El Salvador's Minister of Health Elected President of World Health Assembly

Geneva, May 13, 2002 (WHO) - Dr. José Francisco López Beltrán, minister of public health and social assistance of El Salvador, was elected president of the World Health Assembly during the meeting's opening session on Monday.

In his remarks to delegates, Dr. Beltrán said, "It is an honor for El Salvador and for the Americas to have been elected president of the World Health Assembly." He added, "I am proud to be president in the year 2002, because this marks an important milestone for the Americas: it is the centennial of the Pan American Health Organization, which has been leading the search for better health for our peoples since 1902. There are few organizations that have such an enviable record."

Addressing the ministers of health of 191 countries gathered in Geneva, Dr. López Beltrán said, "Ministers, this World Health Assembly is the great hope of every sick and poor person in each of our countries. Some know what WHO is, others don't, but almost everyone knows what it is to be sick. Too many know what it is to be unable to go to the doctor because they have no money, or to have to wait hours and hours in a community health center and then receive bad-quality care. Whether they know it or not, they depend on our actions and our efforts if they are to achieve equitable access to health. Let us not leave them behind. In this meeting and in all our actions, personal or official, we will think of the human faces that are behind every statistic and incidence rate we deal with. Let us not forget those faces."

Dr. López Beltrán also spoke on the threat of terrorism with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, saying that public health authorities must prepare themselves to respond to such eventualities, strengthening epidemiological surveillance efforts, as well as disaster preparedness and hospital, laboratory and communications infrastructure. He said the positive side of such efforts is that they serve to improve public health infrastructure and can bring about new international cooperation in health. He added that there are good preparedness programs in many countries, but that more international cooperation is needed in this area.

For more information, please contact: Daniel Epstein, Office of Public Information, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org, or in Geneva at Tel. 41 22 9176804.