IFRC, WHO to expand Hungary centres

Written by BT/MTI

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will expand their centres in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.

After talks with IFRC head Niamh Lawless in Geneva, Szijjarto said on Facebook that the Red Cross had set up a logistics base in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, “knowing they can operate safely from here”. Its Budapest centre will grow to employ 280 people, he said.

Szijjarto also met WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and praised the organisation’s work and its aid to Hungary since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The good operation of the WHO, and Hungary’s good cooperation with it, remains key as “there is no guarantee that we will not have to face similar challenges in the years to come”, he said.

WHO’s centre in Budapest will be expanded to employ 100 people, he added.

He also praised Ghebreyesus for “not allowing the cause of saving people to be politicised, and so WHO could remain what it is, a world health organisation.”