(WPR/RC33/SR/8)
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING WHO Conference Hall, Manila Thursday, 23 September 1982 at 2.30 p.m. CHAIRMAN: Dr S. Tapa (Tonga)
CONTENTS
1.
Technical presentations:
review of their usefulness
152 155
2.
Time and place of the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions of the Regional Committee ••••••••••••••••••••••••
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REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
THIRTY-THIRD SESSION
1.
TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS: REVIEW OF THEIR USEFULNESS Item 19 of the Agenda (Document WPR/RC33/17 and Corr.l)
The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that document WPR/RC33/17 presented a very brief resumt!! of how the practice of holding technical discussions, during both the World Health Assembly and the Regional Committee, had evolved. The Committee had to decide whether it wished to continue the practice. There were a number of possibilities. Representatives might like to have the opportunity to have a detailed technical exchange of views on certain potentially sensitive issues outside the formal structure of the Regional Committee. Or, on the other hand, Member States might wish to propose the inclusion of such issues on the actual agenda of the Regional Committee; 1n which case a Technical Presentation might be unnecessary. If it decided to continue the practice, it also needed to choose a topic for 1983. The topic for 1982 was "New policies for health education and information in support of health for all by the year 2000". Dr KOINUMA (Japan) considered that t~chnical presentations had proved their utility but that their nature reqQired modification. It would seem preferable that topics of interest to members of the Committee should be discussed informally among the members themselves, outside the agenda, instead of being presented to the Committee. It would then be possible for a free and frank discussion to take place, unhampered by formal constraints. Dr CHRISTMAS (New Zealand), supporting the representative of Japan, said that the Committee would be faced by two major developments during the 18 years leading up to the year 2000. One concerned . programmes and policies based on knowledge and experience which had been tested and were showing results. Those were action policies and programmes and did not merit technical discussion. On the other hand, there were new problems for which no answers were yet available. Such problems were ideally suited for discussion and collaboration on the basis of consensus. He therefore suggested · that there might be a short paper on se lee ted topics, primarily those for which no immediate solution was available. Such topics might include aging, alcoholism and multidisciplinary approaches. Mr POLSON (Australia) said that his delegation had questioned the usefulness of technical presentations during the Regional Committee. In the interests of time, economy and efficiency, it would seem preferable for members to seek technical information from available sources such as WHO technical publications. If technical presentations were to be continued, the Japanese proposal would seem appropriate. But any action taken should not extend the length of Regional Committee sessions. Dr KHALID (Malaysia) considered that the usefulness of technical discussions depended largely on the practical purpose they served. If they involved a mere exchange of information unrelated to the work of the Committee, it would be preferable that members should be kept informe d through the disseminati on of material such as the reports o f advisory bodies · and working groups. Generally speaking, countries could only afford to send one representative to the Committee and that representative might not be fully informed on the particular issue under discussion. If, on the other hand, technical discussions contributed to decision-making, they might be
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING
153
useful, always provided that the discussion was structured towards problem solving. It would be helpful if topics could be identified for discussion at the Committee's next session. Dr DA PAZ (Portugal) said that technical discussions had served a useful purpose in the past when communications had been more difficult. Currently, however, every effort should be made to save the Committee's time and his delegation would therefore prefer to see technical discussions eliminated. If it was decided that such discussions should continue, he would support the proposal of the representative of Japan. Dr MINNERS (United States of America), speaking in support of .the representative of Malaysia, said that it was essential that technical presentations should be highly relevant to the goal of "health for all". He agreed with the representative of Australia that whatever action was taken should not lengthen the Committee's sessions. He also supported ·the proposal of the representative of Japan that technical discussions should not be included in the agenda but should be treated . as a supplementary 1.ssue. The Committee was only beginning to experiment with the approach represented by technical discussions and the matter should perhaps be pursued further. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that he felt the views expressed had revealed an interest · in con.tinuing technical discussions in some form provided that they were directly relevant to WHO's activities and particularly to its overall goal of health for all by the year 2000. He felt that it had also emerged that "discussions" rather than a "presentation'' was what was desired. As the representative of the United States of America had said, the experimental 4-1/2 to 5-day session just introduced should be allowed to run its · course; the session appeared to have gone well. He expressed his personal satisfaction with the result thus far; · although at , future sessions more technical items might require longer discussion and the proposals of the Sub-Cominittee on the General Progra'inme of Work might not be so readily accepted. It might thus be advisable to keep to the 5-day session, allowing for flexibility in line with the proposals of the represen.tatives of Japan and New Zealand and the supporting views of those of Australia, Malaysia and the Urtited States of .America. The three subjects suggested in document WPR/RC33/17 were perhaps too far removed from the concerns as expressed, and he apologized for his lack of editorial experience as it affected the formulation of those topics. Those suggested by the representative of New Zealand would, he agreed, perhaps be more suitable; psychosocial health and behavioural sciences might also be considered relevant to the multidisciplinary approach. It had to be remembered that the form and method of work of the Regional Committee itself might gradually change with the introduction of new managerial skills.
