Consultations and works continue for the operation of the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cyprus as soon as possible, the Communication Advisor to the Minister of Health, Constantinos Athanasiou, told CNA, noting that, three WHO officials are in Cyprus for consultations.
According to Athanasiou, the agreement is expected to be signed in January, in the presence of the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, who will come to Cyprus for the signing ceremony.
Athanasiou noted, that, the three WHO officials will on Monday visit the place where the Organization’s office in Larnaca will be housed, while they will meet with officials of the Municipality of Larnaca and the Ministry of Health.
On Tuesday, they will have a meeting with the Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipantela, and with the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Christina Yiannaki, during which the process and the consultations that have taken place so far will be evaluated, he added.
“There are some technical issues to sort out, however, everything is going well”, Athanasiou told CNA.
The WHO regional office will be located in Cyprus and will cover the countries of the Mediterranean basin and Southeastern Europe, while it will be made up of Cypriot experts, as well as an external expert from the Organization.
It is noted that the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Cyprus will be active in strengthening public health and upgrading preparedness to deal with emerging and epidemic-prone infectious diseases, through the promotion of innovative actions aimed at their prevention, as well as in the collection, dissemination and evaluation of epidemiological data.
It will also be active in the development of policies in the field of Communicable Diseases and Zoonoses and in promoting networking and alliances between the countries of the Mediterranean Basin and South-Eastern Europe.
Source: Cyprus News Agency