(WPR/RC29/SR/8)
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING WHO Conference Hall, Manila Friday, 25 August 1978 at 9.00 a.m. CHAIRMAN: Dr A.N. Acosta (Philippines) CONTENTS
1. 2.
Consideration of draft resolution on the Technical Presentation ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Selection of topic for the Technical Presentation during the thirtieth session of the Regional C01l1Inittee ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
205
205
3.
Time and place of the thirtieth and thirty-first sessions of the Regional Committee ••••••••••••••••••••••••• Invitation to hold a future session of the Regional Committee in the Republic of Korea
206 207 208 208 209 210
4. 5. 6.
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Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific ••••••••••• ". • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Consideration of the report of the Sub-Committee on the General Programme of Work ••••••••••••••••••••••••••. Consideration of the report of the Sub-Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries Consideration of draft resolutions •••.•••••••••••••••••••••
7. 8.
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REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION
For the List of Representatives at the twenty-ninth session, !!! pages 39-46 of the present volume.
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING
205
1.
CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTION ON THE TECHNICAL PRESENTATION
Dr NICHOLSON (United Kingdom), Moderator of the Technical Presentation, presented a draft resolution, for the Committee's consideration. Decision: The draft resolution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC29.R15). 2. SELECTION OF TOPIC FOR THE TECHNICAL PRESENTATION DURING THE THIRTIETH SESSION OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE: Item 21 of the Agenda (Document WPR/RC29/l7)
Dr CHEW (Singapore) proposed that either Item (1) "Acute respiratory infections" or Item (3) "Immunization services and their evaluation" be chosen as the topic of the 1979 Presentation. Mr NGUYEN VAN TRONG (Socialist Republic of Viet Nam) favoured "Acute respiratory infections", since those diseases were responsible for a high degree of morbidity and mortality in almost all countries of the Region. Dr NOORDIN (Malaysia) and Dr FISCHER (United States of America) supported the Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Dr TRAVERS (Australia) and Dr WAINETTI (Papua New Guinea) both agreed that "Acute respiratory infections" and IIImmunization services and their evaluation" were the best topics on the list. Replying to a question raised by Dr FAAIUASO (Samoa), the REGIONAL DIRECTOR stated that having two subjects for the Technical Presentation depended on the duration of the Regional Committee session next year in Singapore. Dr FAAIUASO (Samoa) said that this brought up an important point in relation to the duration of sessions of the Regional Committee. He believed that there should be a week-end, as had been the case last year in Japan, with the Committee meeting again the following Monday. This would permit the discussion of two subjects in the Technical Presentation. The CHAIRMAN suggested that this matter be taken up under Item 22 of the Agenda. This was so agreed (see section 3 below). Dr CHEW (Singapore) said that, based on the previous day's experience, it was doubtful whether more than one topic could be discussed in reasonable depth in one afternoon. As a compromise, the REGIONAL DIRECTOR proposed that the topic of the Technical Presentation at the thirtieth session be "Acute respiratory infections". The topic "Immunization services and their evaluatiorr' would be placed on the agenda of next year's session of the Regional Committee as a separate item. This was, of cour"e, subject to the Regional Committee's approval.
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206
REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION
'i'ht, RC'pres(,lll.ltives of A\lstralia, France, and the Uni ted Kingdom supported the proposa 1.
New Zealand,
Si.lmo;/
it
was so agreed.
There being no further conunents, the CHAIRMAN requested the Rapporteur to read out a draft resolution for the Conunittee's approval. Decision: The draft resolution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC29.Rl6). 3.
