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Communication and health promotion There can be no health pro- motion without communication . . This truism is what prompted the first international French- language symposium on commu- nication and health promotion held in Mons, Belgium, late last year. Over 400 health communi- cations specialists from Belgium, Canada, France, Luxemburg and Switzerland debated communi- cations concepts and health pro- motion techniques , particularly in the light of WHO's strategies for achieving Health for all. The symposium itself was pre- ceded by a three-day seminar during which various health communication activities in the countries represented were intro- duced and analysed. The partici- pants showed particular interest in television "spots" filmed in Quebec and in Switzerland to fight alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction, bad eating habits and even violence in the family. They unanimously agreed that this form of communication constitutes an ideal means of giving individuals access to the knowledge which would enable them "to take responsibility for their health in the full exercise of their freedom'' - the goals established by the symposium's organisers. The line they adopted closely parallels the objectives of WHO, which advocates this method of encouraging the individual to assume personal responsibility for achieving healthier life-styles, and discourage behaviour likely to be damaging to health. The Mons seminar and sym- posium were held at a particu- larly timely moment for emphasising the growing interest that health circles have shown in communication. For although the World Health Day Slogan for 7 April this year is "Let 's talk health,'' the theme chosen for the entire year is the much wider one of Communication for health in all its forms - communication, information, health education, health promotion; a whole range of concepts which, despite slight shades of meaning, all contribute to the moulding of an enlightened public opinion on health matters that is one of.WHO's most heartfelt goals. • 30 News Page by Philippe Stroot Journalists for a healthier life At the initiative of the Hunga- rian Association of Journalists and with the backing of that country's Ministry of Health , a conference entitled ' 'journalists for healthier life" was convened in Budapest last October. More than 400 parti- cipants, among them 200 jour- nalists from Hungary and other East European socialist countries, attended this scientific conference arranged in collaboration with the International Organization of Jour- nalists, based in Prague. The Hungarian Government was represented at the highest level by Professor Bruno F. Straub, Chief of State and a member of the Academy of Sciences , and by Professor Mihaly Kokeny, Vice-Minister of Health. WHO was represented by Dr Jean- Paul J ardel , Assistant Director- General. During two days of lively dis- cussion, the participants exam- ined various aspects of the media's role, but the core of the debate centred on the use of mass media communication to protect health and to prevent disease . Evoking the ways in which the media pervade all aspects of society today and ''the enormous potential of the mass media to influence health," Dr J ardel said that ''WHO stands ready to con- clude a new and powerful alliance with the mass media around the world" in order to increase the effectiveness of the fight for health. At the close of the conference, the participants adopted a Declar- ation in which they called on all the world's journalists, wherever they were working, to collaborate in the struggle to make life healthier. Not one day of 1989 should pass without them talking, writing and campaigning to bring about the conditions for a healthier life, in the spirit of WHO's slogan for this year's World Health Day. Those who met in Budapest were thus the first people to react to WHO 's appeal on behalf of positive communi- cation for health and its insistence on a greater role for the media in promoting healthy life-styles. • Disasters often force populations to migrate. Photo WHO/M Biihrer Africa better prepared to deal with catastrophes WHO has opened a new Re- gional Centre for Emergency Pre- paredness and Response in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa . Directed by Sandro Calvani, for- mer foreign aid head of CARITAS, the centre has been set up to assist the government of the region to cope with catastrophes such as drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, civil wars, and mass population movements , all of which have afflicted Africa in recent years. This operation falls within the framework of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction declared by the United Nations, which will start in 1990 and continue to the year 2000. The new centre will enhance the effec- WORLD HEALTH 3/89 tiveness of WHO's activities in this field, which are especially crucial for the peoples of Africa, notably with respect to the training of local specialists capable of reacting immediately to emergency situations . It will also make valuable contributions to research, evaluation of needs and management of food shortage problems, and will