Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi addressed the Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting 2020 on Thursday, a Health Ministry spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, the Commonwealth Health Ministers met virtually on May 14 for their annual summit. Minister Wanniarachchi stressed the importance of continuing Sri Lanka’s tradition of greeting which is the healthiest in the world to combat Covid-19.
She also outlined the challenges faced by Commonwealth countries while combating the virus.
Set against the backdrop of a global health crisis, the meeting’s theme was ‘Delivering a coordinated Commonwealth Covid-19 response’. Around 54 countries in the world took part in the meeting, he said. The Ministers assessed the progress made to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, shared effective solutions and agreed on a coordinated response to Covid-19.
The objectives of the Commonwealth Health Ministers’ meeting were to review and assess progress against the disease at regional and national levels; share good practice strategies, solutions and models; identify priorities for coordinated action; commit to working together with partners, particularly the World Health Organization, to support the global response; and acknowledge the importance of a coordinated economic response in the recovery and restoration phase – taking into account the disproportionate effect that Covid-19 would have on small and vulnerable states, women, young people, marginalised persons and other at-risk groups, he said.
The meeting was due to take place in Geneva this month but was moved online in light of the coronavirus pandemic, he added.