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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JULY 2015 News 11 World Health Organisation to open health collaborating centre in Malta by 2017 MIRIAM DALLI THE World Health Organisation will be opening a collaborating cen- tre in Malta focusing on research in health matters in small coun- tries, MaltaToday has learned. The collaborating centre was proposed by the WHO and a pro- posal has now been made for the centre to be opened at the Univer- sity of Malta, within the Island and Small States Institute by 2017. Health parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne was in Andorra this week for a meeting of the WHO small countries. "The WHO are recognising Mal- ta's improvements and innovation in the health sector and are eager to bring similar changes to other countries. The process for establishing Malta as a WHO collaborating cen- tre is well underway and we are very proud of what we have achieved over the past two years," he said. Fearne said Malta was looking forward to share its expertise with other similar-sized countries. "The plan is to have Mal- ta established as a WHO collaborating centre by 2017." Hosting a collaborating cen- tre would also mean that Malta is being "recognised as an expert in health matters" in small states, opening up opportunities for joint research with other countries. During his intervention at the WHO conference, Fearne suggest- ed areas of collaboration among small countries. Among others, he proposed exploring methods for joint procurement of medicinal and medical products which would allow better price harmonisation and ensure continuity of supply. Fearne also called for the sharing of resources, data and best practices between small nations, and high- lighted the need for contin- gency planning. What is a collaborating centre? WHO collaborating cen- tres are institutions that form an international col- laborative network carrying out activities to support the WHO's programmes at all levels. Typically, such centres are divi- sions of national research insti- tutes; departments of universities, laboratories, hospitals or health ministries; or national institutions such as academies. The WHO designates an institu- tion as a collaborating centre for an initial period of four years, which can be renewed as needed. There are around 800 WHO collaborating centres in over 80 Member States around the world. The 290 collaborating centres in 34 countries in the WHO Euro- pean Region comprise 36% of the global total. According to the WHO, the countries in the Region hosting the largest numbers of collaborating centres are the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and the Russian Federation. The first WHO collaborating centre was the Department of Bio- logical Standardisation at the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, originally designated in 1948. PARK AT... www.mcpcarparks.com.mt C A R PA R K S €2 .00 AFTER 1 PM Excluding special events DINE IN VALLETTA T: 2125 0055 facebook.com/mcpcarparks