DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, September 14. Thanks to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, we elevated health as a top priority on political agenda of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge told TurkicWorld on September 14 ahead of the 5th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
"Last time when I was in Azerbaijan, I had the great honor to meet President Ilham Aliyev. We had discussions on many issues. I would like to congratulate President Ilham Aliyev for his leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Thanks to the President Ilham Aliyev, we elevated health as a top priority on political agenda of NAM, which of course is very important, because we saw during COVID-19 that without heath there is nothing. Azerbaijan demonstrated an enormous role solidarity to many countries of NAM when they did not have the vaccines," he said.
Kluge pointed out that actually, many countries are speaking about solidarity, but not so many were doing.
"Azerbaijan was speaking and doing solidarity. Azerbaijan is very close to my heart, we have very long standing collaboration, first and foremost with my very good friend Minister of Health Teymur Musayev. I was there not so long ago," said the WHO director general.
Kluge noted that the number one issue which the sides are discussing closely is the education of medical workers.
"Number two, is the strengthening of the primary healthcare to bring health as closely as possible to the people. We can treat most of the diseases cheaper and effective in the primary healthcare. I attended a number of primary healthcare facilities in Azerbaijan. I was very impressed by the professionalism of the doctors, the nurses. I want to say a very big thank to all the medical workers and nurses in your country. Number three, are the efforts on the future of hospitals. Not so long ago Azerbaijan organized a meeting for the on the future of the hospitals. Primary healthcare is very important, but we also need to think about digitalization, about greening of the hospitals," he added.
