ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The 117th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) being held in Geneva has supported a resolution proposed by Pakistan on ‘world emergency preparedness and response programme’.

Health Minister Mohammed Nasir Khan, who heads the WHO’s executive board, is representing Pakistan on Jan 23-28 at the Geneva session, says an official announcement.

The executive board session is considered an important event which brings together health ministers and high-level functionaries from all over the world to discuss major health issues and recommend solutions.

The participants discussed HIV/Aids situation, avian influenza pandemic, earthquake relief and rehabilitation in South Asia, Millennium Development Goals, smallpox, prevention of blindness and eradication of polio.

In his presentation, Mr Khan spoke about lessons Pakistan learnt in the process of carrying out relief and rehabilitation activities in quake-hit areas.

“We need to have a comprehensive programme in place to meet the colossal damage to livelihoods, infrastructure and loss of life in the event of an emergency,” he said.

“We had no experience of dealing with a disaster of this scale, but we moved fast to protect the affected population from disease and epidemics,” he said, adding that a huge loss of life had been averted.

The health minister said that the Millennium Development Goals could not be achieved unless serious measures were taken by member states and those of Eastern Mediterranean region of WHO.

He said the cooperation extended by different countries to Pakistan in relief efforts had proven that every task could be accomplished if the world community joined hands.

He said that the same cooperation and determination was required in ensuring access to health facilities for all and prevention of disease on the planet.