53 states are being represented in a meeting of the European Regional Committee of the World Health Organisation in Malta.

The meeting was opened this morning by prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. It is the second meeting to be hosted in Malta, the first going back to 1970.

The meeting is discussing coordination of WHO in the European context, with issues ranging from resistance to antibiotics to funding of health systems and the funding of the WHO itself.

In his opening speech Dr Gonzi reaffirmed the government's commitment to free healthcare to all and said this was a cornerstone of the government's sustainability agenda.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, patron of the committee, warned that unless something was done about anti microbial resistance the world would see a return of the situation before penicillin, when people died of common illness. "We have used and abused antibiotics and we are at risk of jeopardising one of mankind's most important health achievements," she said.

She also called for renewed commitment by the member states to the millennium development goal of reducing maternal deaths.