UAE on governing body of UN's tropical disease programme

Dubai: The UAE has been elected to the Joint Coordinating Board (JCB), the top governing body of the UN's Tropical Disease Research Programme (TDR), a global special programme for research and training in tropical diseases, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Health.

The UAE will stay on the board for a four-year term. It is for the first time that the UAE has been offered an active role in the programme that aims to coordinate, support and influence global efforts to combat a host of major diseases that continue to ravage the poor and disadvantaged.

Observer role

Previously the UAE held the status of an observer on the JCB. As a new member, it will take part in the upcoming JCB meeting to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 15 to June 17, 2009.

Established in 1975 and co-sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the World Health Organisation (WHO), TDR aims to help coordinate, support and influence global efforts to combat a portfolio of major diseases of the poor and disadvantaged.