WORLD HEALTH ORGAN I Z.ATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC BUREAU R~GIONAL DU PACIFIQUE OCCIDENTAL
REGIONAL COMMITTEE Thirty-fourth session Manila
WPR/RC34/SR/2 5 September 1983 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
PROVISIONAL SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SECOND MEETING WHO Conference Hall, Manila Monday, 5 September 1983 at 2.30 p.m. CHAIRMAN: Datuk (Dr) Abdul Khalid Sahan (Malaysia)
CONTENtS
1.
Nomination of the Regional Director ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Report of the Regional Director •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
3
2.
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Note:
Corrections to this summary record should be given to the Programme and Reports Officer, Room 326, or handed to the Enquiry Desk in the lobby of the Conference Hall, within 24 hours of its distribution.
WPR/RC34/SR/2 page 2
For the List of Representatives at separately issued document WPR/RC34/DIV/l.
the
thirty-fourth session,
see
WPR/RC34/SR/2 page 3
1.
NOMINATION OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR: (Document WPR/RC34/2)
Item 8 of the Agenda and
The meeting was held in private from 2.30 p.m. until 2.55 p.m. resumed in public session at 3.00 p.m.
At the request of the CHAIRMAN, Dr DA PAZ (Portugal), Rapporteur, read out the resolution that had just been adopted by the Regional Committee in private session. "The Regional Committee, Considering Article 52 of the Constitution; and
In accordance with Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedures; 1. NOMINATES Dr Hiroshi Nakajima as Regional Director for the Western Pacific; and 2. REQUESTS the Director-General to propose to the Executive Board the appointment of Dr Hiroshi Nakajima for a further period of five years from 1 July 1984." The CHAIRMAN called upon the Regional Director to address the meeting. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR expressed his sincere thanks to the peoples and Member States of the Western Pacific Region for their support, which would enable them all, including himself, to continue to work together to achieve the goal of health for all by the year 2000, which WHO and its Member States had collectively agreed upon. He wished to make a few remarks about the health situation in the Region, using a~ a framework the main issues and obstacles mentioned that morning by the Director-General. The Region was continuously experiencing increasing political tension within and among countries. Many of its developing countries were being seriously affected by the world recession and as yet had not glimpsed any recovery. Nevertheless, the Region as a whole was undergoing steady economic and social development. Governments were giving increased attention to the health and welfare of their peoples. The world was looking to the Western Pacific as an example of a region that was developing rapidly from the economic and political point of view. Skilled manpower was available and technological capabilities were being developed to the highest level. Despite the political tension and economic constraints the health situation had been improving fairly well in the previous few years. However, much remained to be done if the goal of health for all by the year 2000 was to be achieved. Many developing countries in the Region, particularly the newly independent ones, had not yet satisfactorily developed their health infrastructure and, in particular, health manpower.
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They should continue to work together to solve current health problems and generate healthy and powerful currents of human energy to enhance the social and economic development of the Region and thus promote peaceful c:ooperation in health work. That was the ultimate goal of WHO, as laid down 1n the words of the preamble to its Constitution; "The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and 1s dependent upon the fullest cooperation of individuals and States." The countdown for health for all by the year 2000 had just started and much work would have to be done. His reappointment was subject to the decision of the Executive Board at its session in January 1984 but he wished to express there and then his deepest gratitude to the friends and colleagues with whom he had worked closely as a partner to promote health development in the countries of the Region. He appreciated their support and collaboration and that of all his WHO colleagues in the field and at Headquarters, without which he would have been unable to accomplish what he had in the Western Pacific Region. He also wished to thank the Director-General for his leadership and personal support and sympathy and for his personal involvement and guidance in the development of health in the Region. 2. REPORT OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR; Item 9 of the Agenda (Document WPR/RC34/3, Corr.l and Corr.2) (continued meeting, section 8) from the first
Dr TARANTOLA (Regional Adviser in Communicable Diseases), replying to a question by the representative of Viet Nam, said that in the Truk Archipelago, which had less than 40 000 inhabitants, there had been an epidemic of cholera between August 1982 and May 1983 in which there had been 16 deaths among the 2200 cases. Measures to control the outbreak had not been a complete success. To put the problem in perspective, however, while in 1982 3000 cases of cholera had been notified by 12 different countries, there had been some 600 000 cases of diarrhoeal disease as a whole, with 3900 fatal cases as against 48 from cholera. Recent ecological research in the Chesapeake estuary in the United States of America had shown that the cholera vibrio could survive for quite long periods in the conditions of salinity present there. In Queensland the occurrence of series of small epidemics had shown that the vibrio was able to persist in the environment, and Australian scientists were conducting research to find out how. The outbreak in the Truk Archipelago had led to more consistent use of oral rehydration therapy for all diarrhoeal diseases, not merely cholera, and every opportunity should be taken to educate the public and the governments in the use of correct control methods and appropriate hygiene. Vaccines had hitherto proved unsatisfactory. Research was concentrating on determining the correlations between the serological aspects, the mobility of the vaccine and the degree of its penetration into the intestinal mucosa or survival on the mucosal surfaces. It was hoped that within two or three years an attenuated oral vaccine could be
