Epi RESTRI CTED STEERING COMMITTEE FOR ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL IN THE VOLTA RIVER BASIN AREA REPORT OF ITS ELEVENTH SESSION Washington, 10-I2 December, 1974 I I I I t 2- CONTENTS A. Opening of Session - Election of Chairman . B. Adoption of the Agenda o . C. Matters arising from previous sessions Economist for Programme Unit . . World Bank Film Contribution of Government of Ghana Building facilities for the Programme Unit . . ' Insecticide SuPPIies for 1975 Date of the Onchocerciasis Fund Agreement WHO Contact with the Ecological Panel D. Fund Agreement E. Memorandum of Understanding . . F. Research and Training . G. Abidjan Meeting . . H. Budget 1. Draft Progress RePort . . J. Economic DeveloPment . K. Utilization of United Nations Volunteers in the Onchocerciasr Control Programme L. Arrangements for next Session . M. Adoption of the RePort ANNEX I. Parti-ciPants ANNEX 2. Provisional agenda ANNEX 3. Conference Check List Paragraph I J Page s 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 8 q 4 5 6 6 8 8 I 10 11 r2 16 2I 34 35 38 42 44 45 9 q 9 l1 13 r5 I I i 1 I I , )lI a t JA. OPENING OF SESSION - ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN 1. The ereventh session of the steering committee was herd atfrom IO to L2 December 1974. The meeting was opened by Mr M. members of the Commlttee and Dr M. G. Candau. the World Bank, Washington, Ls. Bazin (IBRD) who welcomed 2 B J on the proposal of Dr A. Bellerive (wHo) Mr Bazin was elected as Chairman. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The following agenda was adopted: Opening of session Election of Chairman Adoption of the agenda Matters arising from previous sessions Economist for Programme Unit World Bank Film Contribution of Government of Ghana Building facilities for the programme Unit Insecticide suppli-es for I925 Date (Article xI, section rr.o) of the onchocerciasi-s pund Agreement wHo contact with the Ecorogicar panel and repry to united NationsEnvironmental programme (UWnp) Discussion of the draft Fund Agreement Discussion of the draft Memorandum of Understanding for the JCCResearch and training Abidjan: Agenda and other arrangements Budget (draft paper prepared by WHO for di.scussion) Progress Report (draft paper prepared by WHO for discussion) Economic Development (Technical paper prepared by uNDp, FAo and Bank experts fordiscussion ) Utilization of united Nations vorunteers in the onchocerciasis Control programmeOther matters Arrangements for next session Adoption of report Closure of session 1 2 3 4 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (e) 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 1I. t2. r3. 14. 15. r6. C. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS SESSIONS 4' Economist for Programme Unit: FAo informed the Committee that a candidate with therequired quarifications had been found and was acceptable to UNDp and the Bank; hiscandidature had also been discussed with the programme Director. The person concerned hadmuch experience in plannj-ng large scale programmes but Ilttle in their actuaf execution.UNDP indicated that the economistrs main responsibility would be to support the programmeDirector by keeping abreast of economic development actj-vities 1n the programme area as a whore.He could not be expected, by himseJ-f, to pray a maJor rore in the developnent of speclficinvestment projects. 5. World Bank Fitm the films for the Parti alternative sources of that i-t would like to r, films on onchocerciasis The Bank i-ndicated that it wourd provi-de the necessary funds to financecipating countries. The committee requested the Bank to expl.refinance to produce the firms for the agencies as we1r. wHo i.ndicated eview the unused firm held by the Bank to prepare two other 20 min , one technicaf and the other for general informatlon. 4- 6. Contribution of Government of Ghana: WHO informed the Committee that the Coordinator of the Programme in Ghana and the Principal Secretary of the Minlstry of Economic Planning had stated that the contribution of / Zn OOO was global in cash or kind. Of this amounty' lO OOO in cash had already been made available to the Programme. The Government j-s unable to enter into further commitments at thls stage and in any case would like to be informed of the contrj-butions i-n cash or kind of the other Particrpating Countrles. 