The Health and economy of a country cannot be separated. The two are linked and together they indicate the direction in which a country is headed to. This is one of the main focuses of the recent WHO’s 75th Regional Committee meeting in Paro. As the host nation, Bhutan took a holistic approach to bring this two together through an exhibition.
The exhibition of arts and crafts, agro-products and health-related services of some of the CSOs on the campus of the meeting was a breather for the delegates. This was one of the initiatives to link health with the economy and community as a whole. It was also an opportunity to promote Brand Bhutan.
“Not only the pristine environment but also the people, the services our people provide through the civil society work, engagement of the community in making this a success story. This is really promoting Brand Bhutan in almost all aspects. So we are very excited and thrilled about the conference,” said Health Minister Dechen Wangmo.
“We took part in the exhibition taking advantage of the crowd of foreigners. Thinking if they knew our produces, they might take it to their families and friends indirectly promoting our produces,” said Kezang Tshomo, from the National Organic Flagship Programme.
The five-day Regional Committee meeting had more than 150 delegates from nine member states of the SEARO. They welcomed the exhibition.
“I appreciate that the WHO RC meeting has this kind of exhibition. To talk about the health of the population is not just the role of the government but also the role of CSO and people, especially the vulnerable group that is part of development,” said Nanoot Mathrapote, a Delegate from Thailand.
“It is fascinating. There are a lot of great works. And I saw some organic products such as turmeric from the mountains and pure ginger, so I thought I would take some to my home,” added Gautam Basu, a Delegate from India.
“We were able to create awareness of this kind of organization we are running. So it was a platform for us to actually tell the people that we have an organization that produces home-based products by home workers,” said Kelzang Yangchen, from SABAH Bhutan which provides market access to home-based workers.
With the country reopening its border to tourism in more than a week, the exhibition is expected to have piqued the interest of the delegates to explore more. As they left for home with commitments from the RC meeting, Bhutan can only hope that they also took with them the memories of the rich culture they experienced here.
Namgay Wangchuk
Edited by Sonam
