HHS Assistant Secretary Simonson Travels to Bangladesh and India for Planning on Avian and Pandemic Influenza

April 25, 2006 - Stewart Simonson, ESQ., Assistant Secretary for Public Health Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is visiting Dhaka, Bangladesh, and New Delhi, India, from April 22 through April 27, 2006.   The trip is designed to promote an effective response to avian influenza in South Asia, and to encourage and support influenza-pandemic planning activities in the region.

In Bangladesh, he will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between HHS and the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research Institute, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) on influenza and other emerging infectious diseases.   Assistant Secretary Simonson is also meeting with senior officials in the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health, multilateral organizations, and the U.S. Embassy.

In India, the Assistant Secretary is meeting with the Director of the World Health Organization's South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), the U.S. Ambassador to India, and senior officials in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

For more information:

• HHS Assistant Secretary Simonson Travels to Bangladesh and India to Enhance Planning for a Potential Influenza Pandemic

Last revised: October 24, 2007