WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION FIFTY-SIXTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Provisional agenda item 12.1 A56/5 29 April 2003
Proposed programme budget for 2004-2005 Real Estate Fund Report by the Secretariat
1. In accordance with resolution WHA23.14 establishing the Real Estate Fund, the Fund may be used to finance the acquisition of land and construction of buildings or building extensions, major repairs of, and alterations to, the Organization’s existing office buildings, and housing for staff. 2. Resolution WHA23.14 further provides that specific authorization from the Health Assembly is required, unless otherwise indicated, before contracts are entered into that involve the acquisition of land and construction of buildings or building extensions. 3. The Executive Board at its 111th session was apprised of the proposals of the Regional Office for Africa to construct additional office space, and staff housing in Brazzaville, that had not yet been submitted to the Health Assembly.1 Consequently, the Board requested the Administration, Budget and Finance Committee to consider the real estate proposals of the Regional Office for Africa and to make a recommendation to the Health Assembly.2 4. The Regional Office for Africa has now moved a substantial part of its operations back to Brazzaville from its temporary location in Harare, while maintaining a fairly large presence there, in view of the expansion of operations in the Region. After the return, the office, located in Djoué, some 20 kilometres outside Brazzaville, has been refurbished by the Government of Congo. Nonetheless, the office accommodation in Brazzaville is no longer sufficient to meet the present, and even less the future, needs of the Regional Office. The extent and quality of housing available for staff in Djoué is also inadequate to meet present needs. Moreover, a detailed review of security measures at the Djoué compound has indicated the need for investment in the office buildings and staff accommodation in order to improve the overall level of security. 5. The requirements are detailed in the attached Annex, together with their estimated costs. In summary, these requirements concern the provision of additional office space for some 180 staff members, a conference room with a 600-person capacity and related facilities, and the acquisition and construction of further staff accommodation and facilities within the Djoué compound.
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See document EB111/2003/REC/1, Annex 1. See document EB111/2003/REC/2, summary record of the fourth meeting, section 1.
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6. The completion of these building projects will enable the Regional Office to operate with its eventual full complement of staff and to provide adequate housing for all international professional staff. A further, important, benefit will be a better security environment at the Djoué compound since WHO will be in control of all the property within the confines of the compound.
ACTION BY THE HEALTH ASSEMBLY 7. The Health Assembly may wish to consider the adoption of a resolution along the following lines: The Fifty-sixth World Health Assembly, Having considered the report on the Real Estate Fund;1 Noting that the Regional Office for Africa has moved a substantial part of its operations back to Brazzaville, but that both office and staff accommodation is inadequate to meet the present and future needs of the regional office, AUTHORIZES the Director-General: (1) to proceed with the construction within the Djoué compound of both new office space to accommodate some 180 staff members and new conference facilities, including a conference room with capacity for 600 people, at a total estimated cost of US$ 2 330 000, to be financed from the Real Estate Fund; (2) to proceed with the construction of five new villas, together with the related acquisition of land, of 24 apartments in two blocks of flats and of related facilities, and the refurbishment and extension of existing residential homes, at a total estimated cost of US$ 3 000 000, to be financed from the Real Estate Fund.
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Document A56/5.
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ANNEX REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA, BRAZZAVILLE: REAL ESTATE PROPOSALS Extension of office infrastructure 1. The current office space can accommodate adequately only about 250 staff members, compared with an eventual staff complement of some 430. 2. The main conference hall in the Regional Office can accommodate only about 200 persons, taking account of security requirements, which does not reflect the fact that the Region now comprises 46 countries. The design does not allow for easy modification. 3. For safety and security reasons the working environment needs to be improved, which means that office and conference accommodation must be extended and modernized. The work is planned to take place in two phases at a total estimated cost of US$ 2 330 000. Phase one: 2004, 2005 and 2006: construction of columns on the ground level (temporary parking space) and office accommodation on the upper levels for about 140 staff members. Estimated cost: US$ 1 700 000. Phase two: 2005 and 2006: conversion of the columned space into a new conference hall with a capacity of 600 seats and ancillary facilities. Conversion also of the existing main conference hall into office space designed to accommodate some 40 persons. Estimated cost for all components: US$ 630 000.
Construction of new housing and sporting facilities in the Djoué compound 4. The return of the Regional Office to Brazzaville and a rise in the number of internationally recruited staff members living with their families requires an increase in the residential capacity at Djoué from 124 to 158 units (apartments and villas) at a total estimated cost of US$ 3 000 000. 5. To meet the increasing need for housing, it is proposed: (a) to purchase 10 houses in the WHO enclosure from the present private owners; this will secure WHO control of all accommodation within the Djoué compound. Payment to be made over a period of five years. Estimated total cost: US$ 1 000 000; (b) to renovate the 10 houses. Estimated cost: US$ 300 000;
(c) to convert 26 existing villas with one or two bedrooms into three- or four-bedroomed villas in order to accommodate larger families and to renovate them. Estimated cost: US$ 300 000; (d) to construct two additional blocks of flats, comprising 24 apartments. Estimated cost: US$ 1 200 000; (e) to construct sporting facilities, mainly a fitness centre for staff members and their families, as such facilities are virtually nonexistent in Brazzaville. Estimated cost: US$ 200 000.
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