WPR/RC34/SR/2 page 5
developed, comprising a bacterial antigen and an antigen extracted from the toxin, that would reproduce the natural conditions of cholera infection without its pathogenicity. At the beginning of 1984 WHO would convene a meeting of countries in the Region to discuss the lessons of the outbreak in the Truk Archipelago and what should be done to prevent such outbreaks in the future. Dr UMENAI (Regional Adviser in Communicable Diseases), in reply to a question by the representative of Tonga concerning the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and genital herpes, said tha,t AIDS destroyed immunological defences against infections . and .. such tumours as Kaposi's sarcoma. Various viruses had been blamed but no conclusive identification had been made. Most cases had been rep.o rted .from the United States of America. Of the two types of herpes simplex virus, it was Type 2 that normally attacked the lower part of the body and particularly the genital organs • . Infection was closely connected with the degree of sexual exposure and an incidence as high as 12% had been found among young prostitutes in the USA. There had been informal reports of the presence of genital herpes in the Western Pacific Region. The problem of sexually transmitted diseases was not receiving sufficient attention from governments in the Region, despite the threat posed by the appearance of gonoccocal strains highly resistant to antibiotics. Dr GEIZER (Regional Adviser in Laboratory Technology) said that between June 1981 and 1 August 1983 physicians and health departments in the United States of America and Puerto Rico had reported 1972 cases of AIDS; 38% of those affected were known to have died. In the European Region, up to 30 June 1983, 153 cases had been reported, with a death rate of 30%. In the Western Pacific Region there had been 5 confirmed or suspect cases of AIDS in Australia among male homosexuals, all of whom had been to the United States, and a further fatal case in a bisexual male in Melbourne. The problem of sexually transmitted diseases ~n the Region was a serious one, particularly in the case of gonorrhoea, since 30% of the strains isolated had been found to be resistant to penicillin and a percentage of 60% had been reported from some countries. Most of the resistant strains were of the so-called PPNG type that produced penicillinase, a penicillin-destroying enzyme, but a few . strains were also resistant to spectinomycin. The availability of antibiotics across the counter without prescription and their consequent misuse was one of the main reasons for the increasing resistance. A scientific working group was to be convened in Manila in February 1984 to discuss the question of bacterial resistance, particularly in gonococci, and to formulate guidelines for the control and appropriate use of antimicrobial agents.
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The REGIONAL DIRECTOR felt that the increased concern expressed by representatives regarding certain aspects of communicable diseases control was an indication of the rapid development of their countries. The elimination of tuberculosis by the year 2000 was certainly an aspiration of the Western Pacific Region and control must continue; in particular adequate measures were required to protect populations newly exposed to tuberculosis bacilli. Hepatitis B virus was of growing concern to both developed and developing countries, as evidenced by statistics showing 75% of world hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers to be in the Asian and Western Pacific countries. two new approaches were being developed in the Region. First, a new, cheap and simple diagnostic method using the ELISA assay technique had been developed in Melbourne, Australia. The use of this technique, which did not involve costly radio-immunoassay and could be easily applied at all levels of the health services, was rapidly growing throughout the Region, with work being carried out on the ELISA technique not only for surface antigen but also for e antigen, as well as antibody. Second, it was hoped within one year to isolate hepatitis B carriers who were transmitters. It was well known that not all HBsAg carriers transmitted the disease, probably only e antigen 'carriers, and more precisely those who were DNA positive. He believed the introduction of a precise, simple, diagnostic method and blood screening would lead to a reduction in the cost of producing blood vaccine in the future. A meeting on hepatitis B vaccine would be held in November 1983 to formulate a recommendation to the Director-General to draw attention to the particular situation in Asia. Development of a DNA recombinant vaccine, in which many institutes in China and Japan were already engaged, was being encouraged although difficulties were still being encountered. The Regional Director drew attention to the benefits that could be derived from the WHO fellowship and research training programmes in introducing high technology learned in other countries and adapting it to local conditions. The cholera problem in the South Pacific called for continued surveillance and preparedness to deal with outbreaks which resulted not only from non-human breeding reservoirs but from inadequate sanitation and poor food hygiene. The problem of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), raised by the representative of Tong~ had been overpublicized by the press, even in developing countries of the Region, creating undue anxiety. He stressed that AIDS was a syndrome of which the virus had not yet been definitively isolated. In theory, cytomegalovirus existed in some countries. The human T-cell leukaemia virus had already been isolated in Japan where a large number of carriers existed in the south, but the diagnostic method had only recently been developed and thus epidemiological surveillance had not yet been introduced. A review of virus infections transmitted by blood transfusion, injection, acupuncture and sexual intercourse was required. He stressed that owing to the wider transmission possibilities, AIDS had not been defined as a solely sexually transmitted disease. It was evident that a broader approach to epidemiological surveillance activities in the Region would be necessary in future, encompassing the social and cultural aspects of diseases as well as the development of diagnostic and surveillance methods.
