Ambassador Ignacio with WHO SEARO Regional Director Saima Wazed and Filipino Regional Emergencies Director Dr. Edwin Salvador.
New Delhi – On the occasion of World Health Day and the 76th Anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) Ambassador Josel F. Ignacio attended the reception hosted by Regional Director Saima Wazed and the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia (SEARO), on 7 April at the Hyatt Regency Delhi.
World Health Day was first observed in 1950, to coincide with the anniversary of the WHO, which was established on April 7 two years before.
Regional Director Wazed is a globally recognized advocate of autism issues who. assumed the helm of the Regional Office in 2023. She is the daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh.
WHO-SEARO covers 11 countries representing a quarter of the world’s population namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste.
Filipinos play a crucial role in the WHO’s work in India and the larger region. The WHO Representative to India is Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin, while WHO SEARO’s Regional Emergencies Director is Dr. Edwin C. Salvador.
The Philippines, a WHO Founding Member, is under the jurisdiction of WHO Western Pacific, whose headquarters it hosts in Manila. END
