Public health challenges remain but progress being made, WHO DG Chan says in Executive Board report

"International cooperation on health is delivering positive results at a time when the world is dealing with multiple challenges such as difficult weather conditions, conflict and economic austerity, a senior United Nations official said [Monday], calling on countries to continue their efforts to improve public health," the U.N. News Centre reports. In a report to the WHO Executive Board, Director-General Margaret Chan said, "The challenges facing public health are big and increasingly universal, but they are not insurmountable," according to the news service. "Chan stressed that new challenges need new instruments and approaches, and noted how innovation has allowed for significant progress, reducing the spread of diseases such as meningitis," the news service writes, adding, "Economic uncertainty has led to new health programs that are equally ambitious while being more mindful of costs to affected countries and the international donor community, she said." Stressing cooperation, "[c]ommitment, accountability, transparency and continuous engagement," Chan "asked Member States to continue supporting the agency this year," the news service notes (1/21).