TIME AND PLACE OF THE THIRTIETH AND THIRTY-FIRST SESSIONS OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE: Item 22 of the Agenda
The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that at the twenty-eighth session the Conunittee had accepted the tentative invitation of the Government of Singapore to hold the thirtieth session in Singapore. The Government of Singapore had since confirmed its invitation. The Conunittee would wish to reiterate its acceptance of the invitation now that it had been confirmed and to discuss suitable dates for the session. Discussions during the present session, and the Director-General's paper for the study of WHO's structures in the light of its functions, had made clear the trend towards ever-increasing involvement of the Regional Committee in the work of the Organization, entailing intensified discussion, which naturally took longer, and more meetings of sub-conunittees and various ad hoc groups. Furthermore, although every morning they found in their pigeonholes all the documentation on the previous day's work and all that they needed for the current day's programme and although the draft report on the session would be in their hands that afternoon, Representatives might not realize that such smooth running was based on certain members of the Secretariat working long after the meeting, sometimes into the small hours of the morning. In view of the emphasis on workers' health at the current session and the fact that such long hours meant that the documentation could not possibly be of the highest standard, as he would have wished, he must plead with them to have a longer meeting, beginning on a Tuesday and ending on a Monday, to allow the Report to be prepared during the week-end. He suggested that the dates might be 4 to 10 September 1979. In reply to a question by Dr TRAVERS (Australia) the REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that, if his suggestion were adopted, the Committee could work on the Saturday morning or, if progress so permitted, might visit some of the excellent projects being conducted in Singapore. Dr HSU SHOU-JEN (China) fully supported the Regional Director's proposal. Dr FAAIUASO (Samoa) said that an unbroken five-day meeting was strAin on the Representatives, so that he could understand fully how latiguing it must be for the Secretariat who worked OR long ~
_ _ _ _ _ _ _--..;S:;.;UMMA==R;..Y...:R:.::E::.::C:.=O;:.:R:::.D...:O~F~T..!!HE~E~I~G!!;H~T.:.!H._.:ME:..!!:.!:E~T~I~N~G_ _ _ _ _-=-20 7
after the Representatives had returned to their hotels. The system was injurious to health and detrimental to the quality of their own deliberations. He was in complete agreement with the Regionnl Director's proposal. Dr FISCHER (United States of America) said he would wholeheartedly support a vote of thanks to the Secretariat for their sterling work during the Committee. He wondered whether the host country, however, would agree to the longer session. Dr CHEW (Singapore) expressed his thanks to the Secretariat for their work in the background. He himself would accept the extension of the session, subject of course to his Government's approval. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that the word "tentatively" could be inserted in the draft resolution and the dates could subsequently be confirmed after discussions with the Government of Singapore. He added that, by resolution WPR/RC24.RIO, the Regional Committee had decided its sessions should not be held outside regional headquarters in two consecutive years. In view of the fact that the thirtieth session was to be held in Singapore, the Committee would doubtless wish to decide that the thirty-first session in 1980 be held in Manila. The CHAIRMAN asked the Rapporteur to read out a draft resolution for the Committee's approval. Decision: The draft resolution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC29.RI7).
..
4.
INVITATION TO HOLD A FUTURE SESSION OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Mr CHANG SOO KIM (Republic of Korea) expressed his delegation's appreciation of the Government of Singapore's invitation to hold the next session in that beautiful city. He could now confirm the Republic of Korea's tentative invitation made at the Tokyo session to hold the thirty-second session of the Regional Committee in seoul. The CHAIRMAN thanked Mr KIM on behalf of the Committee for his Government's kind invitation. Dr HSU SHOU-JEN (China) believed that the invitation should not be discussed at the present session. Mr CHANG SOO KIM (Republic of Korea) said he fully realized that the present session was not the proper one at which to discuss the invitation. He had simply wished to issue it. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that a decision could be taken at the next session of the Regional Committee.
208
REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION
5.
RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE1 qGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC
Dr CHARPIN (France) proposed that Rule 51 of the Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific be amended. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR sald that the proposal had been noted and an appropriate item would be placed on the agenda for the following session. Rule 53 of the Rules of Procedure laid down that amendments of, or additions to, the Rules might be adopted by the Committee, provided that the C,ommittee had received and considered a report thereon. The Committee might wish to appoint the Sub-Committee forthwith and it could meet in Singapore the day before the opening of the next; session to discuss the proposals of the Representative of France, which should be sent to the Regional Office as soon as possible. The Sub-Committee should, of course, have the Representative of France as one of its members. Other members of the Committee could' attend the Sub-Committee's meeting. The Committee having agreed to the Regional Director's proposal, the CHAIRMAN called for nominations for members. Dr CHRISTMAS (New Zealand) nominated Dr CHEW, the Representative of Singapore. The CHAIRMAN, in the absence of other nominations from the floor, proposed France, Australia and Samoa. It was so agreed. The CHAIRMAN asked the Rapporteurs to prepare an appropriate draft resolution. (For consideration of draft resolution, see section 8.3 below. ) 6. CONS IDERATION OF THE UPOltT or THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE GENERAL PROGRAMME OF WORK (Document WPR/RC29/20)
Dr NOORDIN (Malayda), illtroduclq the Report, .aid that the Sub-Committee had held its third meeting in Manila on 23 August 1978. It had first considered its terms of reference and had agreed that, in addition to reviewing and analy.ing the impact of WHO's collaboration with countries, it should undertake various talks connected with the study of WHO's structures in the light of its functions, so that it could prepare a report for the 1979 session of the Regional Committee and after that session prepare a final relional report on the subject for use by the Directo~-General in preparing his global report for submission to the Executive Board in January 1980. The Sub-Committee recommended that to help it to prepare its report for the thirtieth session, all Member States should send their comments on the document prepared by the Director-General (WPR/RC29/l8) to the Regional Office for collation in time for th, proposed Sub-Committee meeting in late March 1979. Country ·visits could conveniently be made immediately following that meeting.
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE EIGHTH MEETING
209
The review and analysis of WHO's collaboration with countries would continue in the coming year, with primary health care, including development of the appropriate health manpower, as its subject. Drug policies and management in relation to primary health care and certain aspects of disease control would also be considered. The Sub-Committee would as far as possible coordinate its work and meetings with the Sub-Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. In the absence of comments, the Report was adopted: The CHAIRMAN asked the Rapporteurs to prepare an appropriate draft resolution. (For consideration of draft resolution, see section 8. I below.)
7.
CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL COOPERATION AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (Document WPR/RC29/2l)
Dr CHEW (Singapore), introducing the Report, said that the Sub-Committee had held its third meeting in Manila on 24 August 1978. It agreed with the suggestion, made at its second meeting l , that for the following year the subject of study should be the TCDC components of health manpower development in the Region. In pursuance of its policy of close collaboration with the Sub-Committee on the General Programme of Work, the Sub-Committee suggested that its next meeting be held immediately before or immediately after that Sub-Committee's next meeting in late March 1979. It had also agreed that all countries should be encouraged to provide WHO with any further information they had available on existing or potential TCDC components in health manpower development. The Sub-Committee would decide at the meeting in late March 1979 whether country visits would be necessary. At that meeting they hoped to have available for study the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries to be held in Buenos Aires from 30 August to 12 September 1978 and the results of the Conference on Regional Cooperation in the WHO Fellowship Programme to be held in Manila in February 1979. The Sub-Committee hoped that as far as possible the same representatives would be attending all its meetings in order to preserve continuity.
1 . Document WPR/RC29/10.
210
REGIONAL COMIHTTEE:
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION
In the absence of comments, the Report was adopted. The CHAIRMAN asked the Rapporteurs to prepare an appropriate draft resolution. (For consideration of draft resolution, see section 8.2 below.) The Committee adjourned at 10.20 a.m. and reconvened at 11.20 a.m. 8. 8.1 CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS Sub-Committee on the General Programme of Work (Document WPR/RC29/Conf. Paper No. 15) Decision: The draft resolution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC29.R18). 8.2 Decision: The draft re$olution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC2~.R19). 8.3 Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific Decision: The draft resolution was adopted without comment (see resolution WPR/RC2g.R20). The REGIONAL DIRECTOR commented that the Committee had five years in which to amend Rule 51, and it would not be essential to reach a final decision at the thirtieth session in Singapore. Dr FISCHER (United States of America) asked Dr Charpin to clarify the issues that had led him to propose the establishment of the SubCommittee. Dr CHARPIN (France) said he found it somewhat difficult to elaborate publicly on what concerned a closed meeting. The problem might be summed up with two questions: why did the Committee nominate two candidates, and not just one; and why was there a second ballot when the first one clearly expressed the preference of the Committee?
The meeting rose at 11.40 a.m.