ID :
58455
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 22:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/58455
The shortlink copeid
ASEAN health ministers to meet next week over swine flu
JAKARTA, April 30 Kyodo -
Health ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will
meet next week to discuss the region's collective response to the spread of the
deadly swine flu, the grouping's top man said Thursday.
The decision was made after the World Health Organization raised its influenza
alert level to 5, one notch short of the highest, full-pandemic phase.
In an interview with Kyodo News, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said
Thailand will host the meeting May 7-8 in Bangkok.
''We are going it step by step,'' Surin said.
He said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who earlier this week proposed an
emergency ASEAN summit on the health crisis, called him Thursday morning and
said he agrees a ministerial meeting should be held first.
''If there is a need by that time...and the problem is still very, very
serious, still spreading, then we will scale up the level,'' Surin paraphrased
him as saying.
According to Surin, ASEAN wants to send a message to the world that ASEAN is
ready and better prepared to tackle the latest health crisis, particularly
after its experience of dealing with SARS and bird flu.
''We are more coherent, cohesive in our coordination among ourselves and on top
of that, we have the mechanisms and the materials,'' he said.
The meeting, he said, will provide an opportunity to assess the situation and
to come with a collective regional response to the situation, adding that it
will also help prepare for the 62nd Annual World Health Assembly to be held in
Geneva on May 18-27.
''The ASEAN health ministers could also explore the need to convene the 1st
East Asia Health Ministers Meeting to discuss this issue,'' he said.
Currently, ASEAN countries still have no known cases of swine flu.
''The entire ASEAN landscape is still free (of it) and we hope to keep it that
way. We don't want our people to be overly concerned, alarmed or panicked,''
Surin said.
ASEAN currently has 500,000 courses of antivirals stockpiled in Singapore with
an additional 500,000 courses distributed to its member states: Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
''ASEAN's 1 million courses of antivirals are a reassuring fact and further
efforts will be exerted to mobilize other sources of antivirals if needed,''
Surin said.
As of Thursday, the number of countries with confirmed outbreaks had risen to 13.
In Mexico, the epicenter of the global outbreak, 99 cases of the infection have
been confirmed including eight dead. Combining both confirmed and suspected
cases, the death toll has reportedly risen to 176 there.
Several countries have imposed bans on imports on pork meat and its
derivatives, but the WHO says there is no risk of contracting the flu from
eating well-cooked pork and pork products.
==Kyodo
Health ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will
meet next week to discuss the region's collective response to the spread of the
deadly swine flu, the grouping's top man said Thursday.
The decision was made after the World Health Organization raised its influenza
alert level to 5, one notch short of the highest, full-pandemic phase.
In an interview with Kyodo News, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said
Thailand will host the meeting May 7-8 in Bangkok.
''We are going it step by step,'' Surin said.
He said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who earlier this week proposed an
emergency ASEAN summit on the health crisis, called him Thursday morning and
said he agrees a ministerial meeting should be held first.
''If there is a need by that time...and the problem is still very, very
serious, still spreading, then we will scale up the level,'' Surin paraphrased
him as saying.
According to Surin, ASEAN wants to send a message to the world that ASEAN is
ready and better prepared to tackle the latest health crisis, particularly
after its experience of dealing with SARS and bird flu.
''We are more coherent, cohesive in our coordination among ourselves and on top
of that, we have the mechanisms and the materials,'' he said.
The meeting, he said, will provide an opportunity to assess the situation and
to come with a collective regional response to the situation, adding that it
will also help prepare for the 62nd Annual World Health Assembly to be held in
Geneva on May 18-27.
''The ASEAN health ministers could also explore the need to convene the 1st
East Asia Health Ministers Meeting to discuss this issue,'' he said.
Currently, ASEAN countries still have no known cases of swine flu.
''The entire ASEAN landscape is still free (of it) and we hope to keep it that
way. We don't want our people to be overly concerned, alarmed or panicked,''
Surin said.
ASEAN currently has 500,000 courses of antivirals stockpiled in Singapore with
an additional 500,000 courses distributed to its member states: Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
''ASEAN's 1 million courses of antivirals are a reassuring fact and further
efforts will be exerted to mobilize other sources of antivirals if needed,''
Surin said.
As of Thursday, the number of countries with confirmed outbreaks had risen to 13.
In Mexico, the epicenter of the global outbreak, 99 cases of the infection have
been confirmed including eight dead. Combining both confirmed and suspected
cases, the death toll has reportedly risen to 176 there.
Several countries have imposed bans on imports on pork meat and its
derivatives, but the WHO says there is no risk of contracting the flu from
eating well-cooked pork and pork products.
==Kyodo