(WPR/RC48/SRl4)
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE FOURTH MEETING Auditorium Level 2 Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Sydney Wednesday. 24 September 1997 at 9 a.m. CHAIRMAN: Dr Michael WOOLDRIDGE (Australia)
CONTENTS
I.
Sub-Committee of the Regional Committee on Programmes and Technical Cooperation .................................................................... 1.1 Renewing the Strategy for Health for All: Report of the Sub-Committee, Part II ................................................................
170
170 173 173 173
2.
Consideration of draft resolutions .................................................................................... 2.1 2.2 2.3 Eradication of poliomyelitis in the Region ........................................................ Annual report on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and AIDS .................................................................................... Country visits: Report of the Sub-Committee of the Regional Committee on Programmes and Technical Cooperation, Part I ............................................................................
175 175 176
3. 4.
Departure of the Director-General .................................................................................. New horizons in health .....................................................................................................
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1.
SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMMES AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION: Item 12 cfthe Agenda (continued from the third meeting, section 2)
I I
Renewing the Strategy for Health for All: Report of the Sub-Committee. Part II: Item 12.3 of the Agenda (Documents WPRlRC48/8 Rev. I and WPRlRC48/8INF.DOC.I) Dr DURHAM (New Zealand) said that on this item, the most important on the Agenda, she
did not feel the Regional Committee had had the necessary inspiration or guidance. The amount of documentation (the draft report on "Health for all in the 21st century", a regional policy document and a proposed global charter - which she understood would be an executive summary of the first) as well as expected further guidance on how to implement the policy, made the subject - as the Director-General himself had said - very complicated. Answers were required on the overall direction to be taken, how the reports were linked, if they were, and how inconsistencies were to be removed, with clear guidance on implementation of policy, and on monitoring and evaluation. That meant a return to basic principles and a clear order of events from the global policy and the plan for its implementation, through regional implementation, to monitoring using the appropriate indicators and evaluation of the leadership initiatives, not forgetting infrastructure, standards, guidelines, resources and training and technical support. In the 21 st century critical appraisal of the scientific evidence would be inescapable; such evidence must underline the policy and its implementation. New horizons in health had served the Region well, but it was no longer new. If the
health-for-all policy was adopted by the Fifty-first World Health Assembly in 1998, the regional plan of implementation could be prepared by 2000. Dr Durham drew the attention of representatives to the decision ofthe Regional Committee to devote Part 2 of next year's Regional Director's Report to a 50-year review of WHO's work in the Region. She suggested that this should analyse trends (i.e. what had worked and why, in the words of the Australian representative at the third meeting). Part I of Annex 2 to document WPRlRC48/8 Rev. 1, with its analysis of "emerging issues" was also relevant to that purpose. At the same time the infrastructure must be established to support implementation, while the goals and values such as equity and access to care provided the visionary framework. She agreed
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with Australia on the need to sustain equity, particularly when UNDP, for example, was clearly stressing an association between health and wealth. Where the global policy did provide some indications for action was in relation to "partnerships". However, where the private sector was concerned the potential benefits must be weighed against the risks when the profit motive predominated. Aspects such as job creation, access to management skills and mobilization of resources should be emphasized. Dr Durham said that clear guidance was needed on collaboration with the public and private sectors in order to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, where industrial products could be
harmful; to ensure lack of bias in health policies, and to further the objectives of equity and solidarity in health and health care services. She proposed that any draft resolution prepared on that item should include the following paragraphs. The Regional Committee, 1. REQUESTS the Regional Director to invite the Director-General to develop best
practice guidelines for WHO to use when contemplating and negotiating partnerships for health with the for-profit private sector; 2. SUGGESTS that these guidelines include, inter alia: the circumstances under which partnerships with the for-profit private sector should, or should not, be contemplated; a check-list of questions that should be answered in the negotiating process; safeguards that should be included in any contractual arrangements. Such guidelines should help ensure the infrastructure to support the implementation of the global health-for-all policy. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that he would inform the Director-General of the final part of Regional Committee's discussion on this item. He thanked representatives for their
comments, but expressed disappointment at the small number contributing to the debate. Their remarks would guide the preparation of the regional strategy and the review of the global report