ensure that adequate documentation is made available for the use of interested governments. Having learned from the gaps observed during past catas- trophes, those in charge of the new centre will make sure that assistance sent by the inter- national community for the relief of disaster victims will be both more rapidly deployed and bet- ter adapted to the situation. They will also arrange seminars in which WHO experts, external con- sultants and local trainees will take part. Existing WHO collabo- rating centres which are already authorities on how to deal with catastrophes have promised to share their expertise. Before long, a practical · network will have been set up to lighten the burdens or catastrophes, whether natural or man-made, in this region of the world. Dr Sang Tae Han, WHO's Regional Director for the Westem Pacific. See item below. Photo WHO Newsbriefs Appointment. Dr Sang Tae Han of the Republic of Korea has been appointed Director of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. The appointment was made by the Executive Board of the Organization at its 83rd session, held in Geneva in January. Dr Han 's five-year term of ofhce began on 1 February. He succeeds Dr Hiroshi Nakajlina Uapan), who has been Director-General of WHO since last July. Educational approaches to health problems. Some 700 doctors, tech- nicians and other high-level public health ofhcials were Invited to an International meeting in Paris this month on the subject of educational approaches to health problems. Hailing from about one hundred countries In Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the participants are all studying health In France on grants from the French Government or WHO. Organized by the French Ministries of Health, Foreign Affairs, and Cooperation, the meeting was ofhcially sponsored by WHO and UNESCO. The purpose was to acquaint the participants with a methodological approach to health education, taking as examples the problems of AIDS and toxic dependency (alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction). This was the second meeting of its kind; the first, which was held last year, dealt with malaria. This March meeting was Invented to come to gnps with the most burmng health issues of the day, and to foster a fruitful exchange of ideas among professionals engaged In bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Many of them, on returning to their respective countries, are likely to be called upon to occupy high-level health posts. Does vasectomy confer unexpected benefits? This appears to be one finding of a major study carried out In the Chinese province of Szechuan, the results of which have just been published. The study maintains that not only does this family planning technique present no risk for men who undergo the operation, but also that vasectomised men appear to be In better health than the others. In particular they seem to be affected less often by hypertension, rheumatism, asthma and diabetes. About 10 million men have undergone vasectomy dunng the past 20 years in the province of Szechuan, which has 100 miJlion Inhabitants. WORLD HEALTH 3/89 The choice of Addis Ababa was made not only because of the experience Ethiopia has acquired in handling catastrophes, but also because the Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa have their headquarters there. This will undoubtedly facilitate co- ordination and international cooperation. Particularly active in the field of development aid, the Italian government has generously sup- ported the setting up of this centre, which places WHO hence- forth in the vanguard of relief work in the event of disasters, a domain in which health protec- tion clearly plays a major role, especially as regards controlling possible epidemics. • WORLD HEALTH for readers everywhere 1989 Subscription Rates From the start of 1989, two-year and three- year subscriptions will no longer be offered. Readers will be able to take out only one-year subscriptions at the rates given below. US$ 0 Sw.fr. 0 One year 20.- 25.- WHO will continue to offer in 1989 its "Health Horizons" combined subscriptions to both World Health (ten issues per year) and the quarterly World Health Forum. The annual price will be: USS 0 Sw.fr. 0 52.- 65.- 0RDER FORM Please enter my one-year subscription to World Health D Health Horizons D I enclose cheque/international postal order in the amount of: Name: Street: ............................................... .. .. .. .. ... . City: .................................................. ... ,, .. . Country: ....................... .. ................................... . World Health, WHO, Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland World Health is also distributed through the network of international bookstores and subscription agencies. For payment in national currencies. please contact your usual bookseller. IN THE NEXT ISSUE The advances made in medicine in recent decades - not least in re- search into human reproduction, in organ transplants and in genetics - confront health workers with pro- found ethical dilemmas. The April issue of World Health will examine some of the situations where ethics and health care are inseparably intertwined. 31