Dmitry Mezentsev: Cooperation between SCO health ministries holds significant potential

On January 12, 2015, Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova met with the SCO Secretary-General Dmitry Mezentsev to discuss preparations for the annual SCO Council of Ministers Meeting in 2015.

Other topics included professional development programmes for health professionals in the SCO member states, the possibility of joint study books in printed and electronic formats, and the proposed creation within the SCO framework of an institute for health protection and social support, which would combine the benefits of traditional European and traditional Chinese medicine.

The past several years have seen active cooperation between doctors and other health professionals from various SCO member states, joint medical consultations, and continued work under the aegis of the SCO Business Council. All this indicates the SCO member states' readiness for a multilateral social project, Mr. Mezentsev said.

He noted that cooperation between the health ministries of the SCO family countries holds significant potential for the SCO on several fronts: containing the spread of infectious diseases and epidemics, improving epidemiological conditions for the population, and practicing joint emergency response and disaster relief operations.

Veronika Svortsova underscored the importance of united efforts of doctors and health professionals of the SCO member states in upholding the principles of evidence-based medicine, as well as cooperation on rehabilitation, prevention and other aspects of medical care.