Currently, the following interinstitutional bilateral agreements in the field of healthcare are in force on the territory of the Republic of Belarus:

1. Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China in the field of health and medical sciences dated March 21, 1994.

2. Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus in the field of medicine and health care for 1995-1996 dated July 17, 1995.

3. Agreement on cooperation in the field of medical science and health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus for 1995-1996 dated September 11, 1995.

4. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated December 7, 1998.

5. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of registration, standardization and quality control of medicines dated March 12, 1999.

6. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Health Care on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated November 4, 1999.

7. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated April 16, 2002.

8. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Syrian Arab Republic on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated December 9, 2003.

9. Agreement on cooperation in the field of medical science and health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia dated May 3, 2005.

10. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova on the procedure for carrying out work to ensure mutual recognition of the protocols on technical and medical (laboratory) tests of medical devices and medical equipment dated October 5, 2005.

11. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova on cooperation in the field of registration, standardization and quality control of medicines dated October 5, 2005.

12. Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cuba dated December 8, 2005.

13. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Department of Health of the city of Moscow (Russian Federation) on cooperation in the field of health care dated June 14, 2007.

14. Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 31, 2008.

15. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated November 12, 2008.

16. Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan dated June 18, 2009.

17. Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Turkish Republic, signed on October 30, 2009, entered into force on October 6, 2017.

18. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated November 26, 2009.

19. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of health care dated February 17, 2010.

20. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Federal Service for Supervision on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of ensuring population sanitary and epidemiological welfare dated January 26, 2011.

21. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science, signed on April 28, 2011.

22. Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Labor, Health Care and Social Protection of Georgia dated May 17, 2011.

23. Memorandum on cooperation in the field of drug circulation between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cuba dated June 25, 2012.

24. Agreement on cooperation in the field of registration and quality control of medicines between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 28, 2012.

25. Memorandum on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Krasnoyarsk Territory of the Russian Federation dated October 30, 2012.

26. Memorandum on understanding and cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar dated November 1, 2013.

27. Memorandum on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Mordovia dated March 14, 2014.

28. Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia dated April 23, 2014.

29. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on cooperation in the field of health care, education, medical science and medical assistance provision to citizens of the Republic of Belarus and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan dated May 19, 2014.

30. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Sudan on cooperation in the field of health care, circulation of medicines, education, science and medical assistance provision to citizens of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Sudan dated December 18, 2014.

31. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection of Georgia on cooperation in the field of health and medical science dated April 23, 2015.

32. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania on cooperation in the field of health protection dated May 18, 2015.

33. Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of National Health System, Regulation and Coordination of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperation in the field of health care dated November 10, 2015.

34. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Ecuador dated November 11, 2015.

35. Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Population of the Arab Republic of Egypt dated May 24, 2016.

36. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Syrian Arab Republic on cooperation in the production and mutual supply of medicines and medical devices dated May 24, 2016.

37. Memorandum between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of continuing medical and pharmaceutical education dated October 11, 2016.

38. Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the State of Qatar, signed on October 30, 2016, entered into force on February 27, 2017.

39. Memorandum between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Federal Service for Supervision on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the fight against infectious diseases dated December 19, 2016.

40. Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia dated January 26, 2017.

41. Roadmap for the implementation of the Agreement on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection of Georgia dated April 23, 2015 (signed on March 22, 2018).

42. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova on cooperation in the field of health care of April 19, 2018 No.

43. Memorandum of Understanding in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Disease Prevention of the United Arab Emirates dated May 7, 2018.

44. Memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan dated May 9, 2018.

45. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan on cooperation in the field of health care dated May 15, 2018.

46. Roadmap for implementation of the Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova on cooperation in the field of health care dated April 19, 2018 (signed on June 7, 2018).

47. Agreement between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan on cooperation in the field of health care and medical science dated September 13, 2018.

48. Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of health care between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the State Department of Health of the People's Republic of China dated April 25, 2019.

Currently, the following intergovernmental bilateral agreements in the field of health care are in force on the territory of the Republic of Belarus:

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Russian Federation on the procedure for providing medical care to citizens of the Republic of Belarus in healthcare institutions of the Russian Federation and to citizens of the Russian Federation in healthcare institutions of the Republic of Belarus, signed on January 24, 2006, entered into force on March 6, 2008.

2. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Russian Federation on the development of cooperation in the field of production and mutual supply of medicines, signed on December 14, 2007, entered into force on April 1, 2009.

3. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the State of Israel on cooperation in the field of healthcare and medical science, signed on June 20, 2011 (did not come into force because it was not ratified by the Israeli side).

4. Memorandum between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of Turkmenistan on cooperation in the field of healthcare, medical (pharmaceutical) science, education and on provision of medical assistance to citizens of the Republic of Belarus and Turkmenistan, signed on November 5, 2013, entered into force on June 30, 2014.

5. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Cuba on the mutual recognition of registration of medicines and development of cooperation in the field of joint production and supply of medicines, signed on June 23, 2014, entered into force on May 14, 2015.

Currently, the following multilateral intergovernmental agreements in the field of health care are in force on the territory of the Republic of Belarus:

1. Agreement on provision of medical care to citizens of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on March 27, 1997, entered into force for Belarus on May 27, 1997.

2. Agreement on cooperation in the field of public health protection of June 26, 1992.

3. Agreement on mutual granting of equal rights to citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation in receiving ambulance and emergency medical care, signed on November 24, 1998, entered into force for the Republic of Belarus on February 10, 1999.

In terms of expanding the legal framework the work is underway to prepare agreements and memorandums with India, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, South Korea, Lebanon and other countries.

