(Communicated by the Office of the President)

 

President Shimon Peres met on Sunday morning (21 April 2013) with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan who came to Israel on a historic first visit by a WHO Director-General.

 

Dr. Chan began the meeting by thanking President Peres for his work in advancing medical research and development and in particular brain research. She told President Peres that the world lacks knowledge about the human brain and that autism, Alzheimer's and dementia are fields in which brain research can play a critical role and save lives. Dr. Chan added that it was a great privilege for her to visit Israel and said that she cane to learn from Israel's excellent healthcare system including the ratio of spending versus output.

 

President Peres thanked Dr. Chan and said, "I thank you for your historic visit in Israel, it is the first visit by a Director General in Israel. The State of Israel will be glad to share our advanced technology and work together for the sake of the world's health and to deal with challenges like hunger, agricultural development and healthy food. I am grateful that there is an international organization that shares knowledge and aid."

 

During the remainder of the meeting the two discussed a range of topics and between them ways to improve medical systems through technology, research and development in the field of brain science, agriculture, access to information sources and medical assistance through the internet. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Health and Foreign ministries and WHO Regional Director for Europe Zsuzsanna Jakab.