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which would be submitted in revised form to the Executive Board at its IOlst session in January 1998. He apologized for the fact that, as some representatives had said, the regional and global reports were not linked, but he explained that the global report had been received after the discussion of the regional report by the Sub-Committee in June 1997. At the Global Policy Council Meeting in July he had himself commented that the global report was conceptual and theoretical, and had promised that the regional document would be more down-to-earth and practical. Perhaps there had not been time to make the global policy document reflect the need for practical applicability. When global, regional and national strategies for Health for All by the Year 2000 had first been prepared, representatives would recall that a "bottom-up" approach had been taken. This time the direction was not clear. He had to agree that that made a poor impression. He had already discussed the situation with the Director-General and promised that revisions of the global document recommended by the Regional Committee would be submitted to headquarters, where the global policy document should be redrafted accordingly (after receipt of submissions from all the Regions). The regional policy document would be readjusted as
appropriate. However the Regional Director pointed out that time was of the essence. It was hoped that the global report could be revised early; he would be reporting on the results of the Regional Committee's session in October, so the revision could hardly be completed before the middle of November. He suggested that the revised version should be resubmitted to Members of the Regional Committee for their final comments either at a meeting of the Sub-Committee or by mail to all Member States. He hoped to involve all of them in that process, and would reflect further on the best means to do this. He felt there was still uncertainty on the degree of involvement of the private sector in the future, particularly of industry and trade. Guidelines should be prepared; at one end of the scale there was so-called "civil society" (which was taken to cover the nongovernmental organizations and non-state entities as well as religious and community leaders), at the other there had been talk of the possibility of using the proceeds of lotteries to help finance health services, or of allowing companies such as mineral-water bottlers to use WHO's name in their product branding, for example. Such matters must be approached with great circumspection. Guidelines were also needed on the other aspects of intersectoral collaboration which had been raised by the honourable representative from New Zealand. Her intervention had been both timely and useful and he thanked her for it.
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Professor WHITWORTH (Australia) said that of the two methods of consultation suggested by the Regional Director (a meeting of the Sub-Committee or a mailing to all Member States) the Australian delegation would prefer a mailing to Member States. The DIRECTOR-GENERAL said that he wished to make one important point regarding the formulation of the new health-for-all policy and strategy. As health policy became multisectoral, some health professionals felt that their action should be limited to the health sector while others felt that since other sectors affected (and were affected by) health, action must be multisectoral. In reality health policy had become multisectoral. The resulting role of health professionals (which was related to the question of capacity-building already discussed in the context of human resources development) required them to provide leadership in matters of policy based on the multisectoral approach, or else they would become mere executors of policy, responsible for technical implementation.
It should therefore bt: made clear that the health professional was involved in all stages, from policy formulation and implementation to evaluation. Other Regional Committees and the
headquarters Secretariat had already discussed that crucial issue, on which he hoped interregional consensus could be reached.
2.
CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS The Committee considered the following draft resolutions:
2.1
Eradication of poliomyelitis in the Region (Document WPRlRC48/Conf. PaperNo. I) The resolution, as amended, was adopted (see resolution WPRlRC48.RI).
2.2
Annual report on sexually transmitted diseases. HIV infection and AIDS (Document WPRlRC48/Conf. Paper No.2) Professor WHITWORTH (Australia), referring to the fifth preambular paragraph of the draft
resolution, commented that the reduction in funding needed to be clarified as it appeared contrary to her perception that overall funding for the programme had increased in the Region. Secondly, she suggested rewording operative paragraph 2(1) to read:
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"( I )
to strengthen further technical collaboration with Member States in the prevention
and control of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and strengthen the technical capability within WHO in consultation with UNAIDS;" Thirdly, she proposed to replace the words "continue to ensure" with "intensify" in operative paragraph 2(3). Mr TSUDA (Japan) supported the proposals. Dato' CHUA Jui Meng (Malaysia), recognizing the alarming increase in HIV infection among the youth in his country, suggested that that fact be noted in the preambular paragraphs, with a corresponding action in the operative paragraphs. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR regretted that a detailed explanation had not been provided during the drafting of the resolution. The reduction in funding, however, referred to financial
contributions from UNAIDS, both those given directly to countries or through the theme groups. For the 1994-1995 biennium the countries have received about US$ 4 million from the Global Programme on AIDS (GPA); the corresponding figure from UNAIDS for the biennium 1996-1997 was about US$ 3 million. However, he acknowledged that countries might have received additional funding from other sectors. For clarity, the words "from UNAIDS" might be inserted for the UNAIDS for national AIDS
paragraph to read: " ... reduction in external funding from programmes ... ".
