Kuwait funds WHO efforts to address health crises

GENEVA, Feb 7 (KUNA) -- A Kuwaiti diplomat said on Wednesday that his country is eager to finance the World Health Organization's (WHO) Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE).
The USD half-million initiative is being done on a voluntary basis to prop up a funding mechanism established to scale up WHO's responses to global epidemics, Kuwait's permanent delegate to the United Nations Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim told KUNA.
As he emerged from a meeting with the Executive Director of WHO's emergencies program Peter Salama, Al-Ghunaim said that the purpose of the Kuwaiti aid is to ensure the UN health body is fully equipped to deal with critical cases.
He spoke of Kuwait's robust relationship with WHO and the country's close rapport with the health organization in an effort to ameliorate the healthcare system in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Salama revealed that WHO will be attending a Kuwait-hosted conference on reconstruction in Iraq, a country whose healthcare sector lies in ruin after years of warfare.
"This star-studded conference is a testament to Kuwait's profound contributions towards humanitarian causes, "the WHO official pointed out, saying the meeting would help put Iraq on the path to stability.
He echoed the Kuwaiti envoy's sentiments and noted that WHO shares a very special relationship with the Gulf country. (end) ta.nam