7. Building facilities for the Programme Unit: The Committee was j-nformed that the estimated cost of purchasi-ng the Nemer property and constructing an additional office block was equi-valent to IO years'rental of the four buj.ldj-ngs currently occupled; moreover thrs had the added advantage of centraltzi-ng all the Programme Units. A cal-I for bids for this work had been sent out to nine bullding contractors in the Programme area. 8. Insecticide supplies for 1975: WHO reported on the results of the insecticide trials recently completed. The performance of one of the three formulations of Abate tested was equivalent to that of the Procida formulation but, as it was produced by the parent company, American Cyanamid, the source of supply is virtuatly unchanged. The Committee agreed that the remaining 70 OOO litres requj.red for 1975 should again be ordered from Procida. q Date (Article XI, Section t1.O) of the Onchocerciasis Fund Agreement The appropriate date has not yet been decided by the Bank. 1O. WHO contact wi th the Ecological Panel: WHO confirmed to the Commj-ttee that a letter had been sent to the Chairman of the Ecologj-cat Panel on 6 November 1974 but no comments had been received. D. FTIND AGREEMENT It. The Committee agreed to the general- text of the Fund Agreement wlth the following amendments : Page 2 Insertion of a new paragraph D to read: "A plan of action for the years 1974-79 of the Programne has been prepared and is appended hereto as Annex I." earagraphs (D), (E), anO (F) should now read (E), (F), and (G) respectively. Page 6, Section 3.O3 Add (a) at begj-nning of paragraph. Page 9, Section 4.O4 to read "(a) WHO shal1 submit to the Steering Committee (i) a report contarning appropriate informatlon concerning the progress made in carrying out the Programme and (ri) an estimated budget for the following year. (b) The Steering Committee will review these documents in turn to allow their' distributlon to all- members of the JCC not less than 30 (45) days before the date of the annual meetj-ng of the JCC." Pase tO, Section 5.O1 Last sentence to read: "UNDPts participation during the first three years of the programme is at present set at one milfion two hundred thousand dollars (US$ I 2OO OOO)." -5- E. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 12. The Committee noted the preliminary comments on the Memorandum of Understanding made by the United States Government and it was agreed that finatization of the document would be postponed pending receipt of the fuII comments from this and other governments. In the meantime WHO would discuss this matter with the Director, United States Office of InternationalHealth (Dr S. PauI Ehrlich). 13. It was noted that in view of this devetopment it would not now be possible to distribute the Memorandum of Understanding before the Abidjan meeting. 14. The commi-ttee then reviewed the draft text and recommended pending the receipt of other comments: the following amendments The Joint Coordinat ing Committee Article I(i ) to read "provide overall guidance for the carrying out of the programme and to that effect keep itself abreast of alt aspects of the development of the programme and consider reports submj-tted to it by the Steering Committee." Article 2(1ii)d to read "to undertake such functlons in relation to the development of the programme as may be requested by any of the Sponsoring Agencies." The Steeri ng Committee Article 2(i ) to read "take cognizance of the reports submitted to WHO by the Technj-ca1 Advisory Committee (TAC) as well as reports by any of the sponsoring agencies, the Economic Development Advisory panel (EDAP) and the Ecotogical panel (Ep), make the necessary observations thereon and transmit these with comments as appropriate to the JCC." The Titl-e of Section D to read: "Scientific Advisorv panel (SAP) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)." Article I to read "In order to advise the Organization on af1 scientific and technicar matters related to the onchocerciasis Control Programme WHo shalr establish a Scientific AdvisoryPanel comprising scientists in dlsciplines connected with the programme." Economic Devefopment Advi sorv Panel ( EDAP ) Article 1 to read "In order to assure the continuous review of information rerating to the economicdevelopment aspects of the Programme, the Steering Committee has agreed to establish anEconomic Development Advisory Panel composed of a number of economists and speciatj-sts 1nagriculture and rural development, with special experience in economic development inWestern Africa. To that end, the Steering Committee has agreed that the Bank shaIf, after consurtation with the other Sponsoring Agencies, select the members of the paner.,, -6- I5. The Committee also recommended that the addresses of the Independent Chairman of the JCC and the sponsoring agencies shoutd be appended' 16. In reply to a query by the Bank, regarding adoption of the document by the JCC, Dr Candau suggested that in the event of there being no comments introduced at the Abid'ian meeting, he would, as chairman, propose its format acceptance without discussion' F. RESEARCH AND TRAINING lT.AttherequestofUNDP,WHobrj-eflydescribedProgrammeactivitiesinthefieldof AppliedResearchandTraining.Itwasnotedthatanumberofresearchagreementshadbeen established between the organi-zatj.on and research institutions for studies 1n entomology, insecticide evaluation, protection of the environment, epidemi-ofogy and chemotherapy' In addition an agreement had been concluded in 1974 for the traj-ning of entomologists at oCCGE' Bouake, Ivory Coast. 