YB Minister of Health Leads the Malaysian Delegation to the 150th WHO Executive Board (EB150) in Geneva
Minister of Health, YB Khairy Jamaluddin led the Malaysian delegation to the 150th World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board which was held at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva on 24-29 January 2022. Director-General of Health of Malaysia, YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah and senior officials from the Ministry of Health were also part of the delegation.
YB Khairy Jamaluddin addressed the EB150 during the opening of the meeting on 24 January 2022. In his address, YB Khairy Jamaluddin reiterated the Government of Malaysia’s continuous commitment to place health at the centre of national development agenda. YB Khairy Jamaluddin also highlighted Malaysia’s position on several important issues in the WHO agenda, among others, COVID-19 pandemic, regional vaccine supply issues, health digitization and WHO sustainable financing.
Malaysia has been elected a member of the WHO Executive Board representing the Western Pacific region for a period of three years from May 2021 to May 2024.
YB Khairy Jamaluddin held a bilateral meeting with WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom at the margins of the EB150. Both sides discussed greater cooperation between the WHO and the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, particularly effective implementation of the universal health coverage, Malaysia’s plan to ban the sale of tobacco products to a certain age as well as research and development, including the possibility of Malaysia becoming a vaccination hub. YB Khairy Jamaluddin also extended an invitation to DG Tedros to visit the WHO Global Service Centre in Cyberjaya, the one and only centre in the world that provides administrative services to programmes and staff from the WHO and partner entities.
In addition, YB Khairy Jamaluddin was invited to a meeting with President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Mr. Børge Brende. During the meeting, they discussed potential public-private partnership between WEF and Malaysia in health/healthcare initiatives, including solutions for more resilient and efficient healthcare systems i.e. electronic medical records management, virtual care telemedicine and other digital innovations for non-communicable diseases.
