Kathmandu  - The 27th ministerial level meeting and the 62nd session of World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Committee for South-East Asia began in Kathmandu Monday with a call to strengthen public health systems to battle swine flu and other diseases.

Ministers from 11 South-East Asian nations were scheduled to deliberate on the impact of the global economic downturn on health, the swine flu pandemic and on ways to protect health facilities in emergencies.

The ministers will also review progress in implementation of the New Delhi Declaration on protecting human health from climate change which was agreed upon during their last meeting.

Addressing the opening session, Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, called on member nations to strengthen public health systems to counter threats of pandemics such as influenza H1N1 swine flu.

"We know that the new H1N1 pandemic virus has rapidly established itself in about 190 countries and it will be with us for quite some months to come," Margaret Chan said.

"Once again, the capacity of our health systems to respond will play a decisive role in determining the pandemic's impact in different countries."

The pandemic, coupled with the effects of economic downturn and climate change will continue to escalate for some time and its impact will be greatest on developing countries, she said.

"How do we keep the momentum for better health from faltering under pressures of global economic recession and the climate that is changing for the worse?" Chan said.

"The need to stay the course is greater today than ever precisely because of these global crises, the price of failure keeps getting higher."

WHO says regional meetings such as these have contributed immensely towards enhancing cooperation and afforded opportunities to member states to tap the potential for ensuring the well being of people in South-East Asia.

The ministerial meeting will conclude on Tuesday but the regional committee meeting will continue until September 10.

Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste are on the committee. (dpa)