WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE BOARD 114th Session Provisional agenda item 4.6 EB114/INF.DOC./1 19 April 2004
Meeting of Interested Parties, 2003 Report by the Secretariat 1. The Meeting of Interested Parties, 2003 (3 to 7 November 2003) was, as in 2001 and 2002, a corporate exercise that involved all levels of the Organization, including regional and country offices. The timing and duration (one week) were based on participants’ feedback from previous years.1 The agenda was structured around five thematic days, rather than by programme or area of work, in order to focus on the big issues that cut across WHO’s work, to bring in field-level dimensions, and to promote strategic discussions on WHO’s response to health challenges. 2. The Meeting brought together representatives from 74 Member States (with participants from 30 health ministries, 13 foreign affairs ministries and 15 other governmental agencies), 16 intergovernmental organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, 30 nongovernmental organizations including foundations, 24 corporate-sector bodies or companies, and seven research institutes. 3. The Meeting featured several panels, comprising over 100 experts from the full range of WHO’s partners, in both the public and private sectors, and staff from all levels of the Organization with the aim of highlighting particular aspects of a process or activity and offering forums to all participants for substantive debate. 4. Documentation for the Meeting included issues papers on each of the 18 topics (grouped under the five broad themes); an integrated, organization-wide financial management report for 2002 on expenditure in implementing objectives in the Programme budget 2002-2003; and standard financial status reports for each cluster and regional office on budget performance and extrabudgetary contributions in 2002. Annual progress reports, by programme or cluster, were made available both on the Meeting’s web site and in the display area outside the meeting room, together with other technical publications and reports. 5. Throughout the Meeting the debates ranged widely, with greatest emphasis on strategic options and the technical content of programmes.2
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See document EB111/2003/REC/2, summary record of the eighth meeting, section 5. Summaries of some of the key messages emerging from each thematic discussion are available on request.
EB114/INF.DOC./1
FUTURE MEETINGS 6. Over the years, the Meeting of Interested Parties has had various formats and duration. It is intended to facilitate, in an informal setting, an interaction between Member States, other parties and the Secretariat in order to review progress of programmes and develop ideas as to their direction. Nonetheless, some questions have been raised as to whether those goals are being achieved with the current format. The views of the Board in this regard would be useful for the planning of future sessions.
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