The fifth SAARC Health Ministers Meeting was held in New Delhi. The two-day summit was attended by the health ministers from all member countries of SAARC. Topics related to health issues such as prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases,health infrastructure,  immunisation for vaccine preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health..etc

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the the Health Ministers meet of SAARC countries and emphasized on the need for sharing of the best practices and vision in the fields of modern medical science and health care. The health ministers of the member countries apprised our Prime Minister’s initiative towards the adoption of June 21 as International Yoga Day by the United Nations.

Tidbits

1. SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. 
2. There are 8 member countries in SAARC. They are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. 
3. The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
4. Arjun Bahadur Thapa from Nepal is the current secretary-general of the SAARC.
5. The 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu in November 2014. The venue for the next summit is Islamabad, Pakistan.
6. SAARC nations comprise 3% of the world’s area and contain 21% of the world’s total population.
7. The first secretary general of SAARC was Abul Hasan of Bangladesh. The first female secretary general of SAARC was Fathima Dhayana Sied of Maldives.
8. The first secretary general from India was Sheel Kanth Sharma.