HHS Officials Meet with German Minister of Health

January 26, 2006 - The Honorable Ulla Schmidt, Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany, brought a high-level delegation from Germany to meet with the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex M. Azar II and high-level HHS officials and discuss the importance of promoting innovation in health care and the German Government's current plans for health-care reform. Deputy Secretary Azar and Minister Schmidt also discussed domestic and international pandemic influenza preparedness, including the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza (IPAPI), launched by President Bush in September 2005 at the United Nations General Assembly.

Minister Schmidt also visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and met with HHS/NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni; Dr. Mark Rohrbaugh, Director of the HHS/NIH Office of Technology Transfer; and Dr. John Gallin, Director of the HHS/NIH Clinical Center. She was given a tour of the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Center, part of the NIH Clinical Center. There are currently 127 German researchers in the HHS/NIH Visiting Program. Many of the HHS/NIH components have collaborations with research institutions in Germany. Two in particular have extensive relationships: the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Last revised: October 10, 2007