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Dr GALVEZ (Philippines) asked what was the status of measures against acute respiratory infections (ARI) in the Region; in the Philippines a national programme was in preparation and it would benefit greatly from expertise that could ensure a greater impact of preventive and control measures. Dr TARANTOLA (Regional Adviser 1n Communicable Diseases) said that, soon after the establishment of the acute respiratory infections programme in 1976/1977, a programme had started in 1979 in the highlands of Papua New Guinea that had provided a better understanding of the requirements and possibilities. A number of meetings at the Regional Office and at the global level - in particular, a meeting in Manila of principal investigators in August 1982 had reached the striking conclusion that there was sufficient knowledge of the problem and sufficient technology available to enable countries to start prevention and control on a limited scale. The resulting shift of emphasis from research to programme development had been a milestone. A global technical advisory group meeting in Geneva in March 1983 had confirmed the findings of the regional meeting. Progress had also already been made in the urban-area research programme in the Philippines. China had also started programmes, and Malaysia and Viet Nam had submitted proposals. The Philippines' project was testing the impact of various methods. The global technical advisory group had agreed on the priority of measures to reduce mortality, and children, being at special risk, •were to be especially protected. Countries would use approaches relying on a better understanding of the diseases at the community level and of how cases were handled, and on a well-developed referral system. The necessity of early treatment highlighted the role of peripheral health workers, as well as simple and effective diagnostic techniques. The global group had also stressed the need for links with the expanded programme on immunization, especially, for example, where measles was concerned. Dr DE SOUZA (Australia) described the support being given by the Australian Development Assistance Bureau to a project in the Philippines for acute respiratory infections prevention and control in rural areas using the primary health care approach. A centre was to be established in Bohol Province at a cost of some US$300 000. The CHAIRMAN pointed out that acute respiratory infections was one of the subjects of the report of the Sub-Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (document WPR/RC34/S) to be discussed under item 11.1 of the agenda. Chapter 9: Nonconnnunicable disease prevention and control (pages 59-62)
Dr SUNG WOO LEE (Republic of Korea) said that noncommunicable diseases were replacing connnunicable diseases as leading causes of death in most countries of the Region, and he wished to see a corresponding shift in emphasis, particularly to cardiovascular diseases and their prevention within primary health care.
WPR/RC34/SR/2 page 8
Dr THONG (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) described a scheme for prevention of dental diseases among primary school children in Hong Kong as part of that area's oral health promotion measures concentrating on prevention and national manpower planning. It included regular check-ups, scaling and filling, and placed great emphasis on dental health education. Services were provided practically free to those intending to join the scheme, and over 70% of eligible children were participating. He supported the concern of WHO with the need for dental auxiliary staff to ensure that the highly trained were free to carry out specialized tasks as required. A dental therapists' training school and dental hygienist training had been established in Hong Kong. Dr XU SHOUREN (China) said that cancer and cardiovascular diseases deserved special attention. In China, cancer had become the third most frequent cause of death, with an incidence of several hundred thousand cases a year, while cardiovascular diseases were first or second. A seminar on <:!ardiovascular epidemiology had been conducted recently in China, and an investigation of comparative epidemiology in the north and the south of the country had shown that the northern diet, containing m~re salt and fish and other animal protein, was linked to much higher rates for cardiovascular disease and hypertension. The tracing of such risk factors as those in the diet should help to determine preventive and control measures against such diseases. He hoped that the Region would give increased noncommunicable disease prevention and control as a whole. priority to
Mr OKAWA (Japan) said that a truly concentrated effort was required to ensure that cancer control received the priority attention it deserved. The cancer mortality rate in 1981 in Japan had been 142 per 100 000, giving it the first place over cerebra- and cardiovascular diseases. Japan had recently adopted a ten-year comprehensive strategy for cancer control, providing for diversity in research and full international cooperation. It was already cooperating bilaterally and multilaterally in research, and intended to continue international cooperation in control with WHO, concentrating on primary prevention and early detection, education and integration with primary health care. Dr CHRISTMAS (New Zealand), endorsing the remarks of earlier speakers, pointed out that cardiovascular diseases, also, were a subject of the report of the Sub-Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries to be discussed under item 11.1. Dr SIALIS (Papua New Guinea) said that his country had an oral health programme geared to preventive measures, with a school visiting scheme. A school for dental therapists had been established. Cooperation was needed by Papua New Guinea in finding cheaper methods of control of cardiovascular diseases and of the specific cancer problems it shared with both developed and developing countries.
