SAARC-Health Ministers

April 26, 2006

Bangladesh hosts South Asian health ministers to discuss AIDS, bird flu

By JULHAS ALAM=

Associated Press Writer=

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) _ Senior health officials from seven South Asian nations on Wednesday approved a five-year regional strategy to fight deadly diseases like AIDS and bird flu, Bangladesh's health minister said.

The plan will guide member countries in fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS, laying out ways to intensify regional action and mobilize money, said Health Minister Khondakar Mosharraf Hossain of Bangladesh.

High-level health officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives held a one-day meeting in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, to discuss issues like AIDS and bird flu.

The seven countries make up the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC.

Hossain said member countries need massive awareness-building campaigns to combat AIDS, and more work on other illnesses.

"Unless all our countries initiate actions at the same time, we will not be able to fight against other communicable diseases for a longer period," he said.

Officials also agreed to strengthen cooperation to fight against spread of bird flu in the region.

"The issue of the bird flu is a serious challenge for us," Hossain said. He said a regional strategy against it would be prepared at the earliest.

AIDS is pandemic in India, South Asia's most populous country. Bird flu outbreaks have been reported in India and neighboring Pakistan.

Hossain said health officials at this week's conference decided to appoint an expert committee to prepare a directory of medicinal plants available in the region.

They also discussed ways to improve basic health care services and ensure safe drinking water and sanitation in rural areas, he said.

Most of South Asia's 1.3 billion people live on less than a dollar a day and have little access to primary health care, basic sanitation or clean drinking water, according to official statistics.

The ministers also discussed regional cooperation in harmonizing standards, exchanging medical expertise, producing affordable medicines and exporting pharmaceuticals, including traditional remedies, Hossain said.