18. With regard to the future, the Committee was informed that as a result of recent meetlngs in the wHO Regional Office in washington, and trtlHo headquarters, Geneva, detailed studies on all exlsting drugs, both in the laboratory and in the fj-eld' were planned' The difficulties inherent in the development of new drugs by chemi-cal companies, such as the problem of expensive research for products of 1ow commercial value, were explained' WHO stated that a staff member had recently visited seven laboratories in Europe in an attempt to stlmulate interest in this field, and it is intended to approach simil-ar firms in other parts of the world. 19. With regard to training, the activities begun in 1974 woul-d be continued and extended and the programme was currentty investigating alternative training lnstitutions' FAO stressed the need to ensure that trainees could subsequently be employed by the Programme' WHO assured the Committee that so far no difficulties had been encountered in this respect' 2C . FAo indicated its wish to be associated with research being carried out in the field of aquatic monitoring and informed WHO that backstopping could be provided by i-ts regional services while Dr Beckman,s team would also be ready to assist with the periodic review of the monitoring programme. 2l.UNDPrequestedthataprocedureforregularSemi-annualreportingofresearchactivities be initiated. wHO indicated that the reports to be prepared twice a year for the Technj-ca1 Advisory committee could serve this purpose. It was agreed that the document on research in preparatj.on for the first meeting of the TAC would be distributed to members of the Steerihg Committee. UNDP atso requested, in view of its own administrative procedures' that WHO report separately on (a) the actual disbursement and (b) the substantj-ve achievements of those activities of the programme financed under RAFf74fOO4. G. ABIDJAN MEETING 22. Following the visit of Dr A. Bel}erive (wHo) and Mr D' Garff (IBRD) the dates for the inauguralmeetingoftheJointCoordinatingCommittee(t1-l2FebruaryI9?5)hadbeenclarified with the Government of the Ivory Coast' 23,ItwasagreedthattheworldBankwouldberesponsiblelororganizingthemeetj-n€land iira "'j"tii ii*r7r"o ,t""t"" should visit the rvory coast as soon as possible t. rir scuss arrangements with th" ""ti"""I authorities and local agency representatives' and review -7 facilities. This mission would also investigate informally whether the President of the Ivory Coast would be willing to open the meeting. An official letter covering these matters would subsequently be addressed to the Government by the World Bank who also undertook todraft the Presidentrs opening address. 24. It was agreed that the Bank would contact each agency at an early date regarding any assistance it may require. 25. The draft provisi onal agenda for the Abidjan meeting was reviewed and adopted with mirror modifications (Annex 2). 26. The Committee hoped that Dr A. A. Quenum (Regional Director for Africa) would be able to attend the Joint Coordinating Committee in Abidjan. It was agreed that the Director- General of WHO would transmit to Dr A. A. Quenum on behalf of the sponsoring agencies aninvitation to attend. 27. It was pointed out that as there are no rules of procedure for the JCC an informal approach would be adopted for the election of Vice-Chairman and officers 28. The question of press coverage was considered. WHo felt that the assistance of the Programme Information Officer to arrange and coordinate public information activities inAbidjan would be valuable and offered to take this up with the Programme Director. WHO was requested to prepare a draft press rel-ease which woutd be i-ssued prior to the meeting. The Bank suggested that, if possible, a television interview should be arranged. 29. With regard to social activities it was agreed that the Independent Chairman would give a cocktail party for alI participants. 30. The documents for the meeting would include a paper on economic development. UNDp undertook to prepare by early January a draft of this for circuLation to FAO and the Bankfor comments, and to WHO for information. This paper would be presented to the Abidjan meeting by Mr M. Doo Kingu6 (UNDP), or the senior UNDP representative, on behalf of the three agencies. 