Dr PlOT (Executive Director, UNAIDS), supplementing the explanation, said that it was difficult to make comparisons between WHO's contribution through GPA and UNAIDS's financial contributions at this stage because UNAJDS had been established for less than two years. However, if one were now to consider the total funding received by countries from the entire United Nations system, an increase would be recorded. He suggested that detailed information on funding for all countries be included in next year's report. The CHAIRMAN therefore offered two options, namely (I) to delete the entire paragraph; or (2) to note that there was incomplete information on funding for national AIDS programmes. Professor WIllTWORTH (Australia) accepted the first option.
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Following on his earlier proposal, Dato' CHUA Jui Meng (Malaysia) suggested that the words "preventive and promotive" be included in the section concerning youth.
It was so agreed. The CHAIRMAN requested the Rapporteurs to prepare a revised version of the draft resolution for consideration at a later meeting.
2.3
Country visits: Report of the Sub-Committee of the Regional Committee on Programmes and Technical Cooperation. Part I (Document WPRlRC48/Conf. Paper No.3) The CHAIRMAN proposed that the following be added as a new paragraph under operative
paragraph 4: "(4) To continue evaluation of country visits to fully determine their value to WHO and
host countries and to report back to the forty-ninth session ofthe Regional Committee;" Dr BART (United States of America) suggested that the words "participating countries" be inserted between "WHO" and "host countries". Dr DURHAM (New Zealand) expressed support for the amendments proposed by the Chairman and the representative of the United States of America. Mr AKESIM (Papua New Guinea), referring to operative paragraph 6, wondered whether Fiji and Malaysia would be prepared to accept the proposed visits now so that the words "subject to the agreement of the countries concerned" could be deleted. The Representatives from Fiji and Malaysia said that they had no objection to the visits. It was so agreed. Decision: The resolution, as amended, was adopted (see resolution WPRlRC48.R2).
3.
DEPARTURE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL The CHAIRMAN announced that the Director-General had to .leave that same morning, and,
therefore, invited him to say his final words.
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The DIRECTOR-GENERAL stated that his participation in the deliberations of the Committee was very useful in his work as Director-General of WHO. The constructive comments made by the representatives demonstrated their cor cern for the activities of the Organization, which now faced the coming 21st century. The agenda item on regional arrangements, which would soon be discussed by the Committee, was an important one. The highly decentralized nature of WHO's operations had enabled the Organization to respond to countries' needs in a timely and appropriate manner. The role of WHO Representatives in that regard could not be over-emphasized, the health needs of countries being WHO's primary concern. Although a special group of the Executive Board had been mandated to look at this specific subject, discussions on regional arrangements had been carried out widely at various levels with differing perspectives, some of which could have adverse implications for the Region. For example, on regular budget allocations, some were of the opinion that the formula used for the regions was also applicable for the countries. Therefore, representatives were requested to give serious thought to this issue. Regional representation on the Executive Board was another issue being widely discussed. The European Region had proposed an increase in the number of its members entitled to send a representative to the Executive Board. Although this might not affect the Western Pacific Region now, the same could not be said of the other regions. It was therefore, important that a balanced representation in WHO's governing bodies be maintained, so that countries could participate equally in the work of the Organization. The same issue was currently being raised at the UN Security Council, and its outcome would definitely be of interest to WHO. He commended the special group of the Executive Board, under the leadership of Dr Blewett who was also attending the current session, for the excellent work it was doing to effect needed reforms in WHO's operations.
4.
