WORLD HE ALTH ORGANIZATION m;G I ON AI...Q OIVlVi IT
REGIONAL OFFICE. FOR THE \VESTERN PACIFIC
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VVP/RC6/11 3 August 1955
Sixth Session Singapore 13-19 September 1955 Agenda Item 16.2
OF-IGINAL: ENGLISH
GENERAL PROOF,AMME OF WORK COVERING A SPECIFIC fERIOD ,/ ( 1957 - 1960 )
The Constitution requires the Executive Board "to submit to the Health Assembly for consideration and approval a general programme of work covering a specific period") This matter was considered at various sessions of the Executive Board and the first general programme of work for the specific period Ij52-l955 inclusive 2 was approved by the Fourth Vorld Health Assembly. The Fifth World Health Assembly reviewed the general programme and endorsed it as a broad general policy for the period 1953-1956. 4 I~ was further endorsed for the period 1956-1957 by the Seventh World Heal th Assembly.') The Executive Board at its fifteenth sessiog considered a second general programme of work for the period 1957-1960 and submitted it, as amended to the Eighth World Health Assembly for consideration and approval. 7 The Eighth rorld Health Assembly noted the resolution of the Executive Board and having reviewed the general programme of work passed the fol1ovling resolution: "The Eighth World Health Assembly, Noting resolution EB15.R24 of the Executive Board, Having reviewed the general programme of work covering a specific period prepared by the Board at its fifteenth session, 1WHO Constitution, Chapter 6, article 28 (g) ... 20ff. Rec. Wld Hl th Org. & 55 -3WHA4.2, Off. Rec. WId Hlth Org. ,22, 17 - 4WHA5 .25, Off. Rec. Wld Hl th Org. 1.2:, 24 .... 5WHA7 .9, Off. Ree. Wld H1 th Org. 22, 20 - 60ff • Rec. V:id Hl th Org. 60, 67, Annex 6 -7EB15.R24, Off .• Hec. WId Hlth Org. 60, 9 8WHA8 .. 10 .
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1. CONSIDERS that this programme of work, as amended, provides a broad general policy for the development of detailed annual programmes in the period 1957-1960;
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2. BELIEVES it would be desirable for each regional committee to forImllate v;ithin the framework provided a genera;!. programme of work for the refion concerned, and .
3.
REQUESTS the Director-General to recommend to regional committees that their annual programme be so planned as to secure their adequate interration in the approved general programme of the Organiza tion. II
. '. In view of the. above resolution passed by the Assembly, in rertieular. items (2) and (3), the ,following programme of work for the Western Pacific Region is submitted for the consideration and approval of the Committee. .
1
INTRODUCTION
The Constit~tion of,the'\~:orld Health Orf:anization and the General Programme of riork Covering: S., Specific Period, serve as a basis' for the . orderly development of the Annual Programme and Budget. The Constitution determines the ultimate objectives of the Organization, the General Programme of \ork is formulated within the wl.de framework of the Constitution, introduces the e lelpCnt of time and lays down a number of intermediate objectives, 'iJhile the hnnual Programme and Budget is constructed 1"i thin the framework of the current General Programme and 8 ta out the inuneciate objectives. Each General Programme indicates' . more definitely the direction of progress towards the objectives of the Constitution and is the product of the knowledge, the experience and the progress of the preceding General Programme. The principles ana criteria laid dOVin to define ;t~e: objectives that should be attained in a specified period srein: close accordance with the criteria.established by the Economic and Social Council at its eleventh session. l Due attention has also been given the statement on priority :prograIll1DSs defined by the Council at its fourteenth session. 2 These prinp'l:'-ples aJ¥3. .criteria have been made broad enou~h, .to allow for, the differences to be found in different countries and. regions, as it ' was recegnized that in the interest of adaptability and flexibility to .. vario'ls geographical, political, cultural, economic and social~actors, it was not desirable to draw up a detailed programme.
