17/09/2010

The decision was taken at the meeting that this institution held in Moscow

• Spain, through the Directorate General of Public Health and Health Affairs, will be one of the 12 countries present in this committee

Spain will from now on be represented in the Permanent Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe of the World Health Organization (http://www.euro.who.int/en/home). This has been approved at meeting LX of the Committee of the European Region of the WHO, held in Moscow between September 13th and 16th.

The representation of Spain will be assigned to the Directorate General of Public Health and Health Affairs, a position currently occupied by Ildefonso Hernández Aguado. The appointment is for two years, with a possible reappointment for another three years.

The Permanent Committee is a subcommittee of the Regional Committee for Europe, with representatives from 12 member states of the European Region. It holds meetings several times a year and acts on behalf of the Regional Committee to ensure that they carry out their decisions and policies. At the same time, it also advises the Regional Committee and the Regional Bureau.

Meeting LX of the Regional Committee, the first since the appointment of the new Regional Director, Zsuzsanna Jakab, has focused on closer cooperation with member states and other agencies. In particular, it has proposed the development of a Health Strategy for the European Region, which will be presented in 2011, and has also signed a cooperation agreement between the Regional Office for Europe of the WHO and the European Commission.