Health

WHO media workshop opens in Colombo

World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for South-East Asia Region on Sunday held a workshop for media in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The workshop was held at Taj Hotel, Colombo, ahead of the 69th WHO Regional Committee meeting which is due to begin Monday.

At the workshop, WHO-SEARO’s Regional Advisor for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Dr. Mohamed Jamsheed informed the media of NTDs that are common in the region and the work being done to prevent and eliminate such diseases. He spoke of the achievements made by the Maldives and Sri Lanka in eliminating lymphatic Filariasis and also the elimination of YAW’s by India. He noted that WHO South-East Asia Region bears the second highest burden of NTDs with at least one NTD is endemic in each of the 11 member states. He said that eliminating NTDs is a regional priority and one of the seven flagship programmes undertaken by the Regional Director’s Office.

Dr Jamsheed further added that prioritising the most marginalized first and bringing them to the front of the queue ensures that no one is left behind. He said that the set targets can be met by acting with urgency, targeted approach, early solutions and close monitoring.

At the workshop, WHO-SEARO’s Coordinator for Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, Dr. Neena Raina spoke about ways to end preventable deaths among mothers, newborns and children in South-East Asia. She said the challenges facing prevention of deaths amongst mothers, newborns, and children include widespread disparities in the quality of health care services provided to citizens, lack of proper training for health care service providers, lack of proper resources, and lack of education level amongst mothers. She also said that such deaths increase as deliveries are made with sub-optimal quality. Dr Raina noted that causes for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent also include weak health information system among other things.

During the workshop, participants were provided information about the 69th WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia meeting which is due to begin Monday morning. Media personnel from 11 countries in the region attended the workshop.