The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre will host the 68th session of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (RCM68) from October 9-13.

Held annually, RCM68 will be the first time Australia has hosted the event since 1997, and is expected to attract more than 300 delegates from 37 countries.

The WHO Regional Committee is the key decision-making body which shapes the organisation’s crucially important work to improve the lives of the nearly 1.9 billion people in our region.

Issues to be addressed at RCM68 include:

• Eliminating major communicable diseases in the Region, including measles and rubella, as well as mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis;
• Protecting children from the harmful impact of food marketing;
• Food safety;
• Sustainable financing for priority public health services, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries;
• Health promotion in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda; and
• Strengthening regulation of medicines and the health workforce, and convergence between countries’ regulatory systems.

Previous meetings have discussed how to:

• Improve planning and preparedness for health outbreaks, disaster or health emergencies;
• Prevent and control mosquito borne diseases such as Zika, malaria and reducing the impact of dengue on communities; and
• Build climate-resilient health systems in the Pacific, including early warning systems.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt has said that he is looking forward to welcoming so many fellow health ministers and key health decision makers, including Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific and the newly elected WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who will be visiting Australia for the first time in his new role.