WHO members vote to shut European regional office in Russia

Reuters
·1 min read
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FILE PHOTO: WHO logo seen near its headquarters in Geneva

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Monday that its members in Europe had voted to shut a regional office located in Moscow, in a move which follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

WHO Europe's member states have been considering moving the European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases outside Russia since last year.

Russia's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

The motion received the necessary majority in a special meeting of the WHO's Europe's office on Monday, the U.N. agency said in an email. The office will be relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark no later than 1 January 2024, the motion said.

At the same meeting, Russian ally Tajikistan sought to relocate the office there instead of Denmark, but the majority of members voted against it.

Diplomats previously told Reuters that the Moscow office closure was intended as a political step to further Western efforts to isolate Russia and is not expected to have health consequences for Russia or global health policy.

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer are the leading cause of death in the WHO's European region, which includes 53 countries.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Alexander Smith)