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(WPRjRC20/SR/6)
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE, SIXl'H MEETING --'-"--''''
WHO Conference'Hall Monday, 29 September 1969 at 2.30 p.m. CHAIRMAN:
Medecin-General J. Rondet (France) CONl'ENI'S
1
Consideration of draft resolutions .••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Consideration of the report presented by the Sub-Committee on Programme and Budget (document WPRjRC20/11) and draft resolutions ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Consideration of ,draft resolutions (resumed)
202
2
207 209
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4
Time, place and duration of the twenty-first and twenty-second sessions of the Regional Comrni ttee ...................................................... 210
-199-
200
REGIONAL COMMITTEE: TWENl'IETH SESSION
•
SIXTH MEEI'ING
Monday,
29
September
1969
at
2'30
p.m.
PRESENT
I.
Representatives of Member States AUSTRALIA
-' Dr J .S. Boxall Dr R.T. Taureka Dr Phav Sany Dr C.K. Chang Dr T.Y. Lee
CAMBODIA CHINA
'.
FRANCE
Medecin-oeneral J. Rondet Medecin-Colonel E. Poyet Dr K. Mr M. Dr M. Mr N.
JAPAN
Kanamitsu Yamasaki Oike Maekawa
LAOS
Dr Phouy Sunthorn Dr Thongphet Phetsiriseng Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin Dr Abdul Khal1d bin Sahan Dr C.O. Innis Dr
MALAYSIA
NEW ZEALAND PHILIPPINES
Iv.
r-brphy
Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr
A.N. Acosta J. Valera L. Carlota G. Balbin P. Rigonan F. Gomez
PORTUGAL REPUBLIC OF KOREA UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Dr Diego Hora Silva Ferreira Dr Sung-Hee Rhee
Dr C.H. Gurd Dr R.K.C. Lee
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SIXTH MEEI'ING
201
VIET-NAM
Dr Truong Minh cao Dr Dang Q.uoo Phu Dr J .C. Thieme
WESTERN SAMOA
II.
Representatives of the United Nations and Specialized Agenoies UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Mr A.J. Jeseph
III. Representatives of other intergovernmental organizations SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION Dr G. Loison
IV.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL AND ADDICTIONS INTERNATIONAL DENTAL FEDERATICN INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR HEAIJ1'H EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL COMMI'ITEE OF CATHOLIC NURSES LEAGUE OF RED CROSS SOCIETIES Dr R. Seaborn
Dr B. Barbers
Dr F. Herrera
Mrs M. Ordonez Dr V. Galvez
V.
,mo
Secretariat Mr Milton P. Siegel Dr Francisco J •. Dy Regional Director
ASSISTANT DmECTOR-GENERAL SECRETARY
202
REGIONAL CONML'rrEE: TWENl'IErH SESSION
1
COmIDERATION OF DRAFl' RESOLUl'IOm
The Committee considered the following draft resolutions. 1.1
Annual Report of the Regional Director Dr NOORDIN (Nalaysia) stated that there were one or two points in
the Annual Report which had been highlighted by the but no mention was made of them in the resolution. health planning through health practice research. Committee his proposed amendments.
