WHO Executive Committee unanimously approves Minister’s proposal

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Executive Committee of the World Health Organisation (WHO) had unanimously approved the proposal tabled by Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to ensure better health facilities for the migrant workers through a collaboration of WHO and developed countries.

The meeting is now being held in Geneva, Switzerland, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.

He said Health Ministers from a number of countries including US, Japan, New Zealand and Mexico participating in the seventh Executive Committee Meeting on Budget and Administration in Geneva, Switzerland unanimously approved the proposal presented by Minister de Silva.

Presenting the proposal Minister De Silva had pointed out the importance of recognising migrant workers health as a separate subject and ensuring that these workers belonging to developing countries get the best healthcare facilities while abroad.

There are 1,500,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle East alone and millions from several other developing countries working in developed countries. But at the moment there is no health programme whatsoever to ensure their good health and no healthcare facilities available to them.

Considering those facts, the Health Ministers of all countries unanimously approved Minister de Silva’s proposal.

Minister De Silva’s participation at this meeting is very significant because he expects further financial and technical assistance from the WHO to control non communicable diseases in Sri Lanka this year.

Sri Lanka has already set records in the region through the health sector by providing one of the best free health services in the world, successfully preventing global epidemics such as bird flu, SARS and Ebola. No outbreak of epidemics were reported from Sri Lanka after the tsunami.

Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that trains health staff, such as nurses and MLTs free of charge for State sector health institutions. Sri Lanka trains the staff and also makes a payment to them during the training period.