At the 136th WHO executive board session, in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan 26 - Feb 3, China, as a board member, pushed through an epilepsy bill urging governments to give greater attention to epilepsy as a public health problem and do more to help people suffering from the disease control it and improve their life quality.

The secretary-general of the WHO, Margaret Chan, in a report on the WHO’s work and the global situation, pointed out that public health faces new challenges, including ebola, malaria, and non-communicable diseases. Chan reiterated the importance of universal health coverage and asked all departments to fully consider the health impact when making policies, and urged all countries to be flexible in coping with public health emergencies.

Board members reviewed 46 issues, including WHO reforms, international health regulations, air pollution and public health, polio, ebola, epilepsy, the fight against counterfeit medicines, health R&D, funding and coordination. They appointed directors for Africa and Europe, passed 29 resolutions related to malaria, international health regulations, emergency surgery and anesthesia, and WHO reforms. Resolutions on air pollution and health did not pass and will be submitted to the World Health Assembly for consideration this year.

There were around 700 people taking part in the meeting, including those from the 34 board member countries and 75 non-member countries, and the UN Children's Fund, UNAIDS, and other regional economy and non-government organizations, with Mohamed Hussain Shareef, government spokesman at Maldives President’s Office, acting as chairman.

Also present were personnel from various National Health and Family Planning Commission departments, China’s Health Emergency Response Office, disease prevention and control bureau, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Food and Drug Administration, and a Chinese delegation in Geneva, which used the occasion to arrange an informal negotiation session and review various resolutions. They also spoke with senior officials from the WHO, UNAIDS, and delegations from the US, UK, Australia and Maldives.