“The agreement on establishing a new headquarters concluded with one of the United Nations’ most important specialized agencies, the World Health Organisation (WHO), is an honour for Hungary”, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation Dr. István Mikola from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed.
The WHO’s decision stands in harmony with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s and his government’s commitment to increase the UN’s presence in Hungary. The Hungarian Government continues to strive to ensure that Hungary becomes the Central European hub for international organisations, and especially for the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
The WHO has been operating its WHO Country Office in Hungary since 1991. The Agreement concluded yesterday is a further indication of Hungary’s commitment to the Organisation’s work within the field of public health. The WHO will be providing personnel administration services to the Organisation’s employees at a global level via the new Centre in Budapest, WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Hans Troedsson told the press.
Key factors in the WHO’s decision to outsource to Budapest include cost-efficiency, the high level of infrastructure and the positive experiences of other UN organisations with service centres in Budapest such as the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The WHO operates as one of the United Nations’ most important specialized agencies working to improve the global quality of healthcare and provide everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.