Dr Ray Busuttil has been elected to the executive board of the World Health Organisation for three years starting in May 2015.
Malta will be one of eight member states from the 53 in the WHO European Region sitting on the board (35 members worldwide) and will thus be at the forefront of global health, a post it has not occupied for almost 30 years, the Ministry of Health said.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne attended and addressed the WHO Regional Committee meeting for Europe in Copenhagen.He announced that Malta was exploring with WHO the possibility of setting up a collaboration centre for small European states within WHO in Malta.
He also pointed out the strain placed on the Maltese health service capacity by the influx of migrants and the effect of conflicts in the Mediterranean.