Brazil to host WHO meeting in 2011

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil will host a meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) next year on the goals of the contemporary public healthcare sector, the country's Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao announced on Tuesday.

The conference will take place in Rio, most likely in October 2011, the minister said.

"Our idea is to make this meeting a second Alma-Ata," he said, referring to the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC) which took place in Kazakhstan in September 1978. On that occasion, representatives from all over the world expressed the need for urgent action to promote the health of all mankind.

Temporao also commented on Brazil's nationwide campaign of vaccination against the H1N1 flu, which started in March and was supposed to end last Friday. The campaign was extended until June 2 in order to include children aged two to five years old in the immunized age groups.

According to the minister, the share of the population vaccinated against the disease in Brazil is high when compared to some other countries. He said that he was surprised with the Europeans' resistance to the vaccine in a recent trip to Geneva.

"The European press kept asking me how we managed to immunize millions of people against H1N1 flu in Brazil. No one wanted to take the vaccine there," he said.

According to a report released by the Health Ministry last week, over 61 million Brazilians have already been immunized against H1N1 flu. The figures represent 70 percent of the ministry's goal for the campaign.

๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑

Sphere: Related Content