to help Member Countries to strive towards the goal of Health For
All based upon the primary health care approach as per the Alma Ata
Declaration of 1978. They will also promote technical cooperation among
developing countries (TCDC) "for effectively tackling their manifold
health problems for promoting sound national development and collective
self-reliance".
Following the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding, SAARC and WHO will define an annual framework of cooperation
in areas related to health. They will continue to actively collaborate with
the SAARC Tuberculosis Centre in Kathmandu
and with other institutions elsewhere in the region, particularly in the
areas of malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. They will promote research, analysis and
dissemination of information and exchange analytical reports and technical
publications relevant to health development.
"The Memorandum of Understanding paves the
way for deepening and enlarging the scope of friendship between SAARC
countries and WHO," said Dr Uton. "The
role of health in sustainable development is now well recognized. As poverty
reduction is the overarching goal of all SAARC countries, WHO considers
itself privileged in its contribution to that goal through health
improvements of the people", he added.
Under the memorandum of understanding, specific
projects and programmes of collaboration in areas
of regional cooperation will be developed and approved by WHO and the
Standing Committee of SAARC. The memorandum will be valid for five years. A
similar memorandum of understanding was signed between WHO and ASEAN in May
1997.
For further information,
please contact
Mrs Harsaran Bir Kaur Pandey,
Information Officer, WHO/SEARO,
Tel. 3327971 or 3317804 (Ext.26401/26424).
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