Newsroom / CNA
Cyprus will host between April 11 and 12 World Health Organisation's (WHO) 10th high-level meeting of the Small Countries Initiative (SCI) in Europe's region.
According to information published in WHO's website, established in 2013, the SCI is a platform through which Member States in the WHO European Region with populations of 2 million or less work together to address common issues and share experiences to improve health in their countries.
This year, the meeting will be hosted by the government of Cyprus and will primarily focus on two key areas: cancer, including population screening programs and paediatric cancer and health and climate change, including the impacts and experiences of small countries.
During the meeting, countries will also report progress since the 9th high-level meeting on the Coalition on Health and Tourism, the development of national strategies on human resources for health, the accessibility, availability and affordability of medicines and the globalisation of the SCI.
The meeting is expected to culminate with the signing of the Cyprus Statement.
The countries participating in the SCI are Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and Slovenia.
Health Minister Michalis Damianos will address the opening of the meeting on Thursday, April 11, at 0900, in Limassol. European Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge will also address the high-level meeting.
