On the sidelines of the Extraordinary Session of the World Health Assembly, held at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva from 29 November to 01 December 2021, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, received the Minister of Health, Professor Abderrahmane Benbouzid, on 1 December 2021 at 5:30 pm, at the headquarters of the organization.
During the interview, the Minister congratulated in advance the Director-General on his nomination for a second term at the head of the World Health Organization, assuring him of Algeria’s support for the comprehensive mandate of the World Health Organization.
The Minister also commended the commitment of the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the Secretariat to ensure the achievement of the goals entrusted to the organization aimed at improving the mechanism of prevention, preparedness and response to health emergencies, the subject of this special session, which remains the primary role of the World Health Organization.
He added that Algeria will continue to work so that the two working groups of the World Health Organization can strengthen the prevention of epidemics and improve the response of national health systems to face future health threats.
In the same context, the Minister of Health referred to the quality of bilateral cooperation between Algeria and the World Health Organization through the regional office in Brazzaville and representation in Algeria.
His Excellency also expressed Algeria’s readiness to work in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic to enhance cooperation with the countries of the Sahel and to provide all possible Algerian skills in order to strengthen their health systems and to face health risks in a unified manner.
He also referred to the need for the World Health Organization to support developing countries in the process of negotiating a future international instrument on epidemics, especially with regard to issues of knowledge exchange, technology transfer, patent sharing, exemption from intellectual property rights, as well as the equitable distribution of health products.
In turn, the Director-General of the World Health Organization congratulated Algeria for the high-level attendance at this special session, which confirms Algeria’s will to participate in improving health in the world.
He also welcomed the initiative of tripartite cooperation with the countries of the Sahel and providing the necessary expertise and means to improve health systems in this sub-region.
At the end of the meeting, the Director-General confirmed WHO’s readiness to provide technical support when necessary.
