New Delhi, June 30 (IANS): Participants at a meeting on ‘Advancing Global Health Security’ in Indonesia, organised under the aegis of WHO, said they will strengthen capacities to cope with the outbreak of Ebola, Zika and other dreaded diseases. “They accepted that only about one third of countries in the world have the ability to assess, detect and respond to public health emergencies. Diseases like Ebola, Zika, yellow fever and other recent outbreaks have exposed these weaknesses at national, regional and international levels,” said a statement issued by the WHO. The 3-day meeting on ‘Advancing Global Health Security: From Commitments to Actions’ ended in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday. It brought together 250 participants from 52 countries representing 28 different organisations. “Fortifying health security in today’s world must be a key priority of governments, multilateral agencies, development banks, and non-government organisations the world over. What matters most is maintaining the momentum and turning that into real, tangible results,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said at the meeting: “The bedrock of outbreak and emergency preparedness and response is a functioning, resilient national health system -- with the financing, human resources, infrastructure, information and supply management systems capable of detecting and responding to public health events.”
