KATHMANDU, Sept 3: Nepal's Health Ministry was felicitated by World Health Organizations (WHO) on Tuesday for its achievement being one of the first four countries in controlling deadly Hepatitis B.
Along with Nepal, health ministries of other five countries were also honoured for their contribution to various areas of the public health sector in recent months including measles elimination, Hepatitis B control, and elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.
Sri Lanka was recognized for eliminating measles; Bangladesh, Bhutan and Thailand for becoming the first four countries from the Region to control Hepatitis B; and Maldives for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.
13-yr-old girl drowns in Makwanpur's Chiruwa River
Presenting citations to the Ministers for their public health achievements at a side event during the Seventy-Second Session of WHO Regional Committee of South-East Asia in New Delhi, WHO's Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, “Disease eliminations have always been high on our agenda. When I talk about sustain, accelerate and innovate, ‘accelerate’ is to step up efforts to eliminate diseases like the neglected tropical diseases.”
The citations for Hepatitis B control has been presented to Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav. Similarly, the health ministers and representatives from other countries have also received the citations for their feat in the public health sector.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the public health achievements awards were presented to Member countries on the sidelines of the Regional Committee Session. With focused and concerted efforts, Member countries are making substantial progress around the priority health issues.