Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare during the Ministerial Roundtable on Emergency Preparedness on day 2 of the ‘72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia’,had announced that India will contribute 200,000 US dollars towards implementation of the preparedness stream under the South East Asia Health Emergency Response Fund (SEARHEF), and we will release this support at the earliest.

The Health Ministers of the South-East Asia Region of WHO also signed the Delhi Declaration on Emergency Preparedness.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, accompanied by Dr Bernard Schwartlander, Chef de Cabinet, WHO and Dechen Wangmo, Minister of Health, Royal Govt. of Bhutan, cycled tothe meeting venue to focus on strengthening promotive and preventive health so that people adopt positive and healthy lifestyles.

Later, Dr Harsh Vardhan also led the yoga session at the venue where the Health Ministers from eight of the 11 SEARO countries and delegates practiced yoga. The Health Ministers and delegates also went for cycling after the yoga session. He said that the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, gave a call at the United Nations General Assembly to recognize Yoga as a provider of holistic approach to health and well-being. We are happy that the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe 21st June as the International day of Yoga, he stated. This, along with Eat Right India campaign, will help us to fight lifestyle diseases like hypertension, obesity and diabetes effectively, he added. He further stated that our visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has recently launched the Fit India Movement and has urged all country people to make fitness part of their daily routine.

Eight Ministers of Health from 8 of the 11 countries of the WHO South East Asia Region (SEAR), Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region and senior officers of the Health Ministry were also present at the Ministerial Roundtable. This is the second time that India is hosting the Regional Committee meeting; the previous one was also hosted by India in New Delhi.

The Health Ministers of the South-East Asia Region of WHO also signed the Delhi Declaration on Emergency Preparedness.