When: November 2, 2007
Where: NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD
Institute: Office of the Director (OD)

Last month, NIH hosted a press conference for the health ministers of eight allied nations, the European Union, and the World Health Organization. This event concluded the final day of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) Eighth Annual Ministerial Meeting, which was hosted by the United States for the first time.

Participants included health ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom; the Secretaries of Health from Japan, México, and the United States; the Health Commissioner of the European Union; and the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

GHSI, established in October 2001, is an international partnership to strengthen public health emergency preparedness and response. This year’s meeting reviewed biological, chemical, and radio-nuclear terrorism; pandemic influenza and other public health emergencies; and food and product safety.

Next Steps
You can read the final Ministerial Statement from the GHSI press conference at www.ghsi.ca/english/statementWashington2007.asp.