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REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
THIRTY-THIRD SESSION
Dr ACOSTA (Philippines) expressed concern at the direction the discussions were taking. In the agenda for the current session the technical presentation was listed after ~losure of the session, showing that it was not considered a part of it. Representatives might thus decide to attend or not to attend; that put them in an awkward position when asked to select a topic for the discussion which they were not intended to consider part of their formal work and which they might not even attend. Dr HAN (Director of Programme Management) informed the Committee of the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly and the 1952 and 1974 sessions of the Regional Committee, the Fourth World Health Assembly having decided that the topic for technical discussions should be selected as far in advance as possible, and the Regional Committee having resolved in 1952 that the technical discussions should be part of the session. At the 1974 sess1.on the form had been changed from "discussions" to "presentation". Dr NICHOLSON (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) pointed out that the technical presentation was not a formal part of the Regional Committee session. The CHAIRMAN took the consensus to be that technical discussions should take the place of the technical presentation but in the way suggested by the representative of Japan. If that were the case, the Committee would still have to select a topic for the following year's discussions. After further discussion on the timing of the technical discussions and an explanation by the REGIONAL DIRECTOR of the various solutions possible, Dr CHRISTMAS (New Zealand) suggested that the 1982 formula be again used for 1983 with the modification proposed by the representative of Japan, namely that there would be a brief background paper introduced followed by an opportunity for discussion. It was so agreed. The CHAIRMAN asked the Committee for suggestions concerning the topic for the technical discussions for 1983. Dr CHRISTMAS (New Zealand) favoured the selection of either "Health management information system development", one of the suggestions included in the document WPR/RC33/17, or "Psychosocial factors affecting health". Dr REILLY (Papua New Guinea) supported the proposal for the selection of "Health management information system development". Dr NICHOLSON (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) had no objection to "Health management information system development" as the topic of choice but thought that "Appropriate technology in health" would be very valuable for the technical discussions at a future session. He was thinking, in particular, of the possible uses of solar energy in primary health care.
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING
155/156
The ' REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that the subject had been raised informally by others, with reference not only to solar energy but also to other forms of energy that might be used for primary health care, such as biogas. The CHAIRMAN, noting that there were no further observations, requested the Rapporteurs to draw up a draft resolution reflecting the consensus which was that the technical discussions in 1983 be held as in 1982, that was at the end of the session after the closure and that the topic be 11 Health management information system development 11 • (For consideration of the draft resolution see the ninth meeting, section 1.4). The REGIONAL DIRECTOR proposed that, for the new form of technical discussions, representatives to the Regional Couuni t tee might actively participate in the preparations and thus in stimulating a more active discussion. 2. TIME AND PLACE OF THE TH!RTY-FOURTH AND THIRTY-FIFTH SESSIONS OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE~ Item 21 of the Agenda
The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that, at the last (thirty-second) session, the Committee had decided that if no Member State extended an invitation for the thirty-fourth session it should be held in Manila. There had been no such official invitation. He suggested that the dates of the thirty-fourth session be from 5 to 9 September 1983. Some thought had been given at the Global Programme Committee, which as the Committee knew was a committee composed of the Director-General and the six WHO regional directors, to coordinating the dates of the six regional committees to ensure that they overlapped as little as possible. The dates of the thirty-fourth session had therefore been sugges t ed with coordination in view, to enable the Director-General to be present for at least part of the sessions of all the regional committees. If the thirty-fourth session were held in Manila, an invitation could be extended to hold the thirty-fifth session outside regional headquarters, since resolution WPR/RC24 .RlO stipulated only that sessions should not be held outside Manila in two consecutive years. If no invitation were to be forthcoming the thirty-fifth session had, of course, to be held in Manila. The CHAIRMAN noted that there were no comments on the proposal that the thirty-fourth session be held in Manila from 5 to 9 September 1983, and asked whether there were any observations regarding the thirty-fifth session. Dr BIUMAIWAI (Fiji) said that his Government would be pleased to act as host to the thirty-fifth session of the Regional Committee in Fiji. The CHAIRMAN thanked the representative of Fiji and, in the absence of further comments, requested the Rapporteurs to prepare an appropriate draft resolution. (For consideration of the draft resolution see the ninth meeting, section 1.5).
The meeting rose at 3.45 p.m.