Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo emphasized to the international community that Korea would play a pivotal role in jointly responding to healthcare issues at the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) are participating in the 156th Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, from Monday to Tuesday next week.
The Executive Board is a meeting of WHO Executive Directors from 34 countries to review and exchange views on the agenda of the World Health Assembly, which is scheduled to be held in May.
Vice Minister Park represents Korea on the Executive Board, and Kim Hye-jin, head of the ministry’s Planning and Coordination Office, serves as the chief delegate to the Program, Budget, and Administration Committee.
During the Executive Board meeting, the Korean delegation will also seek to hold bilateral meetings with key Executive Board members, including Australia, the Maldives, and the WHO’s deputy director-general.
On Monday (local time), the first day of the Executive Board, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, reported on the major achievements of the previous year and the challenges ahead.
After the WHO head's report, Vice Minister Park emphasized that this year should be a turning point in achieving universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030 and called for more active cooperation among member countries to address emerging health challenges, including chronic diseases and climate change.
The meeting will be followed by an interim report on the performance of the 2024-2025 program budget, a discussion among member nations on the proposed 2026-2027 program budget, and discussions on healthcare issues such as universal health coverage, health crises, and health promotion.
In the Universal Health Coverage section, discussions will focus on progress and ways to improve in areas such as revitalizing primary health care, health and care workforce, chronic diseases, mental health and social connectedness, maternal and child health, traditional medicine strategies, and meningitis elimination.
The Health Crises section will report on WHO's response to global health crises and discuss polio eradication and health crises in conflict zones. Finally, the Health Promotion section will discuss the impact of environmental pollution and climate change on health and measures to address them.
“To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including universal health coverage by 2030, it is more important than ever that member nations strengthen their health capacities and cooperate in the health sector within the international community,” Vice Minister Park said.
“Based on the discussions at the Executive Board meeting, the Korean government will fulfill its role and responsibility as a pivotal country in the international community at the upcoming 78th World Health Assembly,” he added.