MANILA, July 30 -- The secretary general of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has already issued a general statement of
concern with the plight of Cambodia and Thailand in addressing Hand, Foot and
Mouth Disease (HFMD).
In a statement, ASEAN Secretary
General Surin Pitsuwan officially expressed that ASEAN Secretariat is still
closely monitoring the health events in Cambodia and Thailand that have been
related to the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
ASEAN said the secretary general
has expressed concern regarding the social and health implications to the
families in these countries whose children had either suffered or died due to
the disease.
However, despite this concern he
is confident that the health situation will be under control with proper
technical intervention from the senior officials in health; coordination and
collaboration of technical agencies like the World Health Organization; and
community participation in ensuring preventive measures of lowering the risk of
infection, such as good hygiene practices.
“The Health Cooperation in ASEAN
has included HFMD as one of its priority concerns discussed at the level of the
Senior Officials on Health Development and also with our Senior Officials on
Health from China,” ASEAN said.
For properly disseminating the
appropriate information on HFMD, ASEAN Secretariat through the Health and
Communicable Diseases Division has provided website linkages in the ASEAN
Website under the ASCC Health Link.
These website links come from
Cambodia (www.cdcmoh.gov.kh ) and the
ASEAN+3 Field Epidemiology Training Network (FETN) under the purview of the
ASEAN Expert Group on Communicable Diseases (www.aseanplus3fetn.net ).
Further information from
Thailand, Cambodia through their official website links together with WHO links
will also be posted in the FETN website.
ASEAN +3 FETN will be one of the
mechanisms for sharing information about the situation on HFMD in Member States
with WHO. There are plans of organizing a VDO conference among Members States
regarding this matter anytime this coming month. Surin reiterates his concern
but is confident and ready to coordinate with all stakeholders involved.
(ASEAN)
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