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Official Designation of World Health Organization Country Liaison Office for the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall Islands

Palikir, Pohnpei (FSM Department of Health and Social Affairs): August 3, 2010 - The Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), Dr. Shin Young-soo, will be visiting Pohnpei, FSM, from August 9^th to the 11^th, to formally designate the new WHO Country Liaison Office (CLO) for the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall Islands. Dr. Young-soo will be accompanied by Dr. Chen Ken, the WHO Representative for the South Pacific.

The World Health Organization is the United Nations' specialized agency for health. The FSM has been a member of the UN and WHO since 1991. The WHO, from its sub-regional office in Suva, Fiji, has been working with the FSM Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSA) on such health issues as diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases, injury prevention, health system strengthening, and tobacco control. The first WHO staff member assigned to the FSM, Dr. Boris Pavlin, arrived in Pohnpei in March 2008. He has been assisting the FSM, Palau and RMI with detecting and responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as multi-drug-resistant TB and dengue.

In order to improve WHO's assistance to the FSM, Palau and RMI, the new CLO will be a "one-stop shop" for coordinating all of the health activities in which the national governments and the WHO collaborate. The first Country Liaison Officer will be Dr. Pavlin. The CLO will continue to be located within the FSM Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSA) in Palikir. The WHO plans to add additional staff to the office in due course.

With this new initiative, the DHSA and the WHO look forward to improved efficiency and effectiveness as they work toward their common goal of improving the health of the people in the FSM, RMI, and Palau.