Date : 03/05/2009
CAIRO, May 3 (KUNA) -- The Executive Office of Arab Health Ministers is due
to hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh Tuesday to discuss developments and
measures regarding the recent outbreak of swine flu, an Arab League statement
reported on Sunday.
The statement said the ministers are to discuss human and technical
resources which could be deployed in each state and which could be deployed to
aid affected Arab states. They are also to discuss exchange of information and
transparency on all developments in this regard.
The statement stressed the importance of efforts to boost awareness and
added the Arab League Secretariat is to request a meeting at headquarters to
draft a joint Arab plan to counter the outbreak and guarantee adequate food
and drug supplies in case of a pandemic.
The Arab Health Emergency Committee meeting is also urged to plan a future
strategy for similar situations, which ought to include early warning
mechanisms, guarantees of supplies, and suitable quarantine measures, it was
added.
The meeting on Tuesday is to be attended by representatives of the host
state and of Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, and Algeria, who are the
member states of the executive council.
The regional director of the World Health Organization for the Middle East
is also to attend the meeting.(end)
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