WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC BUREAU REGIONAL DU PACIFIQUE OCCIDENTAL
REGIONAL COMMITTEE Fifty-eighth session Jeju, Republic of Korea 10–14 September 2007 Provisional agenda item 16
WPR/RC58/13 20 July 2007 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COORDINATION OF THE WORK OF THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY, THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE
Four resolutions adopted by the Sixtieth World Health Assembly are presented with an explanation of their implications for the work of WHO in the Western Pacific Region. Members of the Regional Committee are requested to express their views on the relevance of these resolutions to WHO’s programme of cooperation with countries and areas in the Region. A complete list of resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly is attached as Annex 1. The World Health Assembly resolution, which directly relates to an item on the provisional agenda of the current session of the Regional Committee, is mentioned in and annexed to the document covering that individual agenda item. The draft provisional agenda of the 122nd session of the Executive Board is attached as Annex 2.
WPR/RC58/13 page 2 WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS OF INTEREST TO THE REGION
The Sixtieth World Health Assembly adopted 30 resolutions which are listed at the end of this paper (Annex 1). The attention of the Regional Committee is drawn to four in particular: resolution WHA60.15 on WHO’s role and responsibility in health research; resolution WHA60.18 on malaria, including a proposal for the establishment of World Malaria Day; resolution WHA60.26 on workers’ health: global plan of action; and resolution WHA60.27 on strengthening of health information systems. These are discussed below. The agenda of the 122nd session of the Executive Board is attached as Annex 2. This draft provisional agenda has been sent to Member States by the Director-General in a note verbale dated 21 June 2007. Following the receipt of comments on the proposed agenda from Member States, the Director-General will further consult with the Chairman of the Executive Board. This draft agenda is submitted to the Regional Committee for its information. WHA60.15 - WHO’s role and responsibility in health research In May 2005, the Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA58.34 requesting the Director-General to undertake an assessment of WHO's internal resources, expertise and activities in the area of health research, with a view to developing a position paper on WHO's role and responsibilities in the area of health research, and to report through the Executive Board to the next World Health Assembly. In response to this resolution, document A59/19, WHO’s role and responsibilities in health research, was discussed at the Fifty-ninth World Health Assembly in May 2006 as well as a draft resolution. The 120th Executive Board in January 2007 adopted resolution EB120.R15 which was submitted to the Sixtieth World Health Assembly in May 2007. The recommendations for the Member States include: (1) to invest at least 2% of national health expenditure, and 5% of project and programme aid, to health research and research capacity strengthening; (2) to integrate research in the mainstream of national programme activities and plans; and (3) to strengthen health research policies and national health research capacities.
WPR/RC58/13 page 3 Relevance to the Region The resolution requests the Director-General, inter alia, (1) to strengthen the culture of research for evidence-based decision-making in the Organization, and to ensure that research informs its technical activities, (2) to review the use of research evidence for major policy decisions and recommendations within WHO, and (3) to provide support and advise the Member States on ways to organize health research systems, to strengthen capacity in health policy and systems research, and to strengthen capacity in ethical review of research. The resolution provides the Director-General with a strong mandate to make changes in the way WHO generates and uses best evidence in normative work and in supporting health research in Member States. The resolution urges Member States to take a series of actions to improve the generation and use of research evidence. The resolution also requests better use of evidence in the Organization. The Regional Committee is encouraged to discuss implementation of the resolution in the Region. Member States are also informed that a ministerial conference on health research will be convened in Bamako, Mali, from 17 to 20 November 2008. A leaflet concerning this conference is attached as Annex 3. WHA60.18 - Malaria, including proposal for establishment of World Malaria Day Background The global malaria burden remains high. Action needs to be accelerated to meet the 2015 international targets. Malaria control is at a critical point at which significant available funding is allowing the introduction of new tools and strategies. Resolution WHA60.18, adopted by the Sixtieth World Health Assembly, addresses this situation calling on national programmes and other key stakeholders for action. Relevance to the Region In the Western Pacific Region, the malaria burden in the 10 endemic countries has been reduced by half since 1993. But progress has slowed down since 2000. With the establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2002, eight countries are receiving significant funding for their national malaria control efforts (in total more than US$ 250 million), in
WPR/RC58/13 page 4 addition to existing external support. This enabled the introduction of new tools like artemisininbased combination therapy, rapid diagnostic tests and long-lasting insecticidal nets. Resolution WHA60.18 in its entirety is highly important for the Western Pacific Region as it addresses the issues most countries are currently facing in their massive scale up of malaria control. Recommended actions by Member States 1. Strengthen programme management, especially human resources and the quality of programme monitoring and disease surveillance, including the use of the country database developed by WHO, noting the World Health Assembly’s request to the Director-General to report biennially on progress made; 2. Ensure access to malaria control interventions for vulnerable population groups, including ethnic minorities, migrants, women and children through policies and actions; 3. Phase out oral artemisinin monotherapies in the public and private sectors, and in response to the serious antimalarial drug resistance situation in the Western Pacific Region, change national first-line treatment to artemisinin-based combination therapy for falciparum malaria; 4. Act nationally and regionally to combat counterfeit antimalarial medicines, in close collaboration with WHO; 5. Strengthen WHO's resources and existing capacity in the Region to provide the necessary technical support at national and regional levels for scaling up malaria control and to fulfil the tasks requested in resolution WHA60.18; 6. 7. Aim for malaria elimination where feasible and secure necessary resources for this; Strengthen capacities for operational research to identify gaps in knowledge about malaria control and elimination, including on diagnostics, malaria in pregnancy and intersectoral interventions; and 8. Establish World Malaria Day in the 10 malaria endemic countries of the Region.
