Health ministers from 11 countries of the WHO's Southeast Asia Region (WHO-SEAR) will join a four-day meeting beginning at Hotel Sonargaon in  Dhaka today (September 9) to discuss key health issues facing the region.
The 32th Meeting of Health Ministers of the WHO- SEAR will be held in Dhaka and the three- day  67th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Southeast Asia Region would be held on September 10, 12 and 13.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the meeting while Health and Family Welfare Minister of Bangladesh Mohammad Nasim will discuss the ways to address vector borne diseases.
WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan and Regional Director for Southeast Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh will be present along with WHO experts at both the meetings.
The health ministers will exchange views and discuss important health issues to foster cooperation among the member states which will forge bilateral and multi-country cooperation in the field of health.
As most of the vector borne diseases are either preventable or curable, the ministers will look at a more comprehensive and intersectional approach for their prevention, control and elimination.
The other important issues to be discussed at the 67th session are "Covering every birth and death: improving civil registration and vital statistics", 'Traditional medicine', 'Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care and an aesthesia as a component of universal health coverage', 'Viral hepatitis' and 'Regional strategy on strengthening health workforce education and training'.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with India to help each other to expand the use of traditional medicines.
Another MoU will be signed with the Maldives for exporting more medicines and recruiting more doctors by the Maldives.
The Regional Committee is a statutory body comprising the member states of the region, which is convened once a year to review progress and regional implications of the World Health Assembly resolutions.
WHO Southeast Asia region comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and East Timor.
Apart from that, Health and Family Welfare Ministry would organize a side event on Autism on September 11, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to be present as the chief guest with Saima Wazed Putul in the chair.