MINSK, 13 October (BelTA) – Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko met with the heads of delegations of the CIS member states and representatives of international organizations on 13 October. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 34th session of the CIS Healthcare Cooperation Council in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
“Today the role of the Council and the coordinated work of healthcare ministers are becoming increasingly important. We can see that the residents of our countries are waiting for real effective actions and management decisions, which we should take in concert, because the work of the Council concerns some 280 million people of the Commonwealth of Independent States,” Igor Petrishenko said.
In his words, the Council has significantly intensified its work recently. “The Council has adopted a joint action plan on sanitary protection. A joint action plan to counter the spread of COVID-19 has also been adopted within the CIS. I would also like to mention the concerted, coordinated work of the healthcare ministries, chief sanitary officers that meet and consult both in person and online, sharing new approaches. Today the World Health Organization is represented here by Hans Kluge. He is participating in our Council meeting. This also emphasizes its importance and significance,” the deputy prime minister said.
Members of the council are healthcare ministers and chief state sanitary inspectors. Chairman of the council, Healthcare Minister of Belarus Dmitry Pinevich is expected to speak on the results of Belarus' presidency in the Council. The agenda of the session also includes discussion of a wide range of issues in healthcare: implementation of the medium term action plan to combat the spread of infectious diseases, development of the CIS oncological service, cross-border telemedical assistance service, psychological and psychiatric aid to victims of emergency situations and others.
Attending the session are also WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge, and UNAIDS Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Alexander Goliusov. Hans Kluge is expected to share his views on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of emergency preparedness and response.
The participants of the session are also expected to get familiar with the operation of the Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology, as well as other healthcare organizations.
The CIS Healthcare Cooperation Council was established on 26 June 1992. The agreement was signed by the heads of government of ten states, including: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Moldova. Azerbaijan is not a party to this agreement, but its representatives take part in the activities of the Council and its working bodies. The presidency in the Council is held in turn by each CIS state. Belarus is presiding in the council in 2021.
The main objective of the Council is to promote comprehensive cooperation of the CIS member states in healthcare protection and provision of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, development and strengthening of interstate relations in pharmacy, medical science and technology, and other issues of preservation, restoration and improvement of public health.