NEW HORIZONS IN HEALTH: Item 8 of the Agenda (Document WPRlRC48/3) The REGIONAL DIRECTOR explained to representatives that the discussion on
developments in the last year related to New horizons in health followed on naturally from the previous discussion on what New horizons in health meant for health in the future. It was apparent that more and more countries were using New horizons in health as part of their own health policy development and planning processes. Examples of this included China's long-term health plan until the year 2010, and Singapore's "National Healthy Lifestyles Programme" and "Green Plan for the Next Century". In August 1997, the second meeting of Ministers of Health
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of Pacific Islands had been held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
The meeting had reaffirmed the
concepts of Healthy Islands and made specific recommendations for future development of Healthy Islands initiatives, including human resources development, quality and efficacy of pharmaceutical supply and the use of traditional medical practices. The meeting had also agreed on directions for the future, namely, the control of alcohol, tobacco and drugs in the countries of the Pacific. These recommendations and directions would concentrate on national policies and programmes, as well as on the role of individuals and communities. The Regional Director explained that two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) had been signed during the past year. In December 1996, an MOU had been signed with the South Pacific Commission, which had Healthy Islands as one of its themes. In April 1997, an MOU had been signed between the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and both the Western Pacific and South-East Asia Region~l
Offices of WHO. This MOU had had health promotion, Healthy Cities
and Healthy Islands as major focuses for collaboration. During the year, considerable progress has been made Healthy Islands and health-promoting settings. On the issue of indicators, the Regional Office had presented a minimum set of 63 indicators for use at regional level. These were contained in the Annex to the document. The Regional Director also said that WHO had been working with countries to develop national indicator banks, and work would continue on this. The Regional Director reaffirmed that New horizons in health provided an essential framework for regional health policy. He particularly encouraged feedback on implementation of the concepts contained in New horizons in health at the country level. Dr ABDUL AZIZ MAHMOOD (Malaysia) reported that. with multilateral cooperation, it was planned to have Healthy City programmes in place in capital cities of all states in Malaysia by 2000. The concept of health-promoting settings was being extended to schools, offices and to
implementing Healthy Cities,
workplaces. The foremost health hazard that his country, and others, currently faced was that of "haze", the smog caused chiefly by burning forests. A state of emergency had been declared in the state of Sarawak. The health authorities were monitoring the air pollution index and had found a close correlation between air quality and the incidence of respiratory and other diseases. Although the levels of most pollutants were within normal limits, that of particulate matter far exceeded them. He
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requested WHO to help facilitate interregional communication and exchange of information, expertise and other technical support. Professor WHITWORTH (Australia) stressed that a core set of regional indicators was needed to monitor progress in health promotion. Their usefulness depended on national capacities to collect and analyse the data. She therefore welcomed the reduction in the number of indicators to a "minimum set", and the organization of country workshops to explain their use, although some countries might still be unable to deliver them.
It appeared from the annex to the report that less than half the countries had responded to the third evaluation of the Global Strategy for Health for All. She felt that the final outcome might be similar to the limited reporting experienced during the third monitoring exercise. She therefore urged that WHO should continue to refine the indicators and that support should be provided for development of data collection systems. She assumed that the strategies and indicators used in New horizons in health would be reviewed and realigned in the light of the revised policy in order to assure a degree of correlation between global and regional indicators. Mr SCOrrY (Nauru) explained that the most pressing health problem in Nauru was complications arising from diabetes, itself a direct consequence of significant lifestyle changes stemming from modernization. Health authorities were emphasizing prevention through health promotion, based on the concepts contained in New horizons in health and the Yanuca Island Declaration. In collaboration with WHO, Nauru was currently drawing up a Healthy Island plan, and a workshop had been organized to familiarize policy-makers with the concept of health promotion in a small island context. To follow up, a campaign had been launched in collaboration with other government departments and the media to promote healthy diets and habits. The introduction of health education in school curricula should raise awareness of individuals' responsibility for looking after their health. Other health promotion measures had included the levying of heavy import duties on tobacco products and alcohol, the banning of smoking on flights of the national airline, and support to sports associations.