The World Health Organization is a UN agency founded on April 7, 1948. WHO headquarters is located in Geneva. The structure of WHO includes 147 country and 6 regional offices. The Republic of Belarus is one of the founding countries of the WHO and takes part in key the annual WHO events: sessions of the World Health Assembly (May) and the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (September).

The WHO's activities are focused on providing consulting, methodological, organizational and technical assistance.

The Republic of Belarus pays annual compulsory contribution of a member state, differentiated for each country on a special scale (in 2020 - 117 thousand US dollars and 119 thousand Swiss francs).

The WHO Director-General is Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2022).

The WHO Director for Europe is Hans Kluge (from 1 February 2020 to 31 January 2025).

In 1994, the WHO Country Office in Belarus was established. A Special Representative of the Director of the WHO European Office in the Republic of Belarus is Masoud Dara (since October 2020).

The legal basis for cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and WHO:

� Basic Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the World Health Organization on establishment of technical advisory cooperation dated May 20, 1999;

� biennial plans on cooperation between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Currently, the implementation of the two-year cooperation plan for 2020-2021 is underway.

Governing bodies of the WHO:

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the highest decision-making body in the WHO. The main function of the Assembly is to set the overall policy direction for the WHO. The Assembly appoints the Director General, oversees the financial policies of the Organization, reviews and approves the program budget. Sessions of the Assembly are held annually (May, Geneva), delegations from all 194 WHO Member States take part in their work;

The Executive Committee consists of 34 members, elected for a term of three years. The main functions of the Executive Committee are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, provide advice and generally contribute to its work.

In fact, the Committee is the key decision-making body in the WHO system, as often resolutions and decisions taken by the Committee are automatically approved at the WHA session.

The sessions of the Executive Committee are held twice a year, in January and May.

The main session, at which the agenda of the upcoming WHA session is approved and resolutions are adopted is held in January, and another, shorter session, is held in May to consider administrative issues.

The Standing Committee of the Regional Committee (SCRC) is a subcommittee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe and consists of representatives from 12 countries, elected for a 3-year period.

Functions of the SCRC:

• represent the Regional Committee, act on its behalf and ensure the implementation of its decisions and policies;

• make recommendations on certain issues at the request of the Regional Committee;

• provide advice between sessions to the Regional Director of the Regional Committee.

The SCRC meets several times a year, but at least four times in March, May (prior to the WHA session), September (after the Regional Committee session) and December.

On May 28, 2021, during the 74th session of the World Health Assembly, the Republic of Belarus was elected to the Executive Committee of the World Health Organization for a period of three years (until May 2024).

Dmitry Pinevich, Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus, was appointed a member of the Executive Committee, Yuri Ambrazevich, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, is his deputy.

Thus, for the first time in its sovereign history, the Republic of Belarus became a member of the WHO executive body (prior to that, it was represented in the WHO Executive Committee only once - in the period between 1948 and 1950).

Membership of the Republic of Belarus in the WHO Executive Board will help promote global initiatives and fundamental decisions of the World Health Assembly, striving to improve health and welfare for all people in the WHO European Region.

UNAIDS coordinates the work of all institutions, programs and funds of the UN system that carry out projects and technical assistance programs in the field of solving the problems associated with the HIV epidemic.

UNAIDS Executive Director is Winnie (Winfred) Byanima (since August 2019).

The UNAIDS Secretariat expressed gratitude to the representative of Belarus, who chaired the Selection Committee for the work done in shortlisting candidates for the position of UNAIDS Executive Director.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus actively cooperates with UNAIDS in support of national efforts to counter HIV/AIDS.

The Ministry of Health continued to be actively involved in the work of the UNAIDS Executive Body, the Program Coordinating Board, as a Board member (mandated from 2017 to 2019).

At the elections during the meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council at the UN Headquarters in New York on May 7, 2019, the Republic of Belarus was elected to the UNAIDS PCB for the next triennium 2020-2022.

The PCS has a fairly wide range of tasks, the main ones of which are:

• articulating general principles of work and priorities for UNAIDS;

• approving the UNAIDS activity plan and budget;

• developing recommendations for cosponsoring organizations to support the joint program, including raising awareness of the program's work in the community;

• considering of periodic reports assessing the joint program progress and the achievements in the set goals.

Election to the key body of UNAIDS indicates recognition by the UN member states of national achievements in solving HIV/AIDS problems, positive assessment of the constructive participation of Belarusian representatives in the UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board (PCB) in 2017-2019 and contribution of the Republic of Belarus to the development of international cooperation in this area.

Five international technical assistance projects (the sixth project is in progress) �Strengthening the National System of Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support for HIV and Tuberculosis in the Republic of Belarus "for 2019 - 2021 in the amount of more than 130 million US dollars have been realized thanks to UNAIDS assistance in drawing up applications for international technical assistance from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

A study has begun to organize and hold the 3rd Regional Meeting on Expanding Access to Quality and Affordable Medicines in Eastern European Countries and Central Asia Region in Minsk

The Ministry of Health is working to fulfill national and international obligations under the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, in which the Republic of Belarus was elected Chairman for 2020-2022.

Preparations have begun to host the 6th Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol in 2022 in Minsk as Chairman.

The work is coordinated by the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Scientific and Practical Center for Hygiene", on the basis of which functions the National Contact Center to the Protocol.

The Republic of Belarus chairs the Council for Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare of the CIS in 2021. Preparations have begun to hold the 33rd meeting of the Council in Minsk in 2021 as Chairman, as well as a number of other events in accordance with the Council's work plan.

 Active cooperation takes place with other UN agencies in the Republic of Belarus (UN Population Fund, UN Children's Fund, UN Development Program, World Bank), as well as with Codex Alimentarius, Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Program, UN International Narcotics Control Board, Scientific the UN Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, the European Pharmacopoeial Commission, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and Their Destruction.