PH Participates at the World No Tobacco Day Panel Discussion on the Margins of the 70th World Health Assembly
Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva, participates at the panel discussion to celebrate World No Tobacco Day at the 70th World Health Assembly in Geneva (from left: Ambassador Garcia; Mr. Chandra Kishore Mishra, Minister of Health and Family Welfare India; Ambassador Maurizio Enrico Luigi Serra, Permanent Representative of Italy; Dr. Reina Roa, Director of Planning, Ministry of Health Panama; WHO Director General Margaret Chan)
06 June 2017 GENEVA - The 70th World Health Assembly commemorated the World No Tobacco Day with a panel discussion organized by the delegation of Australia, Bhutan, Estonia, Georgia, India, Morocco, Panama, Senegal and Uganda at the Palais des Nations. Panelists shared a variety of perspectives and country experiences on the general topic of “Tobacco - a threat to development, the paradigm shift in global tobacco control.”
The panel was moderated by the Health Minister of India, Mr. Chandra Kishore Mishra, with remarks given by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program Office in Geneva, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Secretariat, the Governments of Italy, Panama and the Philippines. WHO Director General Margaret Chan participated in the panel discussion.
Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Permanent Representative of the Philippines with the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva delivered the statement for the Philippines. In his remarks, Ambassador Garcia informed the participants that for the Philippines, beyond being a public health priority, tobacco control is a key developmental issue.
The 70th World Health Assembly ends on 31 May 2017 and will be immediately followed by the 141st Session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization to which the Philippines sits as a member of the Board. END