Closer Belarus-WHO Cooperation in Combating Tobacco Smoking, Alcoholism

Source from:  Belarus Telegraph Agency  11/29/2013

The World Health Organization (WHO) is interested in invigorating cooperation with Belarus in combating tobacco smoking and alcoholism. The statement was made by Director of the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe Zsuzsanna Jakab prior to the meeting with the Belarusian head of government, BelTA has learnt.

Zsuzsanna Jakab noted that Belarus' cooperation with the WHO has always been dynamic. "Health Minister Vladimir Zharko has been recently elected member of the Standing Committee of the World Health Organization's Regional Committee for Europe. This is a great honor for the Republic of Belarus and it is extremely useful and important for the WHO because your Minister's opinion is always considered," Zsuzsanna Jakab said.

Zsuzsanna Jakab stressed that Belarus has achieved considerable success in healthcare. In particular, big progress has been made in reducing maternal and infant mortality. "We would like other countries to achieve the same results as you have done," she underlined adding that much had been done to strengthen the healthcare system and make sure that all Belarusians are covered by the services it provides.

Zsuzsanna Jakab noted that the WHO has plans to sign another two-year cooperation agreement with Belarus. The document will outline new priorities in collaboration.

As far as prospects of cooperation are concerned, Zsuzsanna Jakab said: "There are two areas in which we would like to invigorate cooperation and achieve more progress. The first one is combating tobacco smoking while the second is alcoholism. Unfortunately, the European region is ahead of the world in terms of alcohol consumption. In this context Belarus is one of the leaders, too." She added that the sides should step up efforts to overcome these problems. She thinks that Belarus has the potential to address these issues.

Zsuzsanna Jakab underlined that the WHO has always supported the Republic of Belarus. "I hope that our cooperation will always be on such a high level as it is now," she said.

Belarus uses the WHO's capabilities to receive consultative, methodological, organizational and technical assistance in order to improve the healthcare system, address urgent problems in this area and get access to cutting-edge medical technologies. Belarus and the WHO have an effective agreement on the establishment of technical consultative cooperation as of 20 May 1999. The sides are currently implementing a two-year cooperation plan for 2012-2013.

Since Belarus-WHO cooperation started in 1994, the international organization has implemented $15 million worth of projects in Belarus. Enditem