Standing committee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe meets in Almaty for the first time

Almaty, March 14-15, 2023 – a regular session of the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (SCRC) for the first time is taking place in Almaty under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan, with the participation of Minister of Healthcare Azhar Giniyat, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge, members of the SCRC from 12 countries of the European Region, and WHO experts.

One of the WHO governing bodies in the European Region, SCRC makes recommendations to the Regional Director and determines the future development policies and key areas of WHO Europe’s work.

This year, under Kazakhstan's chairmanship in SCRC, the session is held under the auspices of the Kazakh National Medical University named after Sanzhar Asfendiyarov. During the meeting, Regional Director’s report were presented to the SCRC members, along with the information about the healthcare system of Kazakhstan, including on primary health care (PHC). The issues of emergency response, as well as preparations for the 73rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe and the International conference on PHC, which will be held in October this year in Astana, were also discussed.

The conference is organized jointly by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and WHO. The participants include healthcare experts from more than 100 countries and international organizations.

Furthermore, Minister Azhar Giniyat and Regional Director Dr. Hans Kluge met to discuss key aspects of cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, including within the framework of a two-year agreement on cooperation for 2024-2025.