58th Meeting of the Regional Director with WHO Representatives, Opening Remarks, 13-21 November 2006, WHO/SEARO, New Delhi.

Opening Remarks By Dr Samlee Plianbangchang Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia At 58th Meeting of the Regional Director with WHO Representatives WHO/SEARO, New Delhi 13-21 November 2006 58th Meeting of the Regional Director with WHO Representatives 13-21 November 2006 WHO/SEARO, New Delhi Opening Remarks By DR SAMLEE PLIANBANGCHANG REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WHO SOUTH-EAST ASIA WHO Representatives; WHO Colleagues from SEARO and HQ; Ladies and gentlemen; With great pleasure, I warmly welcome you all to the Fifty-eighth meeting of the Regional Director with WHO Representatives. Let me reiterate that this meeting is the most important opportunity for us to have a yearly internal dialogue and discussion on matters of concern. During the meeting, we will have time to review our managerial issues, with the view to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our work in the Region. It is a rather long meeting this time, because there are many areas that need to be covered. Firstly, we will have to review the actions taken on the recommendations of our last meeting. Then, we will hear from the Country Representatives about the currently important events taking place in countries. 2 It is equally necessary during this meeting for each WR to have a close dialogue with the individual departments and programmes. This is one of the primary purposes of this meeting – WR’s meeting with the responsible persons in various areas of work. We also need to review together some important developments in the following areas: Global Management System (GSM); Accountability Framework; Contractual Reform; United Nations Reform at country level; International Health Regulations; International Trade and Health, and Regional Emergency Fund. Please note that these are not listed according to their relative priority or importance. The sequence may be changed as appropriate. In addition, it is necessary for WRs to have a private discussion on certain specific issues with the Executive Management. This discussion will take place twice during the course of this meeting – at the beginning and at the end. It will also be useful for WRs to have a dialogue with the Executive Committee of the Staff Association to review the Association’s role in countries. Our main aim, or the aim of the Organization in collaborating with Member States is to strengthen country capacity. This is with the view to ensuring long-term sustainable development at that level. We have to always keep this vision in view in the course of our work with countries. One of the key strategies in strengthening country capacity is the development of country health and health -related staff. We need an effective approach and more investment to ensure availability of the critical mass of trained health workforce at the country level. The Regional Office and country offices have to work closely together in pursuing such training programmes in various specific areas of work. 3 While we continue to support the development of staff who work in medical institutions, our attention has to be specially paid to public health professionals and public health practitioners, who can devote their time to promote population health and prevent diseases in the population. And equally important, to community-based health workforce, the workforce that can serve the entire community and the whole population. The workforce that can reach the unreached; the poor, vulnerable, underprivileged and marginalized. We, in the Region, are now pursuing our special efforts in human resources for health towards this direction, under our Public Health Initiative; focussing on public health workforce and community-based health workers. Within this context, it needs to be reiterated that we collaborate with Member States, through country focus and specific country approach. This is to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of our response to the country-specific needs and priorities. At the same time, we continue pursuing the implementation of the Organization’s decentralization strategy to ensure availability of WHO resources at the country level. The delegation of authority to facilitate the efficient functioning of WHO country offices will be augmented, whenever needed. And we continue to field review missions to countries as a part of our oversight to ensure transparency and accountability at that level. I once again would like to emphasize the crucial importance of the continuous follow up and regular evaluation of our work in various programme areas. This is to ensure good results and a good impact of our contributions on the countries’ health situation. We should not just move forward without knowing clearly how much we have achieved in terms of results or impact while contributing to health development in countries. 4 Therefore, when developing the programme budget and workplans, please always build evaluative research in our collaborative programmes. We have to always be ready to demonstrate how and how much our work can contribute to the strengthening of country health systems. And how and how much we can help in the reduction of country health problems. For this important exercise, we need to develop indicative parameters for our programme evaluation. These indicators must be sensitive enough to demonstrate changes in health systems and health situations in countries within a specified time frame. The effort to develop this set of indicators is necessary, if we are to be really objective in our programme development and management. Now, let me briefly touch on some issues relating to budgetary resources. Our regional budget is increasing, rather rapidly, I may say. However, most of the increase is in the areas of Voluntary Contributions (EBR). For the current biennium, only 28% of our regional budget is from Assessed Contributions (RB), the rest is from VC. As we know, VC usually come with conditions. The conditions that limit the flexibility in their use for implementing our priority programmes. Nonetheless, special attention needs to be paid to the use of VC, which is increasing more and more. In the near future, most of our work will be carried out with support from VC, if this budgetary trend continues. Timely implementation of VC according to their terms and conditions is very important indeed. We have to make sure that the funding agencies are satisfied with our performance in such implementation. When we cannot expect more AC, we have to prudently manage the total budget available to us in the most efficient and effective manner. Economy measures and value for money must always be kept in mind in managing our programmes; supported either from AC or VC. 5 Furthermore, I would like to remind all of us of the advent of the new financial rules. The rules that require us to complete the implementation of AC within the biennium concerned. No unliquidated obligations can be carried over to