31. The Comrnittee agreed that hotel accommodation should be reserved in advance It wasgenerally considered that the Hotel Ivoire would not be suitable in view of its }ocation, andit was requested that the mission explore other possibiJ-ities incl,uding the Hotel- Tiama whichis centrally located. 32. Other matters such as trans secretarial staff were discussed. interpreters and also to prepare(Annex 3). port, refreshments, WHO was requested a check list for the interpretatlon, office equipment, and to investigate the availability of Bank of aI1 items and action required 33. An informal meeting of agency representatives would arrangement s. be held on 10 February to review 34. The timing of the next meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee was discussed.It was felt that in view of the role and functions of the JCc its meetings should take place towards the end of the calendar year and it was agreed that the month of November would be a suitable period. -8- }I. BUDGET 35. The budget was presented by WHO. The Bank while indicating its satisfaction with the document, requested clarification of certain issues, particularly as concerns physical and price contingencies. UNDP considered that it would be preferable to list details of the actual staff involved in offering support to the Programme in WHO headquarters and Regional Office. The Bank informed WHO that a French translation of the text woutd be required, and that updating of the document might also be necessary' I. DRAFT PROGRESS REPORT 36. The draft report on programme activities during the second harf of 1974, prepared by wHo for the AbidJan meeting, was reviewed. The committee considered that a more comprehensive approach would be appropriate for the JCC. It was agreed that the report wourd be expanded to cover the complete development and implementation of the Programme in L974, and the plan of actron for 1975. 37. The Bank requested that dates should be i-ncluded where possible as, for example, in the establishment of research agreements. 38. It was agreed that the revised text, in French and English, would be forwarded to the Bank for distribution with the other documents for the JCC meeting. A supplementary report, covering the start of the spraying operations, would also be prepared for presentation at the JCC. J. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMH{T 39. The Committee noted with pleasure the inter-agency exchanges on the subiect of economrc development over the past months which have culminated in the meeting of specialists, 4-6 December Ig74, from each of the sponsoring agencies to consider a methodology for planning the economic development of areas cleared of the disease. A commonly agreed comprehensive methodolog:/ and a report on the meeting were presented for consideration by the steering Commi t tee. 4c.. The Chairman moved a vote of thanks to those who had contributed to the report and the methodology paper. Fotlowi-ng discussion, both documents were approved by the Steering Committee. 4L. It was noted that no mention had been made of the modality of seeking additional finance for the pre-feasibility of investment proJects expected to be identified during the implementa- tion of the first part of the planning projects' 42. The Committee recommended that UNDP and FAo should immediately prepare a model "pIan of operation" incorporating the detail of the agreed methodology into the framework of the ongoing model developed for econornic development work in Togo. This would then be cleared by FAO headquarters and the World Bank so that j-t could be sent within Io days to UNDP headquarters for distribution to governments and UNDP resident representatives. I K-sfrc- UTILIZATION OF UNITED NATIONS VOLI.]NTEERS IN THE ONCHOCERCIASIS COI{TROL PROGRAMME 43. UNDP informed the Committee that it was willing to augment its contribution by$ 260 ooo for the employment of 2o United Nations volunteers as requested by the programmeDirector- The Bank suggested that if extra personnel were required for the programme it would be preferable either (a) to pay for the volunteers from the onchocerciasis Fund or(b) to recruit this personner in the normal nanner. In any case, care shourd be taken to ensure that the best qual,ifj.ed personnel be recruited. 44. The Comrnittee recommended that the Programme Director be requested to provide morespecific information on the actuar needs of the Programme for additionar operationar support.rn the meantime UNDP wourd hold in abeyance its offer to finance the participation of theunited Nations vorunteers in the Programme's activities pending a review of the situatlon. L. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE NEXT SESSION 45' It was agreed that the steering Committee would meet in Abidjan on 10 February 1925 and continue the session, if necessary, on 13 and 14 February after the JCC. M. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT 46. The Steering Committee reviewed and adopted its Report.