Regio~l
Director
He referred partiHe submitted to the
cularly to the trend towards a more scientific approach in national
It was agreed that copies of the amended text should be prepared for consideration of the Committee (see page 209 for final decision). 1.2 Long-term planning in the field of health, biennial programming and improvement of the evaluation process Mr SIEGEL, Representative of the Director-General, referred to the statement he had made earlier that the Director-General planned to recommend to the Executive Board that it in turn recommend to the Assembly that the present general programme of work be extended for another year. Should this be approved, the period of time covered by He suggested the new general programme of work would be 1973-1977. tive paragraph 2. Decision: There being no further discussions, the draft resolution, as amended, was adopted (see resolution ' WPR;RC20.Rl). 1.3 Health aspects of population dynamics Dr POYEr (France) proposed the addition of the followlng words at the end of operative paragraph 1: or request ll , IIshould governments so desire This would indicate clearly that this was not something
that the words lIor for 1973-197711 should be added to the end of opera-
203
which would be routinely done by the Organization but that governments should establish their own policy and those who wished assistance could obtain it from WHO. Dr NOORDIN (Malaysia) felt that some of the operative paragraphs could become part of the preamble and proposed a revision of the resolution, to the Committee. The REPRESENl'ATIVE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL considered that contusion could arise if some of the important operative paragraphs were relegated to the preamble, since many people considered this of lesser importance. He thought that the resolution had been drafted by the Rapporteurs to emphasize the pOints in the operative paragraphs. Referring to the amendment proposed by the Representative of France, he proposed a further drafting change in order to avoid the impression that the Regional Director would require the requests of all governments in the Region before taking action. reworded as follows: 1. EXPRESSES its satisfaction with the action taken since the nineteenth session of the Regional Committee but urges the Regional Director to seek ways to develop further family planning activities which may be requested by any government. Dr POY.E.'l' (France) agreed with this rewording. Dr LEE (United States of America) supported the amendment proposed by the Representative of the Director-General. Dr NOORDIN (Malaysia) withdrew his runendment in view of the explanation of the Representative of the Director-General. Dr PHAVSANY (Cambodia) considered that operative paragraph 2 was the most important and should therefore be the concluding one. He suggested that the text be
204
REGIONAL COMMITTEE: TWENrIEl'H SESSION
The CHAIRMAN thought that the reason for the order of the paragraphs was that operative paragraph 2 referred to the present and bperative paragraph 3 to the future. The REPRESENrATIVE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL considered that the Chairman's interpretation of the sequence of the paragraphs. was correct. This follo ..red the pattern in which resolutions \-(ere normally drafted. Dr PHAV SANY (Cambodia) said that he would have preferlt'ed to have changed the order of the paragraphs but if there were reasons for a certain sequence he did not wish to pursue the rruatter further. It was agreed that copies of the amended text should be prepared for oonsideration of the COLmdttee (see page 209 for final deoision). 1.4 The epidemiology and prevention of accidents The Committee considered a revised draft resolution proposed by the Representative of Australia. Dr
LEE (United States of America), referring to operative para-
graph 2, wondered whether "providing stimulation to governments by making suitable recommendations for preventive measures" would entail the addition of staff to the Regional Office. his delegation would not be in favour of it. text in the draft resolution reading: field" should be used instead. at the present time. Dr BOXALL (Australia) said that the reason for proposing this amendment was based on operative paragraph 3 of WPR;RC20fWP/l, which read: "RECOGNIZES the new problems posed by the increasing! incidence within the Region of such diseases as cancer and the oardiovascular diseases, road accidents and the increasing preva1enoe of' air and If this were neoessary. He proposed that the
"that the Regional Director
should keep governments informed of international progress fn this He thought this would be sufficient
,
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE Sm'H MEErING
205
water pollution".
It had ooourred to him that the Committee was not He
being consistent by saying that the matter had a low priority.
drew attention to resolution WHA19.36. which requested "the DlrectorGeneral to consider the possibilities Gf WHO playing a more active role in prevention of traffic accidents. with special emphasis on the human and medical aspects of the problem and on the co-ordination of international research in this field;" page 10 of document WPR/RC20I7. and to the second paragraph on A suitable resolution from the
Regional Committee would go back to their respective governments and thereby provide stimulation without necessarily increasing the staff of WHO. Report. The resolution should indicate more positive action and should The original paragraph requesting the Regional Director to He
be consistent with what was set out in the resolution on the Annual consider the possibility of organizing a seminar on the subject had been deleted. considered that a technical discussion would be feasible but that a seminar run on a unilateral basis by WHO would not cover the subject and might be beyond its means. Dr LEE (United States of America) said he fully agreed with the Representative of Australia and would aocept the revised version of the resolution. tlstimulation". He was not, however, in full agreement with the word Member governments should know their order of priorities.
