H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Dr. Batyr BERDYKLYCHEV, WHO Representative and Head of Türkiye Country Office. The meeting, held on 19 January 2024, aimed to explore avenues for enhancing cooperation between SESRIC and WHO, with a specific focus on health-related initiatives.

During bilateral discussions, the two sides discussed potential joint projects, capacity-building programmes, research collaborations and information-sharing initiatives. The meeting underlined the shared interest of SESRIC and WHO in strengthening partnerships to improve health services in OIC countries.

During the meeting, H.E. SELÇUK underlined that SESRIC, known for its emphasis on health-related initiatives, has successfully implemented nearly 90 activities, bringing together 993 experts and executives from the health sector and disaster management fields across OIC countries. These initiatives align with resolutions adopted by various OIC fora, particularly those of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers.

Furthermore, the OIC Statistics (OICStat) Database, hosted by SESRIC, offers a wealth of socio-economic indicators, including 243 indicators under the health category, 49 under disasters and emergency events, and 23 under tobacco control, she added.

For his part, H.E. Dr. BERDYKLYCHEV thanked H.E. SELÇUK for kind visit, underlying that this meeting would pave the way for future collaboration, in the field of research and capacity-building activities on humanitarian crises and health emergencies in OIC Member Countries.

The meeting concluded with both entities expressing their readiness to collaborate within the scope of their mandates, highlighting the importance of mutual expertise sharing for the benefit of OIC Member Countries.