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~ "' E <i' cL 0 I s . . . . .. .... . ... ... . .. . urban. desert fringe and highland fringe malaria. A meeting in New Delhi (3- 7 Februa·ry 1992) wil l concen- trate on the problems of drug resistance and the impact of current epidemiological knowledge on malaria con - tro l. A meeting in Belem. Brazil (21 - 25 April 1992) will analyse malaria in terms of social and economic development and discuss intersectoral collaboration. . . .... . .... . . .... .... . .. . . . . c.. . .... . . •... .... . .. . . . . ... . .. . . . . . . ... . . ... . .. . ' . . . . . .... . . ... .. .. . .. . . . . .. .... . .... .... . .. . . ... .... . .. . . ... . . . ...... .... .... . .. . . .. .. . . ....... ... .... . .. . . .... . . ...... ... ... . .. . Editor: Philippe Stroot Ministerial Conference on Malaria The World Health Assembly. which meets every year in Geneva. passed a resolution in 1989 stating that malaria control must be a global priority. essential for the achievement of health for all. and emphasizing the crucial role of WHO. Since there appeared to be little recognition of the worldwide malaria problem. the WHO Executive Board the following year recommended that a global malaria confer- ence at ministerial level should be organized to focus on the worsening situation. to adopt strategies of malaria control . and to strengthen commitment to these stra- tegies by political and health leaders and among donor agencies. The Ministerial Conference on Malaria has been scheduled for 26- 27 Octo- ber. 1992. in Amsterdam. Netherlands. The Minister of Health and one technical representative from each of the 95 countries where malaria remains a problem will attend. Prior to the Conference. technical representatives of Member States will be invited to a series of interre- gional meetings which will each analyse the regional malaria situations. develop appropriate control strategies and discuss particular issues of regional interest. The first of these meetings will be held in Brazzaville (21 - 25 October 1991) and wil l specifically discuss savanna. Not only countries with endemic malaria but all inter- ested countries and parties are being involved in this initiative to control malaria. WHO is fully committed to making it a success. The time to prevent death and to dimi- nish physical. economic and socia l st.Jffering from the scourge of malaria is long overdue. • Nevvsbriefs Doctors against nuclear war. WHO's Director-General. Or Hiroshi Nakajima. participated in the 1Oth World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW} . held in Stockholm from 27 to 30 June 1991. In an address to 1400 physicians from 78 countries. he recognized the complementarity of the work of WHO and IPPNW in aiming to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all citizens of the globe. * The first World Diabetes Day was celebrated on 27 June 1991_ to coincide with the 14th Congress of the International Diabetes Federation. WHO eo-sponsored the Day, in the hope that this action will serve to draw further attention to the needs of people with diabetes. At least 60 million people in the world suffer from this disease. While its prevalence in most western communities is estimated at 2- 5%. it is now known that in some developing populations it can reach 10% or even 20%. The frequency of diabetes rises with age. In the worst-affected communities. more than half the population will develop the disease if they live to old age. WHO has prepared guidelines to assist Member States to develop national programmes for diabetes. They are available. on request. from the Diabetes and Other Noncommunicable Diseases Unit. WHO. 1211 Geneva 27. Switzerland. • In the next issue The November-December 1991 issue of World Health will describe the special health concerns of the European Region of WHO and the innovative approaches used to improve the health of the people. WORLD HEALTH, September-October 1991 If you would like to obtain the catalogue of WHO publications, or receive sample copies of other WHO periodicals which yeu want to evaluate be- fore placing a sub- scription, please con- tact: World Health Organization, Distri- bution and Sales, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Did you enjoy this issue? Why not take out a subscription to World Health and enjoy reading about the world 's major health issues six times a year. 1992 subscription rates are I isted below. 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