He would prefer to see the phrase "providing information to governments and making suitable recommendations for preventive measures when requested tl used instead rather than asking WHO to stimulate governments to carry out active prevention programmes. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR suggested that the resolution might be reworded as follows: The Regional Committee. Having considered the prOVisions of resolution WHA19.36 of the Nineteenth World Health Assembly. ard Having considered the report presented by the Regional Director to the Regional Committee on the epidemiology and prevention of accidents;
206
REGIONAL COMMI'l'l'EE: TWENl'IErH SESSION
1. BELIEVES that accident control is a wide problem with many aspects, and that WHO can assist by the collectio~ and analysis of statistical data and in providing information to governments and making suitable recommendations for preventive measures when requested; 2. SUGGESTS that the topio might be considered for the Technical Discussions held in connexion with a fUture session of the Committee. Dr BOXALL (Australia) accepted the suggestions made bi the. Representative of the United States of America and the Regional Director. It was agreed that copies of the amended text should be prepared
'.
for consideration of the Committee (see page 209 for final decision). 1.5 Training of national health personnel Dr BOXALL (Australia) referred to the fact that the Committee was expected to report to the Executive Board. the resolution to that effect. to read: There was no reference in He suggested that paragraph 4 be reworded
"RECOMMENJ:6 to the Executive Board that Member countries should
be invited to collect the necessary data which should be analyzed and made the subject of a seminar or, alternatively, referred for consideration to an expert committee." The REGIONAL DIRECTOR suggested that the Regional Committee might wish to transmit both the working paper and the summary records of the discussions along with the resolution to the Director-Gene~al.
They
could then be considered by the Executive Board in January. mendation need, therefore, be made to the Executive Board.
No recom-
•
Dr LEE (United States of America) agreed with the above suggestion. He also agreed with the Representative of Australia that Member countries should collect the data required as an inventory of the training programmes of national health personnel would be one aspect of the Technical Discussions to be held next year. Governments in the Region should, therefore, begin collecting information in order to make a comprehensive
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SDCI'H MEETING
201
report on what they were doing in the training of national health personnel. The REGIONAL DIREaI'OR referred to his proposal about submitting documentation to the Director-General and suggested that this should '. be
the last part of the resolution. The CHAIRMAN agreed and suggested that a reVised draft resolution
i
should be prepared incorporating the new paragraph suggested (see page 209 for further discussion on this resolution). 1.6 Technical Discussions Decision: The draft resolution was adopted (see resolution WPR;RC20.R2) • 2 CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT PRESENI'ED BY THE SUB-COMMI'rl'EE ON PROGRAMME AND BUDGEr (Document WPR;RC20jll) AND DRAFT RESOLUTIONS: Item 8.2 of the Agenda
2.1 Report of the Sub-Committee on Programme and Budget The CHAIRMAN announced that the report would be reviewed section by section. Dr PHAV SAN'.[ (Cambodia) requested the addition of a paediatrician/
nutritionist to the Supplementary List attached to the regional programme and budget estimates for 1970 contained in document WPR;RC19/2.
The REGIONAL DIREarOR said that if the Committee agreed this could be added under item 4.6 on page 15 of the report ~lhere reference was made to document WPR;RC20/p&B/3. It was so agreed.
208
REGIONAL COMMIT1'EE: TWENl'IETH SESSION
Dr PHm'SIRlSENG (Laos) expressed appreciation to the qommittee for
having taken into acoount his Government's request for two fellowships. He hoped these would be added to document WPR;RC20/P&B/3. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR stated that all additional requests brought forward during the meeting would be added to this list. 2.2 Draft resolution on modifications made to the 1969 and 1970 programme and budget estimates Decision: The draft resolution was adopted (see resolution WPR;RC20.R3) • 2.3 Draft resolution on the proposed programme and budget estimates for 1971 Dr POYET (France) stated that his Government was not in a position to accept the resolution.sinoe the proposed programme and pudget estimates represented an increase of over
6%.
Dr LEE (United states of America) said that if the resolution was not changed, the United States delegation would abstain from voting. The resolution was then put to the vote. Of the fifteen countries present, thirteen voted in favour of the resolution, one voted against it, and one abstained. Decision: There being a majority vote, the draft resolution was adopted (see resolution WPR;RC20.R4). 2.4 Draft resolution on programme evaluation Dr THIEME (Western Samoa) referred to operative paragraph 1 of the draft resolution and enquired whether this was one waY of requesting material assistance, provided there was a need for this and the budget was not increased for this purpose.