WHA60.26 – Workers’ health: global plan of action The global plan of action on workers' health 2008–2017, endorsed by the Sixtieth World Health Assembly in resolution WHA60.26, was developed as a follow-up to the 1996 WHO Global Strategy
WPR/RC58/13 page 5 on Occupational Health for All. It aims to devise and implement policy instruments on workers' health, protect and promote health at the workplace, improve the performance of and access to occupational health services, provide and communicate evidence for action and practice, and incorporate workers' health into other policies. Member States and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific participated actively in the development of the global plan of action. In 2005, WHO, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, developed a Regional Framework for Action on Occupational Health: 2006– 2010. The Regional Framework was developed at the same time as a draft global plan of action was prepared, with its contents closely linked to those of the global plan of action. Therefore, the implementation of the Regional Framework contributes to the implementation of the global plan of action. In this connection, the Regional Office for the Western Pacific will convene a regional meeting in November 2007 to review the progress on the implementation of the Regional Framework for the initial period of two years, and also discuss key issues (e.g. asbestos-related diseases and basic occupational health services) contained in the global plan of action that are important in the Region. The Regional Committee is requested to take note of the link between the global plan of action and the Regional Framework, and encourage Member States, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and other relevant parties to implement the Regional Framework. WHA60.27 – Strengthening of health information systems The normative mandates of WHO in health information and epidemiological reporting were emphasized. Health and health-related Millennium Development Goals have provided a common platform for the work of United Nations agencies and partners in improving countries' health information systems. Multiple programmes of WHO in the Region as well as the recently formed Health Metrics Network are contributing to these health information system improvement efforts. The strategies mentioned in the resolution are consistent with current regional strategies and WHO workplans to enhance health information system development in countries. A coherent and coordinated country-led strategy working towards strengthening health systems can help to harmonize health information system development activities at the country level. While emphasizing technical content, better synthesis and improved dissemination of health information, greater effort is needed to foster evidence-based decision-making with better performance-based assessment methods and the more rational use of available resources. Close collaboration with the
WPR/RC58/13 page 6 Health Metrics Network and other global initiatives can increase international attention on the importance of health information systems in strengthening health systems management. The Regional Committee may want to consider promoting the actions proposed in the resolution to strengthen countries' health information systems with support from WHO as well as other partners including the Health Metrics Network.
WPR/RC58/13 page 7 ANNEX 1
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE SIXTIETH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
Resolution number WHA60.1 WHA60.2 WHA60.3
Title of resolution Smallpox eradication: destruction of variola virus stocks Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan Unaudited interim financial report on the accounts of WHO for 2006 and comments thereon made by the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution Scale of assessments 2008–2009 Assessment of new Member Appointment of the External Auditor Financial period 2006–2007: implementation of resolution WHA58.4 Amendments to the Financial Regulations and Financial Rules – Introduction of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules Medium-term strategic plan 2008–2013 Appropriation resolution for the financial period 2008–2009 Control of leishmaniasis Poliomyelitis: mechanism for management of potential risks to eradication WHO’s role and responsibilities in health research Progress in the rational use of medicines Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention Malaria, including proposal for establishment of World Malaria Day Tuberculosis control: progress and long-term planning Better medicines for children Sustaining the elimination of iodine deficiency disorders Health systems: emergency-care systems Prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: implementation of the global strategy Health promotion in a globalized world
WHA60.4
WHA60.5 WHA60.6 WHA60.7 WHA60.8 WHA60.9 WHA60.10 WHA60.11 WHA60.12 WHA60.13 WHA60.14 WHA60.15 WHA60.16 WHA60.17 WHA60.18 WHA60.19 WHA60.20 WHA60.21 WHA60.22 WHA60.23 WHA60.24
WPR/RC58/12 page 8 Annex 1 Resolution number WHA60.25 WHA60.26 WHA60.27 WHA60.28 WHA60.29 WHA60.30 1
Title of resolution Integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO: draft strategy Workers’ health: global plan of action Strengthening of health information systems Pandemic influenza preparedness: sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits Health technologies Public health, innovation and intellectual property
1
Annexed to the document covering the agenda item on this topic.
WPR/RC58/13 page 111 ANNEX 2
WPR/RC58/12 page 112 Annex 1
WPR/RC58/13 page 113 Annex 2
WPR/RC58/12 page 114