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Hon Nimal Siripala de Silva elected Chairman of the Executive
Board
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 Hon Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Healthcare and
Nutrition, was elected as the Chairman of the WHO Executive Board at its
122nd Session in May 2008 and will hold office for one year.
The Executive Board is composed of 34 members designated by the respective Member
States, and representing the six Regions of the WHO. The World Health
Assembly which is the supreme decision making body, attended by delegations
from all 193 Member States of the WHO, formally elects the members of the
Executive Board. The Members of the Executive Board are elected for three
year terms.
The Executive Board meets twice a
year. The main Board meeting, at
which the agenda for the forthcoming Health Assembly is agreed upon and
resolutions for submission to the Assembly are prepared, is held in
January.
More
Information…
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Seminar
on unusual occurrence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in North Central
Province of Sri Lanka
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The Epidemiology Unit of
the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition, in association with the WHO Sri
Lanka, organized a visit of a team of international experts to investigate
the unusual occurrence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in the North Central
Province of Sri Lanka. National and international experts met in Colombo during a
seminar held on 7th and 8th May to review all
available information with a view to providing technical assistance for
developing a pragmatic and feasible research proposal to address prevention
issues.
Many invaluable studies
have been done so far in the country by various renowned experts to try to
elucidate the causative factor. These have generated many hypotheses. In
order to conclusively prove the etiology of this disease, it was absolutely
essential that a team involving scientists and medical professionals would
be established.
It is
expected that the research team, with the input of the panel of experts
from around the globe, will achieve the objective of finding a rational
solution to this public health problem, in order to save people in these
affected areas from further disaster.
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WHO and the Ministry of Health launch
the ‘National Report on Violence and Health in Sri Lanka’
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 WHO and
the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition have launched on the 4th April
2008 the ‘National Report on Violence and Health in Sri Lanka’. This report
provides a foundation for understanding various types of violence and the
roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in its prevention,
identification, investigation, assessment, and treatment. This is the first
national report ever published on this important problem in Sri Lanka.
It is expected that this
document will serve as a valuable resource for building knowledge,
promoting effective practices, and enhancing community collaboration. This
analyses available data to understand violence in the local context and its
impact on the country. It attempts to assess the magnitude of the problem
and describes different aspects of violence on the island.
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Celebration of the World Health Day on
“Protecting Health from Climate Change”
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 The
World Health Day is celebrated on the 7th of April annually by WHO worldwide and is considered an opportunity to focus
on key public health issues of national and international importance. This
year was special because it marked the WHO 60th Anniversary. The 2008 WHO
theme was “Protecting Health from Climate Change”, focusing on the need to
protect health from the adverse effects of climate change.
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WHO Sri Lanka
organizes the 3rd Partners Round Table on Mental Health
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 WHO
held on the 3rd of April 2008 the 3rd Partners Round
Table on Mental Health under the theme ‘Sustainability of Mental Health
Services Development in Sri
Lanka’. After the first and the second conference of this
sort on the adoption of the mental health policy and the progress after one
year, this year’s focus was on sustaining the newly established mental
health services in the future. Participants in the seminar were
representatives of the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition,
representatives of the donor community, NGOs working on mental health in Sri Lanka
and WHO staff.
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Leptospirosis
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 Leptospirosis is an endemic disease in Sri Lanka.
The temperate climate, seasonal rainfall, humidity and other ecological
factors have contributed to the maintenance of the disease in the country.
Clustering of cases and occurrence of outbreaks in relation to rainfall and
paddy field cultivation has been observed in many parts of the
country.
During the last decade,
there has been an increase in the reported number of Leptospirosis
cases…
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