Cuba's election as a member of the General Committee of the World Health Assembly, a temporary body established every year at the World Health Assembly session, is a recognition to the Island's National Health System and its model of international health cooperation.
According to Cuba's Minister of Public Health Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda “more than a significant milestone, the decision highlights the country's commitment to global health and international cooperation, as it not only reinforces the role of the Caribbean Island in the international community, but also allows the country to insert itself in the formulation of policies and programs that have an impact on the entire planet,” the Minsap website reported.
The General Committee of the World Health Assembly, currently composed of 17 nations, is key to decision-making in health matters and, to that end, it must defend active positions, including the supervision of the financial statements of the World Health Organization and the adoption of cooperation initiatives around the world, for the benefit of the peoples.
The member countries of the General Committee can participate in the determination of priorities, promote issues for resolutions that allow equity in access to health care, access to vaccination systems and medicines, as well as encourage cooperation initiatives among developing countries.
Cuba was a member of the General Committee of the Assembly last 2023, when it insisted on the need to give priority to issues such as the impact of sanctions on health, a case of Cuba being the victim of more than 60 years of unjust blockade by U.S. government.
The World Health Assembly will be in session in Geneva, Switzerland, until May 27, under the theme A World United for Health.