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d a useful tool for Mr KANEKO (Japan) affirmed that the minimum set of indicators provide it expanded the scope of the monitoring and evaluating progress in health promotion. Moreover, health-for-all indicators, for example, in regard to ageing. comprehensive health The Japanese Ministry of Health had recently started to prepare a s in health. It had adopted the promotion programme based on the concepts contained in New horizon ments. "life-span" approach to health promotion in the context of safe living environ tools for evaluating Dr HOWELL (France) agreed that the indicators would provide reliable between the policy lines set health policy in the Region and should help to strengthen the correlation be allowed for possible future for the Region and the health-for-all strategy. Some margin should of countries or of target adjustment of certain indicators to take account of the specific needs populations. forward to further Mr RODRIGUEZ (United States of America) said that he looked as shown would not yet be expansion at country level of the concepts. Clearly, the indicators might have to be used until applicable in the least developed countries, where process indicators appropriate infrastructure and systems were in place. initiatives related to He noted the absence in the report of a budget for implementation of for sustainability would need New horizons in health, or any mention of sustainability. Requirements were to have a lasting impact. to be thought out and incorporated at the outset if changes being made e at country level, Implementation of the new initiatives would require substantial dialogu indicators where necessary. identification of the budget implications, and design of other d. Nonetheless, serious work had been done and real progress had been achieve the representative of Dr ABDUL LATIF IBRAHIM (Brunei Darussalam) concurred with nce in his region, and had Malaysia in regard to air pollution. Haze had become an annual occurre concerned about the longreached a level hazardous to health. Health authorities were particularly term impact on health of exposure to haze for long periods each year. that was currently Mr WARAKOHIA (Solomon Islands) reported that the new five-year plan t of Healthy Islands and on being drafted by the Ministry of Health drew extensively on the concep the ideas contained in New horizons in health.
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The entry point for the Healthy Islands initiative had been the intensified control of malaria. With strong support from WHO and local bodies, annual incidence had been reduced by 45% in 1996, as a result, in particular, of improved environmental management. Solomon Islands had also launched a measles control campaign within the Expanded P"ogramme on Immunization. The campaign had achieved a high coverage rate and the logistical support that had been put in place, the country had subsequently adopted a measles elimination strategy, in line with the regional initiative that was starting in 1998. Mr KRIEBLE (New Zealand) held that there were too many indicators in the minimum set and that data definitions had to be improved for the purposes of comparative analysis. He noted also that data on a number of proposed indicators were not readily available, examples being incidence, as opposed to prevalence, of certain diseases, and said that proper analysis was preferable to gathering of poor data. He then asked for information on what the consultants were doing when they visited countries to introduce the indicators. Dr LlU ZHENTIAN (China) was pleased to note the progress made in many countries in the three years since the introduction of New horizons in health. Healthy Cities, Healthy Islands and health education programmes were going ahead. China, furthermore, had been guided by the
document in preparation of its ninth five-year plan for health and framework till the year 20 I O. The speaker considered that some indicators could be improved when they were adapted for local situations. He hoped that the Regional Office would do still more to further implementation of New horizons in health. Dr SURENCHIMEG (Mongolia) said that Mongolia had done much since 1995 to further
New horizons in health, in terms of Healthy Cities and health-promoting workplaces, hospitals, schools. Her country would appreciate help in what was for Mongolia the relatively new area of health promotion. The recent draft National Health Policy was based on the approach set out in New
horizons in health. The speaker hoped that WHO would help with development of the notion of healthy nomadic communities, an issue of great importance in her country. Dr INFANTADO (Philippines) thanked the Regional Office for the indicators for the New
horizons in health, most of which were now in the national monitoring system. With regard to the minimum set of indicators, she pointed out the importance of indicators of behavioural change in individuals, communities and institutions. This matter went beyond the epidemiological transition to a health transition in which lifestyle was important, since access to services did not necessarily mean effective utilization. A better understanding was needed of how people cared for their own health.
