Delegates and officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Thailand representing their health and medical research councils on Tuesday in New Delhi concluded a three-day South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAHFer) hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Pharmabiz.com reports. “India has asked the members of [SAFHer] to explore ways for strengthening collaboration by sharing innovative methods for tackling the problems faced by the countries,” Pharmabiz.com writes. According to the news service, the regional meeting discussed a wide range of subject areas, including vector-borne diseases, drug resistance, influenza, and non-communicable diseases, among other topics, an official release said (2/7).

At the meeting, country representatives signed the “New Delhi declaration,” which “includes a commitment on promoting research in the region, developing on health research, identifying areas for collaborative research, multi-country research, and data sharing,” IANS/TwoCircles.net writes. “While Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India formed a team for research on dengue, maternal and child health had a team constituting Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and India,” the news service notes (2/7).