Media Advisory

Friday, November 2, 2007

Health Ministers to Hold Press Conference at Close of Global Health Security Meeting in Washington

Health ministers from eight allied nations, the European Union, and the World Health Organization will hold a press conference Friday to review the progress they have made during the Global Health Security Initiative (GSHI) Ministerial Meeting in Washington, D.C. Throughout the week, health ministers, senior officials, and technical experts have engaged in a series of discussions and workshops to help decide how best to address the threats of bioterrorism, infectious disease, and other public-health risks.

The GHSI originated following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax attacks, when the U.S. Government called for the establishment of a regular, formal opportunity for the health ministers of the major industrialized nations and its immediate neighbors to meet and exchange ideas. This is the first time the U.S. has hosted the meeting.

GHSI members are the Ministers of Health 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 (EU); and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Who

  • The Honorable Mike Leavitt, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
  • The Right Honorable Tony Clement, MP, Minister of Health, Canada
  • The Honorable Markos Kyprianou, Esq. Commissioner for Health, European Commission
  • The Honorable Ulla Schmidt, Federal Minister of Health, Federal Republic of Germany
  • The Honorable José Angel Córdova-Villalobos, M.D., Secretary of Health, Mexico
  • The Right Honorable Dawn Primarolo, MP, Minister of State for Public Health, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Donato Greco, Head, Department of Prevention and Communication, Ministry of Health, Italy
  • The Honorable Kenta Matsunami, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Labor and Welfare, Japan
  • Dr. Anarfi Asamoah-Baah, Deputy Director-General, World Health Organization

What

Ministerial Press Conference

When

Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

Where

Natcher Conference Center Auditorium
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Md. 20892

Contact

HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

The National Institutes of Health is a secure government facility with perimeter checkpoints and vehicle inspections.

All visitor vehicles will be inspected before being allowed on campus. Visitors will be asked to show one (1) form of identification (a government-issued photo ID—driver's license, passport, green card, etc.) and to state the purpose of their visit. Be sure to allow extra time for this vehicle inspection procedure.

Visitors should continue to wear their identification prominently at all times while on campus.

Tune your radios to 1660 AM for further NIH traffic, parking and security advisories. For questions, please contact the ORS Information Line at orsinfo@mail.nih.gov or 301-594-6677, TTY 301-435-1908.

More information is available at http://www.globalhealth.gov.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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