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The need for flexibility in a-ny programme of work for 'the. 'Wes·tern Pacific Hegion is obvious in view of the wide variations inth~ .eq911omiC, social, cultural and educational development of the various Member.,' Countries which comprise the Region. The health problems ahd' the' stage
~ lECOSOC Resolution 324 XI "., 2ECOSOC Resolution 451 XIV, Annex
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of development of he1.".lth administrations show a correspondin!? variation. The proposed ?eneral prorrarilIl1El of vork for the specific }:eriod 1957-1960 for the ·!I;estern Pacific hegion has therefore been based on the above cons iderations •
2
THE fROGRALME
In view of the extent of the Western Pacific Region it is planned to assign mQ:r:9 and !:'lore area representatives ~'ithin the :reriod covered by this prorramme of woi}. as far as funds will rermit. Such apuo.intments will facilitate contacts with governments and representatives of other organizations in their areas of assifnrr.e.nt. Area representatives will also be of creater aSf>istanc0 to national health a~ministrations in the planning and implement.ation of their health programmes and in the administration andco-ordinativn of country activities assisted by the Organization. This will [.Cl'mit the re~:ional orranization to assess more clearly the national neecs ·)f the countries concerned and to ensure that the activities selected for implementation are ones wh:ich are technically and E'conomically sound anc1 I':hich can be continued on thE' termination of l'cIHO assistance. 2.1.2 It is envis~1f!ed that the GE::nerallrogramms should seel< to ral,se llE?a.lth cond:1, tions in the various areas of the Region to a standard !lJ:1ich c~be supported both financially and technically by the countries con~rn'ect. In order that this standard may not fall below c(;rta in minimum reQtrirements ~ty should be riven, v·hen prq::.arinr the annual programme and buCf(.t, t.o the lesf1 hiv.hly develored countries in the areo especially when these possess very fei': resourcos of their own. This principle hlils been established by the Eoc-ional Committee in a series of resolutions 1 ,2 directing the fierion:Jl Director to make the 'ac1;ustments necessary to ~rmit staff and other consultants to give first priority of their services to the less favourably si tuatcd Ikrnber States. 2.1.3 In assistinr fovernments in the liefion to strenfthen their national health administrations, at t(~ntion should be pa id to the e:radual integration of specialized activities into the overall health services of the country. This'step has alr(->ccy been taken in cprtain countriES ,here the health services h[:ve reached a standard rermittiJ'l€ such integration. 2.1.4 Hcvinf studied the -'ost pssential neecs of the countries in the Region on the basis of information collected Gnd the requests received fOT assistance, it is proposed that emphasis should be placed on the following as}:€cts: (a) the encou:rafemE:nt .of more vigorous action against endemic fJ.s.eascs ';,herever these still exist by Jreans of intercountry Gno inter-refional exchange of E'xr:crience;
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(b) the orf'snizatlon of health services for the rural population
by means of the establishment of health dE'monstratron~-areas and the graduol interration of comrm.micablEl disease and other essential programmes into existing rural health services;
(e) the expansion of rnat€;rnal and child health programmes, attention being given to the nutritional aspects of child health and mental health in childhood; (d) encouragement of programmes in the field of malaria control with a view to the eventual eradication of the disease from the Ftegion; (e) encouragement of programmes in the fields of environmental sanij,ation, dental health, mental health, zoonoses and veterinary pciblic health v,henever conditions warrant assistance in these specialties;
(f) hea lth educa tion of the publ'ic will be a feature of all HHOassisted programmes as it is felt that there are a number of countries in the Region ~here more attention should be pi id to this public-health activity_
The above programme of v;ork can only be carried out successfully if there is a sufficient number of trained personnel at various levels and one of the main objectives of the Organization must therefore be to provide assistance in this field. In line ';:ith the thinking ,at previous regional committee meetings it is proposed that this training should be carried out whenever possible on a regional besis, taking int. consideration the similarity of health ~oblems which exist in the various countries. Assistance should therefore be given to the strengthening of teaching institutions t"ithin the Region by means of exchange programmGs, visi tine lectureships, sponsorship of training courses and the provision of me~ical literature and teaching equipment. The fellowship programme of the Organization has &lso an important part to play in the regional training activities and if it is to be truly successful it must be well planned and executed. It is therefore important that the present needs of each country be properly assessed and that fellowshipsehould be aVJarded in the fields where the shortage of trained personnel ~s most felt or where further training will parmit senior public-health officials to gain wider experience in modern public-health practice. Attention should also be given to the tra ining of auxiliary and anCillary mecical and health personnel in accordance ~ith the needs of each particular public-health service in the various countries of the Region.
