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World Health Day
Ceremony held
Yangon, 7
April — The World Health Day commemorative ceremony, jointly
organized by the Ministry of Health of the Union of Myanmar and
the World Health Organization, took place at International
Business Centre on Pyay Road here this morning, with an address
by Deputy Minister for Health Dr Mya Oo.
Deputy Minister
Dr Mya Oo made an opening speech. He said this year’s motto is
Shape the Future of Life—Healthy Environment for Children. About
2 million children under 5 suffer respiratory diseases every
year due to environmental dangers such as bad smell and smoke
from factories and houses. Moreover, about 500 million children
all over the world suffer malaria, schistosomiasis, dengue
haemorrhagic fever and diarrhoea, and about 50,000 children
under 14 die of accidents and poisonous cases every year. The
minister continued to say that the State has laid down and is
implementing health policies to provide health care services to
the public. The national health policy is to extend preventive
measures against water and air pollution. The ministry has also
implemented plans on environmental health and occupational
health as part of the national health plan. In addition, the
ministry has implemented the Healthy City projects in
cooperation with other ministries. Efforts have been made to
upgrade villages into model ones and all-round development tasks
are being carried out. In implementing environment health care
services, a single department or an association cannot
accomplish it. So, related departments, social organizations and
NGOs as well as the whole public are to cooperate.
Then, Resident
Representative of WHO in Myanmar Dr Agostino Borra read the
message of Director Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei, South-East Asia
regional director of WHO. After the ceremony, the deputy
minister and guests looked around the World Health commemorative
booth. |
