Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director, meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Dr Rami Hamdallah4 October 2014 - Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, visited occupied Palestinian territory from 30 September to 1 October as a follow-up visit to his mission to Gaza and West Bank from 10 to 11 August at the height of the recent Gaza crisis.
The main objectives of the visit were to review with the Ministry of Health future strategic directions for the Palestinian National Institute of Public Health, a WHO-led project, and agree on current and future priorities between WHO and the Ministry of Health.
Dr Alwan met with Palestinian Prime Minister Dr Rami Hamdallah, the Minister of Health Dr Jawad Awad and the UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley.
Extensive technical consultations were held with representatives of the Palestinian National Institute of Public Health and with members of an external advisory committee to agree on the future priorities for the transition period 2015–2017 of the project.
During a programmatic review session Dr Alwan discussed with senior officials from Ministry of Health directorates priority areas of collaborative work with WHO, needs assessments and medium-term resource requirements.
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