Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne attended and addressed the WHO Regional Committee meeting for Europe in Copenhagen. Mr Fearne announced that Malta is exploring with WHO the possibility of setting up a collaborating centre for Small European States within WHO in Malta. He also pointed out the strain placed on the Maltese health service capacity by the influx of migrants and the effects of conflicts in the Mediterranean. 

During this meeting Dr Ray Busuttil, Malta’s Government-nominated representative, has been elected to sit on the Executive Board of the WHO for three years starting in May 2015. Through this election Malta will be one of eight member states from the 53 in the WHO European Region sitting on the Executive Board (35 members worldwide) and will thus be once again at the forefront of global health, a post it has not occupied for almost 30 years.