ASEAN agrees to promote health

ASEAN agrees to promote health

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A meeting of health ministers from the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended here on
Saturday with a Healthy ASEAN 2000 declaration, which promises
to strengthen health cooperation between member states.

Indonesian Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi, who was the
chairman of the meeting, the fifth of ASEAN health ministers,
said: "We envision that by 2020 health shall be at the center of
development."

The two-day meeting reviewed past cooperation and plans for
future collaboration in health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS programs and
technical cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector.

The ministers also agreed to hold annual meetings.

One of the primary concerns during the meeting was the spread
of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes AIDS. No less
than six million people in the region have been infected with
HIV/AIDS, and an estimated 700,000 youths are infected each
year. (08)