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SImi MEEll'ING
209
The REGIONAL DIRECTOR stated that requests for additional supplies and equipment had been aove:r:'ed by resolution WHA20. 50, whiah had been cited by the Director of Health Services during one of the Sub--Committee's meetings. He then :r:'eferred to document WPR,1\C20/11, page 17. first paraThis had mentioned, among other things, material g:r:'aph, third sentence.
assistance to the programmes of developing countries provided the budget was not increased for this purpose. Dr GURD (United Kingdom) asked if, as a result of this evaluation, it was decided that the best way of achieving maximum health benefit for the funds available would be through the provision of supplies and equipment, this would be considered. The REGIONAL DIRECTOR answered in the affirmative. Decision: The draft resolution was adopted (see resolution WPR,1\C20.R5) • 3 CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUl'IONS (resumed from section 1) The Committee considered the following revised draft resolutions. 3.1 Annual Report of the Regional Director 3.2 Health aspects of population dynamics 3·3 The epidemiology and prevention of accidents Decision: The draft resolutions, as amended, were adopted (see resolutions WPR,1\C20.R6, WPR,1\C20.R7 and WPR!RC20.R8). 3.4 Training of national health personnel Dr GURD (United Kingdom) stated that it seemed to have been agreed on earlier that operative paragraph 4 of the revised draft resolution would be followed by operative paragraph 4 of the original draft resolution.
210
Dr BOXALL (Australia) thought that operative paragraph 4 of the original draft resolution was to stand and that a new operative paragraph 5 was to be added in the wording whioh now' appeared as operative paragraph 4 of the revised draft. The REGIONAL DIREal'OR affirmed Dr Boxall' s understanding and apologized for the error made. would read: 114. He stated that operative paragraph 4 •
RECOMMENDS that Member oountries should be invited
to oollect the necessary data which should be analyzed and made the subject of a seminar or, alternatively, referred for consideration to an expert committee". The following paragraph, whioh was operative paragraph 4 of the revised draft resolution, would be added:
"5.
REQUESTS the Regional Director to transmit to the Director-General
the working paper, the summary records and this resolution for the information of the Executive Board". Decision: The draft resolution, as amended, was adopted (see resolution WPRjRC20.R9).
4
TIME, PLACE AND DURATION OF THE TWENl'Y-FIRST AND TWEN!'Y-SECOND SESSIONS OF THE REGIONAL COMMI'ITEE: Item 19 of the Agenda The CHAIRMAN informed the Committee that so far no 1pvitatlon had.
been reoeived for the twenty-first and twenty-second sessions of the , Regional Committee. He suggested that the Regional Director should be authorized to accept on behalf of the Committee any such invitation which might be extended and to inform all Member governments at the earliest possible date. If no invitation was received, the next session of the Committee would again be held at regional headquarters.
In accordance with the principle of rotation, the twenty-second session would be held at regional headquarters if the twenty-first session was held elsewhere. It was so agreed (see resolution WPRjRC20.R10).
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SIXTH MEETING
211/212
The REGIONAL DIRECTOR drew attention to the resolution adopted last year in whioh the Committee reaffirmed the prinoiple of rotation of meeting sites of the Regional Committee and its view that extra expenses over and above those normally incurred when the regional committee meetings were held at regional headquarters should be borne by the host government. It had also suggested that these extra costs should be offset by any savings accruing to the Regional Office allocation for the Regional Committee for the financial year concerned. This matter had been 'Couched upon by the Committee on Administration. Finance and Legal Matters during the Twenty-second World Health Assembly when it discussed the budget estimates for organizational meetings and administrative services. At that time. the Secretary of the Committee had indicated that the matter had been considered on several occasions
by the Executive Board and the Health Assembly and had referred to the resolutions adopted by the Health Assembly which were still valid and which invited regional committees to arrange for host governments to partiCipate in the additional costs of holding committee meetings outside of the regional headquarters. This whole question. concerning all regions. was being kept under review to see what further suggestions, if any. the Director-General might make in the list of the various comments which had repeatedly been made in this connexion in the Executive Board.
The meeting rose at
5'30 p.m.