AIDS in the agenda for SAARC Health Ministers' meet

[Guest guest]

SAARC Health Ministers' meet from Nov 14

Tuesday, 11 November , 2003, 18:50

New Delhi: After the meeting of Information Ministers, Health

Ministers of SAARC countries would be meeting in New Delhi, for the

first time, from November 14 to discuss health related issues of

concern to the region.

This would be preceeded by an official level meeting on November 13.

The Ministerial meeting would be inaugurated by Vice President

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on november 14.

The meeting, to be chaired by Health Minister Sushma Swaraj, would

discuss among other things national policy and programme of

traditional system of medicines, issues relating to quality control

and standardisation of traditional system of drugs and IPR related

issues and integration of traditional system of medicines in national

health programmes and national health care delivery system.

Emerging and re-emerging diseases, disease surveillance on SARS, HIV,

AIDS and TB, Drugs, pharmaceuticals and food certification

standardisation of trade related issues, population stabilisation and

reproduction child health and immunisation related issues would also

figure in the meeting.

The SAARC Council of Ministers, the highest policy making body of

seven-member SAARC, which met in Kathmandu last year had concluded

that there was an urgent need to cooperate on the health issues

amongst the SAARC nations.