SIXTY-FIRST WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Provisional agenda item 14.1
A61/21 16 May 2008
Programme budget 2006–2007: performance assessment First report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board to the Sixty-first World Health Assembly
1. The eighth meeting of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee was held in Geneva on 15 and 16 May 2008 under the chairmanship of Professor J. Pereira Miguel (Portugal). The list of participants is annexed. 2. The Committee adopted its agenda.1
3. The Committee was briefed on the Secretariat’s performance in respect of the Programme budget 2006–2007, including both financial and programmatic implementation. A summary of the forthcoming performance assessment report,2 together with the Financial report and audited financial statements for the period 1 January 2006 – 31 December 2007,3 had previously been issued. 4. The following subjects were discussed in some detail: (1) historical trends in relation to income, expenditure, the ratio of assessed contributions to voluntary contributions, and the degree of alignment of income and programme budget figures; (2) measures taken to adapt to the new budgetary environment, in which there was an increasing reliance on earmarked voluntary contributions; (3) factors contributing to the substantial financial carry-over from the biennium 2006–2007 to the biennium 2008–2009; (4) the process for preparing the performance assessment report for the Programme budget 2006–2007, including an overview of its main purpose, the methodology and timeline for the process, and the main findings of the report. 5. It was noted that, although overall expenditure in biennium 2006–2007 was only marginally below the level of the original approved programme budget, financial implementation rates continued to vary between different areas of work. The main factors contributing to the underfunding of some areas and the relatively high level of carry-over in others included the unpredictable timing of receipt of funds; the specificity of the earmarking of the bulk of voluntary contributions; the high proportion of voluntary contributions for partnerships and other collaborative arrangements hosted by WHO; and changes in policies for recording income and expenditure. The Secretariat stressed that, although all voluntary contributions that assist in implementing the approved programme budget were both crucial
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Document EBPBAC8/1. Document A61/19. Documents A61/20 and A61/20 Add.1.
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and very welcome, the relative scarcity of flexible resources and the diminishing proportion of assessed contributions posed significant challenges to ensuring full implementation of the programme budget. 6. The Committee welcomed the summary of the performance assessment report for the Programme budget 2006–2007 and looked forward to reviewing the full version, revised in the light of the Committee’s comments. The full version would be discussed at regional committee meetings and considered by the Executive Board at its 124th session. 7. The Committee underlined the importance of the performance assessment findings for informing decisions about reprogramming and the preparation of the Programme budget 2010–2011. The Committee also stressed the importance of the programme budget assessment process as an integral part of WHO’s results-based management framework, and its role in helping donors to move towards more flexibility in their voluntary contributions. 8. The Committee commented on the time constraints for preparing both the summary and full performance assessment reports, but stressed the importance of the timely receipt of both. The full assessment findings were needed in order to inform discussions concerning the Programme budget 2010–2011. Some members of the Committee regretted that the established timeline for discussions would deny Member States the opportunity to discuss the full assessment report before the governing bodies’ discussion of future proposed programme budgets. It was suggested that the Secretariat submit proposals for rectifying the situation to a subsequent session of the Committee. The Committee, on behalf of the Executive Board, recommended that the Health Assembly note the report contained in document A61/19.
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ANNEX LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
MEMBERS AND ALTERNATES Portugal Professor J. Pereira Miguel (Chairman) Liberia Dr W.T. Gwenigale (Vice-Chairman) Afghanistan Mr O. K. Noori (Alternate to Dr H. Ahmadzai) Denmark Ms M. Kristensen (Alternate to Mr J. Fisker) Ms M. Skovbjerg-Jensen (Alternate) Mr A. Berling-Rasmussen (Alternate) Indonesia Dr W. Lukito (Alternate to Dr S.F. Supari) Dr A. Somantri (Alternate) Dr T.W. Putri (Alternate) Dr Widiyarti (Alternate) Japan Dr Y. Sugiura (Alternate to Dr H. Shinozaki) Mexico Mrs D.M. Valle Álvarez (Alternate to Dr M. Hernández Ávila) Mrs M.A. Jaquez (Alternate) Mrs M.E. Coronado Martínez (Alternate)
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Annex
New Zealand Ms D. Roche (Alternate to Mr D. Cunliffe) Sri Lanka Mr N. de Silva Mrs M. Mallikaratchy (Alternate) Tunisia Dr H. Abdesselem United States of America Mr D.E. Hohman (Alternate to Dr J. Garcia) Ms A. Chick (Alternate) Ex officio member Singapore Dr B. Sadasivan (Chairman of the Executive Board)
MEMBER STATES NOT MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE Mr E.H. Elbey (Algeria) Ms C Patterson (Australia) Ms R. Enn (Austria) Dr F. Helmut (Austria) Mr C. Wurzer (Austria) Mr D. MacPhee (Canada) Mr P. Blais (Canada) Dr Xing Jun (China) Ms Han Jixiu (China) Mr C. Segura (Dominican Republic) Mrs P. Renoul (France) Mr U. Fenchel (Germany) Mr J.B. Alexandre (Haiti) Dr T. Mboya Okeyo (Kenya) Mrs S. Tashmatova (Kyrgyzstan) Mr M. Achgalou (Morocco) Miss Z. Chraibi (Morocco) Mr T.E. Lindgren (Norway) Mr J.A. Sousa Fialho (Portugal) Dr A. Pavlov (Russian Federation) Miss C. Kamikazi (Rwanda)
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Mr A. Kayitayire (Rwanda) Mr Tan York Chor (Singapore) Mr S.N. Syed Hassim (Singapore) Mr C. Wong (Singapore) Mr T.S. Sadanadom (Singapore) Ms F. Gan (Singapore) Mrs A. Hellgren (Sweden) Ms L. Andersson (Sweden) Mr D. Rychner (Switzerland) Mr N. Plattner (Switzerland) Mrs P. Kanchanahattakij (Thailand) Ms C. Kitsell (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
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