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New quality indicators would be useful in this context. The speaker agreed with the Malaysian delegation that the haze in that country was an environmental menace which was now threatening health. Dr TEMU (Papua New Guinea) said that the New horizons in health document had helped his ministry to convince the Government to approve the five-year national health plan. The speaker endorsed the report, including the minimum standards which, though many in number, would require regular updating. He appreciated the inclusion of non-health indicators, since this had resulted in various ministries sitting together to develop intersectoral programmes. This was a regional initiative that had really helped country programmes. In his country, the health ministry had worked with the environment ministry, and with the education ministry, which had decided to establish more healthpromoting schools throughout the country. New horizons in health had provided new material for the curricula of teacher training colleges and community schools, and it would be extended to secondary school training institutions by 1999. He concluded by thanking the Australian Government, Papua New Guinea's key partner in developing this area. The government of Papua New Guinea had made the health in rural communities, especially for women and children, a priority. Dr PRETRICK (Micronesia) said there had been a subregional meeting of the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association to discuss emerging and re-emerging diseases in the north-west Pacific, to increase collaboration for prevention of communicable diseases, in terms of sharing of information, improving surveillance. training. and involvement of communities in policy-making, planning and implementation. A new memorandum of understanding was in force in the subregional jurisdiction, for collaboration on common health issues, working especially with United States public health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results of this work would be reflected in the indicators featured in the report. Mr SMITH (Fiji) commended the progress report. As indicated at the previous session of
the Regional Committee, Fiji had already incorporated the New horizons in health concepts in its health policy and programmes. In collaboration with the Regional Office, further progress had been made in developing the five-year national health plan for 1998-2002, the first part of which focused on the health status ofthe Fiji people using the New horizons in health indicators. In April 1997, the plan had been discussed and endorsed for finalization at a national health conference. Noting that WHO consultants had visited eight countries in the Region to assist in the introduction of the New horizons in health indicators, he asked when Fiji and the other Pacific island countries were scheduled for such assistance. Such countries had special needs and would greatly value such visits.
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Fiji was encouraging the involvement of the individual and the community in both decisionmaking and action in respect of health needs. The Ministry of Education was working with the Ministry of Health to provide the necessary health education. A draft sustainable development bill which contained many of the New horizons in health concepts had been submitted for public review and would be put before the Fiji Parliament in 1998. In addition, a joint WHOfUNDP project on integrating health and environmental considerations in planning for sustainable development was being implemented. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR thanked representatives for their constructive comments. He was pleased to announce that, following consultations with the Japanese delegation, it had been agreed that extrabudgetary funds already received from the Japanese Government would be reallocated to provide immediate support to countries in the Region currently experiencing problems with the haze resulting from forest fires. A consultant epidemiologist experienced in air quality management would be sought, and measures for dealing with persons affected and for providing protection, for example, by supply of face masks, especially for high-risk groups, were being investigated. The DIRECTOR, PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT thanked representatives for their comments on the development of indicators, which had reinforced many of the questions raised during the visits of WHO consultants to countries. During those visits the consultants had looked at country-specific indicators and data collection and had engaged in an intensive dialogue with policymakers and information service personnel. The general view arising from the visits had coincided with that of the representatives of Australia and New Zealand, i.e. that there were still too many indicators and that for some the information was not always readily available. However, opinions had varied as to how indicators might be consolidated. As the representative of France had indicated, there might be a need to modifY certain indicators, since the relevant information was available in different forms in some countries. It had also become clear that in many countries there was a need to enhance the capacity of information-gathering services in order to introduce the indicators successfully. The Regional Office would be working with those countries to that end and to enable them to progress towards using the information for policy and strategy development. He assured the representative of New Zealand that further efforts would be made to improve data definition of some indicators, and to clarifY where indicators referred to incidence or prevalence.
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In reply to the representative of Papua New Guinea, he said that WHO consultants were looking at how information for non-health sector indicators could be gathered in each country. He informed the representative of Fiji that for later in 1997. The representative of Australia had referred to the number of countries or areas which had responded to the request for information for the Third Evaluation of the Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000. He was pleased to say that 26 countries or areas had now provided full or partial responses, a considerable improvement over the 16 which had responded prior to the Sub-Committee review. He expressed appreciation for the comments made by the representative of Nauru. The f.
visit to the Pacific island countries was planned
Regional Office would be holding discussions with Nauru on the further development of its health promotion plan. In reply to the representative of the United States of America he explained that, although sustainability had not always been specifically mentioned in the progress report, it was an important element of programme development and had been built into Healthy Cities, Healthy Islands and health-promoting schools projects to ensure that they could be maintained over the long term. Efforts would be made to document that aspect in future reports. Nomadic communities formed a significant proportion of the population in Mongolia and he assured the representative of Mongolia that the Regional Office would be happy to work with the country in developing programmes to provide support for Healthy Nomadic Communities projects. This was clearly an important issue in Mongolia and the Regional Office would be very happy to work with country to provide support for such communities. The CHAIRMAN requested the Rapporteurs to prepare an appropriate draft resolution for consideration at a later meeting.
The meeting rose at 11.50 a.m.