BIMSTEC senior health officials meet in Colombo to strengthen regional cooperation

The first meeting of senior health officials of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) began in Colombo on Tuesday (10). Senior health officials from the seven member states—Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Thailand—are attending the two-day meeting at the Hilton Hotel. The meeting was organised parallel to the first conference of BIMSTEC Health Ministers, which Sri Lanka will host. BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey opened the conference and handed the chairmanship to Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health and Mass Media, to lead proceedings. Discussions cover regional health challenges, disease surveillance, emergency management, digital health services, medical research, antimicrobial resistance, climate change impacts, and the 'One Health' framework.