<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="510"><tbody><tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="510"> World health meet focuses on epidemics </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" valign="top"> From D Ravi Kanth DH News Service Geneva:
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> The 59th World Health Assembly began on a somber note on Monday following the death of the director-general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Lee Jong-wook, hours before the inaugural session.
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> The 59th World Health Assembly began on a somber note on Monday following the death of the director-general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Lee Jong-wook, hours before the inaugural session.

But health ministers said they remained focused on major challenges in the international disease and health environment, especially the threat of bird flu and escalating HIV/AIDS and TB epidemic in poor countries.

?I am sorry to tell you that Dr Lee Jong-wook, director-general of the WHO, died this morning,? said Elena Salgado, Spain's health minister and the chair for the 59 th WHA.

Dr Lee, 61, died after surgery to remove blood clot from the brain. He took office as the head of WHO three years ago when SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the infectious respiratory disease began to threaten parts of Asia.

?Under his leadership, the WHO has been strengthened and has been able to give an effective response to world (health) problems,? the Spanish minister said. The annual session, which was briefly suspended for 30 minutes, will end on Saturday. Anders Nordstrom, currently assistant director-general will head the global health body until members found a new chief.

Indian concerns

?India has some major issues to be addressed during the six-day Assembly,? Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, health minister, said.

?India wants easy movement of health professionals ? both doctors and nurses ? to countries that are in dire need,? he told Deccan Herald.

?Basically, the issue of health human resources and services is a management problem but there are some hurdles which need to be removed,? the health ministers said.

Besides, India wants proper allocation of funds for countries suffering from public health emergencies such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

More importantly, developing countries, led by Kenya and Brazil have moved a resolution calling the rich countries and global pharmaceutical companies in prioritising research and development in developing countries to address the poor man?s diseases such as communicable diseases and malaria.

So far, big pharmaceutical companies invested heavily in diseases such as cardio-vascular or cancer-related diseases but not in tackling the age-old diseases.

US health secretary Michael O Leavitt said Washington was concerned about the deadly spread of H5N1 virus, pointing that the Bush administration was convinced that a pandemic will happen.

?We are already building the stocks for tamiflu, (which is the only medicine to target bird flu) and we want governments to show greater transparency as well as share information for grappling with avian flu.? A senior US health official said rigid ?treaties? are not a solution to address the so-called Type 2 and Type 3 diseases in poor countries, implying that these issues must be left for the pharmaceutical companies to decide.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanhe...9552006522.asp