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The value of regional training courses and seminars will not be overlooked and these w:i1.1be planned whenever possible on a reg.i,_llal basis in order to secure wide }:8rticipation of countries in the' \~estern Pacific Region. At the same time the value of zonal seminars should be kept in mind as these can be adjusted to similar needs of a group of countries. 2.3 Services of general international interest
There are still a number of activities which by their nature have to be dealt with centrally by Headquarters. Among these are international epidemiology, the compilation and analysis of statistical materials, the establishment of international standards, and the publishing and keeping up to date of such publications as the International Pharmacopoea and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death. The development of national arrangements in epidemiological, statistical and inform[ tiona 1 siheres varies considerably in the western Pacific Region. The regional organization can provide assistance in three ways: (a) by·awarding fellowships to prepare health workers in the Region to make the most extensive and effective use of information and experience which is accumulating in regard to the above activities; (b) by providing short-term consultants to assist in the organization of training courses in statistics; and (c) by pr~viding technical guidance to countries thro~gh the appointment of a regional statistician.
2.4
Internat!onal
co-o~I:!!tio!Land
cQ:Q!:Q.ination
The Regional Offic€ will continue to fulfil its responsibilities as laid down in the Constitution for c.-ordination of international health activities. \";orking relations have been established with (a) the United Nations and its specialized agencies (b) other inter-governmental agencies engaged in international health work (c) non-governmental organizations interested in health and (d) a large number of institutions, official and private, within the Region. During the s}:'€cific period the Organization will endeavour to increase the effectiveness of these working relations as it is recognized that effective co-ordination depends to a great extent ~n the understanding of the mutual problems of each organization working in the same country. It must not be overlooked however that c~-ordination of international health work is dependent on co-ordination in the countries themselves of all national plans and action that bear directly or indirect,ly _n health work. Particular attention will be paid to the work of other agencies engaged in social and economic development as it must not be overlooked that improvement in levels of health depends on economic development and to achieve a satisfactory level of economic existence the health of the ~orkers must be good.
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2.5
" Evalua tion
The Regional Office will continue to pay careful attention to the evaluation of the health activities being carried out with a view to assisting governments in the planning of expanded activities designed to strengthen health services. This 1100 will provide a basis for the introduction of similar programmes in other countries so that early mistakes and failures may not be repeated and that all countries in the Region may share in the experience gained. , ,
2.6,'
ReseJrch
Whenever possible the Regional Office will stimulate research'by approaching centres in the Region most qualified to deal with particular problems. Work carried out in the form of pilot prejects will also be continued and the findings will be used as a basis fop large";'scale pr{)jects. 2~7
New
knowledge and its
application~o
healtb
The Regional Office will keep closely in. touch with Headquarters .in regard tocJll'rent scientific developments which may affect its programme and it will provide possible assistance to' countries wi thin the Region in any matter affecting health work on which advice is scught iri respect of such developments.
:3
CONCLUSIONS
The above ,outline is not intended to limit with any strictness the work of ~iHO in the Western Pacific Region but has been provided as a basts for further discussion by the Committee. The lines 'of work suggested can be adapted to take aCcfunt of expeniencebut may be regarded as a starting-point for future programmes of work for a specific period.
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