RD's address to Staff in SEARO, 31 December 2008, SEARO, New Delhi.

Address By Dr Samlee Plianbangchang Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia At RD’s Address to Staff in SEARO NEW DELHI 31 DECEMBER 2008 RD’s Address to WHO Staff at SEARO 31 December 2008 SEARO, NEW DELHI Address by DR SAMLEE PLIANBANGCHANG REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WHO SOUTH-EAST ASIA ------ Colleagues, Firstly, let me start by wishing all of you a very happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year 2009. The year 2008, which is coming to an end, marked the 60th anniversary of WHO. During those 60 years, WHO has done a lot to make all mankind in the world healthier. We in the SEA Region should be proud of being part of the Organization; and having the opportunity to pursue development and humanitarian work in health for one-fourth of the world’s population. We have celebrated the 60th anniversary of WHO, and we have reaffirmed our unstinted commitment to support Member States in their quest for good health of all their peoples. 2 Member States widely recognized that the global strategy for HFA through PHC had made a difference to the world ’s health during the past 30 years. Peoples of the world, in general, are healthier and live longer today. With the shift in health and health-related policies, public health interventions have become indispensable tools for human resource development. Management of health systems in countries have been undertaken through multisectoral and multidisciplinary actions. HFA through PHC has really changed “the world health scenario. A numerous number of partners are interested in health work. The number of health partnerships is being globally developed and increasing. International health, within which WHO is playing its role, is now having a very competitive environment. However, a lot more needs to be done for the world to achieve the goal of HFA, and to achieve uniform peace and security through health intervention. The gap in health between the “haves” and “havenots” is still very wide. The unreached are yet to be reached almost everywhere. Untiring efforts to pursue equity and social justice in health will have to continue. The unfinished agenda in health development has to be rolled over from each year to the next. And certainly, many unfinished agendas of 2008 will have to be pushed forward to 2009. These agendas are of global concern, such as protecting human health from climate change. We in the SEA Region are yet to eradicate polio, and bring avian influenza under control. Maternal mortality in our Region is still unacceptably high. HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria as well as other vector- borne diseases are still rampant. Noncommunicable diseases are also emerging in a big way as problems of public health importance. 3 These form an important part of our agendas for the SEA Region during 2009 and beyond. The majority of our Member States are still dependent on resource inputs from outside. The year 2008 witnessed the “global financial crisis” that will have significant impact on our resource mobilization. It is likely that this impact will continue for some years. Globally, there will be less money for development; this is particularly relevant to the health and social sectors. WHO is now trying to help Member States in their argument to maintain and even enhance investment in health. The important premise for this argument is that the quality of human resources is essential for tackling the financial crisis effectively. And quality of human resources can be obtained through health development. WHO has to move vigorously in helping countries to be most cost-efficient and cost-effective, especially in the development and implementation of their health programmes. We, the WHO Secretariat, individually and collectively have also to be much more cost-efficient and cost-effective in the execution of our work. Our management efficiency needs to be increased. We have to implement “economy measures” untiringly throughout the process of our management of available resources. We have hoped that the development of GSM would help improve our management performance. However, as we all know, we have faced more management problems during the GSM’s first phase. Since the GSM development should not be abandoned, it has to move on, but with a revised operational plan and greater precautions in the implementation of the plan. Furthermore, the global financial crisis may have significant impact on the investment in the next phase of our GSM development. This possibility has to be kept in mind, and we have to prepare for that too. Nevertheless, as far as GSM is concerned, we all have to bear with the situation with a positive attitude. 4 The Year 2008 came with many daunting challenges; and many of these challenges will continue in 2009. And we are expected to continue our hard work with unfailing dedication. The year 2009 will be another challenging year for all of us. Importantly, we need to resolve on this new year to do our work better despite fewer resources; and to be more efficient and effective. Now, looking at another angle, we may not just only look at work but also look at ourselves. To perform our duty efficiently and effectively we need to be optimally healthy. We need to be sound, physically, mentally and socially. We have to promote our good health. We have the gym for exercise. We have yoga sessions for our use. From time to time, we organize seminars on the prevention of certain diseases among ourselves. I thank RSP for organizing these events. And I hope that more health promotion activities for staff will be organized during 2009. Overall, WHO staff have to be “role models” in health promotion for the public. We also need to work in a “healthy environment”. The environment in this sense also includes the “organizational” environment. A healthy organizational environment implies the existence of: Unity, Harmony, Friendships, Positive interpersonal relationships, Cordial and disciplined cooperation among ourselves, An u nderstanding of cross-cultural sensitivity; 5 Therefore, my special New Year wish to all of you this year is “good health for all staff members”: Your own good health and that of SEARO’s environment, physically and behaviourally. In this connection, I would like to call on all of you to also resolve on this New Year to exert more effort in promoting good health at SEARO, and promoting your health and the health of others. Thank you.