HIV/AIDS, obesity to top agenda for UN health agency's governing body

HIV/AIDS, obesity and vehicular crashes top the agenda as the governing body of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) meets for its 57th session next week in Geneva.

Representatives from WHO's 192 member states will gather from 17 to 22 May for the World Health Assembly (WHA), and will supplement their own debates with addresses from former Presidents Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea and Jimmy Carter of the United States.

"There are many health challenges we must overcome, including detecting emerging new diseases, combating those which have been with us for decades, and the risks linked to unhealthy diet," WHO Director-General Dr. Lee Jong-wook told journalists today in Geneva.

"The World Health Assembly is the forum for countries to decide on health priorities, and to give direction on how these can be addressed. All of our health work must ultimately serve to strengthen health systems. That is the way countries can sustain progress in public health," he said.

The priorities for discussion include strategies needed to fight HIV/AIDS, increase safety on the world's roads, improve the diet and general health, increase physical activity and pay more attention to reproductive health.

A resolution on family health is expected and the WHA will receive updates on worldwide progress in eradicating polio and controlling measles and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), WHO said.