KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has been officially appointed as the vice-chair of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board representing the Western Pacific Region (WPR) for 2022-2023.

       Khairy was appointed along with candidates from Colombia, Yemen and Timor Leste.

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       The announcement was made on Monday (May 30) in Geneva at 10 am (Geneva time).

       The appointment was based on the principle of rotation between geographical regions. Malaysia is currently serving as a board member of the WHO Executive Board from 2021 to 2024.

       A video of the announcement was shared by Health Ministry to the local media today.

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       In congratulating Khairy, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the appointment was unprecedented and a great honour for Malaysia.

       He said Malaysia aspires to champion the priorities and vital common issues that the regional and global communities face, by being the voice as the vice-president of the World Health Assembly and now the vice-chair of WHO Executive Board.

       "In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunities to do what is right for the people and communities, locally and globally. Malaysia has always been at the forefront to advance global public health," he said in a post on Facebook today.

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       In addition to the nation's strong leadership in safe and affordable surgery, he said, Malaysia will contribute towards the success of WHO’s efforts in leading the international community in areas that include the Covid-19 response, digital health innovation, healthy and active ageing, mental health, non-communicable diseases (NCD) and climate change.

       "In solidarity, we will address current issues such as International Health Regulations (IHR), vaccine inequity, health systems and all related Global Public Health preparedness and response to win the public health battle together," he added. - Bernama