- rtfL2 - ANNEX ] PARTICIPANTS Members of the Steering Committe MrT MrM DrA MrC e S. B. Aribisala, FAO Headquarters, Rome Ls. Bazin, IBRD Headquarters, Washington (Chairman) Bellerive, WHO Headquarters, Geneva H. La Muni6re, UNDp Headquarters, New york Secretari at FAO Headquarters IBRD Headquarters WHO Headquarters MrD.R Mr J. D Miss R. Dr M. G. Candau also attended part of the session. Groom, Agricultural Services Division Garff, Western Africa Divislon Marr, Onchocerciasis Control programme ViIlars, Onchocerciasis Control programme MrC.G
- r3h4 MEETING ON THE CONTROL OF ONCHOCERCIASIS IN WESTERN AFRICA Meet i4g of the Join t Coordinat ing Commi ttee for the programmeAbid jan, ll-L2 Iebruary 1975 PROYISIONAL AGENDA 1. Opening of the Meeting 2. Introduction of the Chairman 3. Election of Vice-Chairman and Rapporteurs 4. Adoption of the Agenda 5' Adoption of the Draft Memorandum of understanding on Management structures 6. Progress Report on the programme and plan of Action for 1975 (Statement by WHO) 7 ' statement on Economic Development Aspects of the programme (statement by uNDp) 8' Review of the Budget for rg75 (statements by wHo on estimated expenditure and theBank on funding) 9. Other matters 10. Closure of the Meeting ANNEX 2 , a tt 15- , I ANNEX 3 JOINT COORDINATING COMMITTEE &D, LL-I2 February I975 CONFERENCE CHECK LIST IBRD Mission, Abidjan, to be requested to delegate staff member to handle preliminary arrangements. Nane andtelegraphic address to be corununicated to alI participants, UNDP, FAO, WHO. Letter of invitation should request participants advise ]ocal, contact point, preferably by cable,date, flight and time of arrival. to of Government to be requested to nominate Liaison Officerto coordinate arrangements, advise on protocol matters, etc. Each agency should arrange for the participation of its representatives and advise the Bank accordingly. Availability of conference facilities at Caisse deStabilisation to be confirmed. Slze of haII, seating arrangements, offices, refreshment facilitles to be checked. Interpretat ion equipment/earphones Country, agency, etc. name cards Seating plan Tape recording equipnent and operator Delegates' identification badges Pads and pens for conference hal] Government to be consulted re flag or flags to be flown. Accommodation to be reserved en bloc at Hotel Tiama and possibty Hote1 du parc. Special facilities to beinvest iga ted. A Contact oint A an Invitations Government Liaison Officer Locat ion Conference materi AI Flags Hotel ac commodation Transport Arrivals and de rtures Vehicles to be hired andfor obtained on loan.for cars. Parking facilities to be checked. LabeI st Arrangements to be made, in consurtation with GovernmentLiaison Officer, for reception of delegates, handling of airport formalities, VIp Iounge. Arrival and departure schedules to be prepared. Possibility of president of Republic opening meeting tobe investigated. Diplomatic corps and press to beinvited to opening. programme for opening session to beprepared. Opening session Agency representation - Annex 3 Hours of meeting Press coverage Conference facilities Conference staff Cocktail qaltX Information circular Documentat ion Office material Exhibition I6 Hours of sessions and refreshment breaks to be confirmed. Press release to be issued in advance by four agencies. Press conference (or briefing of press) and TV interview to be arranged. Press communiqud. Investigate whether travel, post office and banking services can be made available at conference ha11, check space. Arrangements to be made for refreshments durlng meeting(obtain quotations for coffee fteaf sott drint<s/uiscuits). Interpreters Translators Pr5cis writers Secretaries Messengers Drivers Recept ionist Transport officer Information officer Location for cocktail party of Chairman of JCC to be agreed. Invitation list to be prepared (participants, Government officials, diplomatic Iist, aEiency staff). Quotations for refreshments to be obtained. Liquor supplies to be investigated. Invitations to be printed. Information circular to be issued to alL participants about three weeks in advance (i.e. following joint IBRD/WHo mission to Abidjan). AtI documentation to be prepared in Engtish and French. IBRD to indicate number of copies required of Agency statements. List of participants to be prepared. Typewr i ter s Duplicating machines Photocopy machine List of miscellaneous office supplies to be prepared' Exhibition material to be prepared for conference haIl' I f