the next biennial period as previously practised. We have now almost finished the first year of the biennium, 2006- 2007. I just observed that several countries still have unusually low implementation of AC for this current biennium. To accelerate the implementation of the budget, please do not just try only to obligate funds. Timely liquidation of the obligation must always be ensured. In the process, the quality of implementation must always be our overriding concern. To implement AC funds efficiently during the rest of the biennium, an attempt should be made in identifying activities that can easily be completed well before the end of 2007. These activities are particularly in the areas of training, which may also include short-term study visits. The emphasis of training should be in-country, to help produce a critical mass of trained health personnel at all levels. At the same time, we have to be careful with the activities that may be difficult to complete on time. These are especially those relating to research, study, and model development. In this case, plans must be carefully made to roll over such activities to the next biennium, if they cannot be completed with this biennium. We, at the Regional Office, are ready to help countries in a big way in implementing the programme budget. WRs, please discuss with the Regional Office technical units on how to proceed more efficiently and effectively in the implementation of AC during the rest of the biennium. We need also to remind ourselves that we, in the Region, are an integral part of the whole Organization. We are operating within the global policy and strategy framework. To be effective in our mission, we have to depend on operational support from Headquarters. 6 We, the Regional Office and Country Offices, must gratefully thank HQ for their strong back-up from the global level to our work in the Region. We look forward to closer and stronger cooperation between the Region and HQ in the years to come. At the same time, I must place on record the indispensable support from various partners. In addition to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio, last year there was a robust back-up from many international agencies for Tsunami emergency response. And, this year, we have received generous support for Avian Influenza prevention and control. Our Region is very much prone to various types of emergency. We have to be very well-prepared to help countries in their efforts to respond effectively to the emergency situations. For this particularly, we need more resources. The resources that can be mobilized on time and are forthcoming; for our urgent response to the requests from countries. Both, the Health Ministers and the Regional Committee that met last August expressed particular interest in emergency preparedness and response. And, among other matters, the Health Ministers and the Regional Committee requested for the creation of a Regional Emergency Fund. This fund, if created, will take us a long way in ensuring the availability of resources for emergency response. The Regional Office is now taking action on this important request. As mentioned earlier, we will discuss this issue during the course of this meeting. As a result of the meetings of the Health Ministers and the Regional Committee, a number of recommendations were made and several resolutions adopted. These recommendations and resolutions need vigorous follow up actions by both the countries and WHO. I assume that the reports of these two meetings have already been sent to the country offices. And that all WRs are well aware of those recommendations and resolutions. Please take action without delay on those, which are under our responsibility. This is another important area of joint actions between the Regional and Country Offices. 7 Another important point I would like to underline is in the area of evidence and information, which is extremely essential to our work. We have to ensure efficient and effective generation, coordination, management and dissemination of technical and scientific knowledge and information. More efforts are needed in providing the relevant information to the individual Member States. With such information, in general, the countries will be able to initiate the development actions without our direct intervention to help them. I would like to request WHO country offices and technical units at the Regional Office to pay much more attention to the provision of information to countries . In this exercise, support from the Regional Office to country offices to ensure availability of information is very important indeed. I am now reviewing the information management at the Regional Office with the view to ensuring its efficient service. Providing information to countries is one of the effective means to encourage country capacity strengthening. We will pursue further discussion of this issue during the course of this meeting. The past year was another year of hard work. Endemicity of Avian Influenza in two countries and its outbreaks in some others had kept us very busy throughout. Attaining polio eradication became tougher. Polio cases were reported in the countries where its transmission had been interrupted for years. Floods continued unabatedly in several countries of the Region. These were in addition to other disasters and emergencies that were prevailing here and there throughout the past year. A lot of our efforts had to be devoted to emergency relief and response in the affected countries. These were additional to our support to strengthen country capacity in other areas of work. 8 With this scenario in view, it is of utmost importance for us to work together harmoniously and synergistically between the Country Offices and Regional Office. If we are to succeed in our regional mission, our work must be one; and the functioning of various programmes must be in unison. We have to really share responsibility and commitment in the execution of our work. Our work demands selfless dedicatio n and sacrifice. Try to be efficient through streamlining of our managerial process. And try to be less bureaucratic in our approach. I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my deep appreciation and thanks to all WRs, all other professional staff members and all GS staff members for their untiring efforts for the progress of WHO’s work in SEAR during the past year. I look forward to their continued dedication and hard work in the coming year. Globally, we are a part of the Organization’s mission. To achieve it, we have to contribute diligently and effectively, through our efforts in the Region. Therefore, while working for South-East Asia , we have to view WHO in its totality as one Organization. We are now to work under the new global leadership of Dr Margaret Chan; to whom our total support will be forthcoming. We really have a heavy agenda for this meeting. However, I hope that we will be able to complete all agenda items successfully. Let me wish this meeting all success, a nd wish you all an enjoyable stay in Delhi. Thank you.