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The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that the noncommunicable diseases were increasingly important in the Region, not only in developed but also in developing countries. For example, cardiovascular diseases were now a major concern of the South Pacific countries. The WHO collaborative study on the epidemiology of stroke and its correlation with nutrition in China had rapidly produced interesting information. The incidence of cardiovascular diseases and stroke was much higher in the north than in the south. In North China, daily salt intake had been 17-20g, as against 7-8g in the south. The intakes of protein and amino acids, fish and animal fat had differed considerably. Surprisingly, low cholesterol intake had not proved to be necessarily a protective factor. Independent studies in Japan had shown that a high salt intake increased cardiovascular disease in rats. Further research would be undertaken following a forthcoming meeting in Kyoto. If confirmed, the findings would provide a valuable health education tool for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Importance was attached to the cancer control programme, which had been on the Committee's agenda several times. As representatives had indicated, the first objective was to determine which cancers were preventable, which in turn entailed an understanding of the mechanism of each type of cancer. In Japan, progress had been made in the early detection of stomach cancer. Liver cancer was prevalent in developing countries with a high incidence of hepatitis B, with which it was known to be linked. Uterine cancer was similarly known to be associated with herpes. Nasopharyngeal cancer had been found to be more prevalent in the Cantonese than in other Chinese populations. All such information could assist in developing prevention and control programmes. A major factor in the etiology of both cancer and cardiovascular diseases was life-style. Unless a start was made now on controlling noncommunicable diseases, health for all would be out of reach. In developing its programme in that field, WHO needed further technical and financial support from countries. He thanked Australia, Japan and the various international and nongovernmental organizations for the cooperation they had already given. Dr TERAO (Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases), replying to the representative of Samoa, outlined WHO's recent activities in the South Pacific in noncommunicable diseases. A visit by a WHO consultant to Samoa in 1978 and Fiji in 1980 had shown that cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, especially diabetes mellitus, were becoming serious problems. After the establishment of a cardiovascular diseases unit in the Regiona 1 Office in 1980, a medical officer had visited Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to discuss possible WHO collaboration with the health authorities. In July 1983 it had stationed a medical officer in Suva to intensify noncommunicable disease activities in the South Pacific. · In October 1983, WHO and the South Pacific Commission would be sending a mission on noncommunicable diseases to Cook Islands, Fiji and Kiribati.
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He thanked the representatives of China, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Korea for their encouragement for WHO's activities. Further extrabudgetary support would assist the organization 1n collaborating with countries. He expressed the hope that each country would have a noncommunicable disease unit in the Ministry of Health so that country-based programmes for the control of cardiovascular diseases could be set up. Dr WONG HEE DEONG (Oral Health), responding to the conunents of the representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Papua New Guinea, said that in a number of developing countries oral health services were not available because manpower was lacking. In fact, much dental work could be done by less qualified staff; for example, coverage had been greatly increased by the use of dental nurses in Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, and of dental therapists in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The technology was available to prevent the present deterioration in oral health. Eleven countries had introduced fluoridation, though coverage was not complete. Other techniques included education and mouth rinsing. In New Zealand, by concentrating much more on prevent1on, the school dental services had reduced fillings required by 50%. Education could achieve a great deal, and more emphasis should be put on prevention in the oral health services. Mr LAVEA LIO (Samoa) said that his country's greatest problem lay in health manpower development. Because of the shortage of medical staff, it had re-employed 30% of doctors who had passed the mandatory retirement age, besides employing expatriates and United Nations volunteers. It had enough nurses, but lacked health inspectors and maintenance technicians for medical equipment. The CHAIRMAN said that the Secretariat would respond under the relevant chapter of the report. Mr NGUYEN DUY CUONG (Viet Nam) drew the Secretariat's attention to the serious problem of malnutrition, on which he would be glad to have a document. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR said that nutritional status, in addition to being an important factor in disease, could also reflect a country's socioeconomic situation or an individual's life-style. He suggested that the question could be discussed under agenda item 13.1; an indicator relating to nutrition was included in the report on monitoring of progress in implementing the strategies for health for all by the year 2000 (document WPR/RC34/7).
The meeting rose at 1700.