Reporting on socio-economic development

--? ?rb' WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION OI'TCHOCERCI r,,S IS CONTiOI PnOG',\I[,m I}'T TI]E VOITA RTIruR BASI}I AREA NEPORTII.TG O1,I SOCIO-ECO}IO}fi C DEIIELOPI\trNT ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE cNoS/7 O-IIGDIAL: EITGLISII NATTOIIAL OI{CHOCM.CIASTS CO}O'I]T[MS Fifth meeting $J aggyr. _r-Q-.r!_.r,alq -ry 8 1 .P-to:_iSr.errAl--ege_n-@_-it9e.-Q REPORTING ON SOCTO-ECONOMTC IIEVETOPMENT At the meeting of the National Onchocerciasis Comittees held in Bamako in April L979 the Participating Countries decided that the res- ponsibility for prod.ucing an arueual report on development activities should 1ie with the states themserves. This was a verrr positive d.ecision. The reports preparecl by the countries were subsequent\r presented at the JCC meeting i.n December 1979 )n Geneva and at the JPC meeting in lrlovember 1980 in yanoussoukro. The type of reporting on socio-econonaic d.evelopment varied from one Participating Corntry to another in reflection of the development policles pr:rsued and the priorities given to development of the oncho- cerciasis controlled. areas within each national pIan. Also each was i-nfluenced. to a certain extent by the availability of fund.s from the range of international and. birateral agencies for specific projects within the general d.evelopment framervork. The lack of a stand.ardized reporting system rnade i| difficult for the delegates at the JPC to find in the reports the required. elements to evaluate progress in the socio-economic d.evelopment in the onchocer- ciasis controlled areas in respect of introd.uction of a6ricultural based. ind'ustries, the erpanded. cuLtivation of riverine areas, the .resettlement of population anti the establishment of the necessa^rTr social, health and. ed.ucation support structures, rn an attempt to ha:monize the different approaches the prqgra&ne Di-rector, consulted. the Regional Director, Dr Comlan A.A. euenr:n and the Director-General, Dr II. Mahler. Both advised. that the Sponsoring Agencies be approa,ched. as ttrry rene mee involved. in economic d.evelopment. Accord.ingly, a joint meeti:rg w€rs convened. i-n Rome in January IpB1 attended by FAO, UNDP and :,^,EIL,. The followir:g are the conclusi-ons of this meeting: ifithin the O:chocerciasis Control Eeogramme, the Economic Develop- ment Unit will study and. encourage socio-economic d.evelopment in the Prograrnme a.reat To achieve its objectives, it will: -? - maintain close contact with the National Onchocerciasis Committees, with ministries, departrnents and national institutions xesponsible for d.evelopment plar::aing arrd. project execution within the Programme axear md assist at the request of these authorities in the presentation of d.evelop- ment project proposals ; - collaborate with the representatives and. field. staff of U1tr1tp an6 other United ltrations Agencies aied rrrith the representatives of banks ancl technical assistance missions working in the Participating Countries; - collate data collected. from national authorities relevant to the socio-economic d.evelopment of the PrograJnme axea and maintain an up-to- date record- of all d.evelopment actions i.mplemented. and. pla.nned at national and. regional level within the programme areai - liaise with ttre Sovernments in the preparation of their an:aual socio- economic report to tlee JPC with a vj-ei^r to facilitate a clear overall view of progress in socio-economic d.evelopment throughout the area; ooord.inate and supervise a prograJnme of training ancl research in health economics; - a.ssist in the preparation of background. d.ata ancL actual arrange- ments on the grouncl for assistance and. evaruation missions. fn this way the Rrogamme vrill be ready to assist the Participating Countries on request in all matters related. to the reporting of d.evelop- ment progress in ord.er to coord.inate the presentations and meet the aspirations of all concerned. Approximately Bl/c of the Programne area is now und.er control. The ultimate objective of ilee programme is not just to kirl flies but to control onchocerciasis and make the Iand. available for socio-economic d.evelotrxnent. fhe cost per annum is about US {$16 million. In response to such a large contribution it is most important that the countries place ernnhasis on and. accelerate the d.evelopment of the onchocerciasis controlled areas. Tlris will include resettling the people in the fertile valleys and ensuring that their rife is better socio-economicalry. ,Development of the area must take due cognizarLce of the provision of: - regular food supplies, - adequate drinJ<ing water, - reasonable appropriate housing, and. - public health facilities i+ith both preventive and curative services against all end.emic d.iseases present including onchocercj-asis. From the point of view of 1^iI{0 this is an id.eaI situation where one can have a totally integrated. plarured approach involvirlg the ministries in the Participating Countries , OCPf'.iHO and all other a6encj-es interested. in the fieId of health, so a,s to achieve the ultimate social objective of Health for A11 bJ' the year 2000. It is essential, therefore, that country econonic reports should includ.e a.nongst other things: - ind.ication of the status of the projects (pIanned., started, financeci, completed, etc.); - ind.ication of the health infrastructure being created. in the onchocerciasis controlled zones ; - significarice of the onchocerciasis zone plen r,rithin the context of the general national d.eveloprnent plan; - ind.ication of progress mad,e each Xelr the enlargement of the area being d.eveloped. and the number of people beitefittir.ig from the control of onchocerciasis as rue1I as the d.evelopment. Durin8 his recent visit to ti,e seven Participating Cor:.ntries the Programme Director d,iscussed., alnong others, all the above points ruith the nationa] authorities. The reactions were verTr encouragj.ng. The Programme, for its part, gave the r.rrd-ertaking to collaborate to the fu11 with the cou-ntries within the limits clefined. by its Protocol. ft was generally recogni-zed, that the stage of proraises and. good inten- tions was nor{ passed-. The tirne is ripe for d.emonstrable concrete actions in the onchocerciasis controlled zones.