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Messages of UN Secretary-General and WHO Director-General on World Health Day

04 April 2007 08:47 (UTC +04:00)

The Director-General of World Health Organization Dr Margaret Chan gave message on April 7- World Health Day. The WHO office in Azerbaijan told the APA.
â€œIn the current context of increasing global threats to health including SARS, avian flu, HIV/AIDS and humanitarian emergencies, this yearâ€™s theme for World Health Day and the World Health Report is international health security. World Health Day 2007 will serve as an ideal occasion for the international community to consider the growing interdependence of health and security and the need to Invest in health, build a safer future.
Threats to health know no borders. In an age of widespread global trade and travel, new and existing diseases can cross national borders and threaten our collective security. Only through strong collaboration among developed and developing countries, together with an increased focus on information sharing and the strengthening of public health systems and surveillance, can we contain their spread. I look forward to June of this year when the revised International Health Regulations come into force. Their implementation will help to build and strengthen effective mechanisms for outbreak alert and response at national and international levels. We must continue to invest and build.
While collaboration on many levels is essential, every country must invest in health and build capacity to prevent new and existing threats by strengthening its own public health system,â€ the message reads.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also gave a message on the World Health Day. The UN Office in Azerbaijan told the APA.
â€œThe theme of this yearâ€™s World Health Day -- international health security -- reminds us that threats to public health know no borders. The spread of diseases, natural disasters, environmental change, bioterrorism or chemical spills can all have a major impact on people, their societies and economies around the world. Such threats present new challenges and require an urgent and collaborative response.
Life and health are our most precious possessions. We have the knowledge and unprecedented resources to build a healthier, safer world. Let us take the occasion of World Health Day to mobilize the political will. Let us ensure that each country -- rich and poor -- has a robust health system capable of serving all those in need. Addressing our collective vulnerability demands nothing less,â€ the message concludes. /APA/