61st World Health Assembly
Notes from Day 4: Thursday, 22 May 2008
COMMITTEES
Climate change and human health: On the looming threat to health posed by climate change, over 45 Member States called upon WHO for accelerating research, strengthening of public health systems, enhancing capacity building, coordinating efforts among UN organizations and non-governmental organizations, and ensuring effective financial assistance to address climate change and health. Various amendments to the existing resolution were put forward, notably by Maldives on behalf of the South-East Asia Region. The proposed changes introduce specific actions required on the part of Member States, ensuring health systems and health sector's involvement in climate change related activities. Amendments will be incorporated into a Conference Paper to be published and circulated among Member States later this week for further discussion and approval.
Reducing the harmful use of alcohol: After noting that they had not reached a consensus last year, delegates to Committee A today approved a draft resolution calling upon WHO to produce a global strategy aimed at reducing the harmful use of alcohol. The resolution called upon WHO to present the global strategy to the World Health Assembly in 2010. Alcohol is the fifth leading risk factor for death and disability in the world and many Member States showed deep concern about the magnitude and complexity of alcohol related harm world wide and emphasized an urgent need for action to reduce harmful use of alcohol. With the goal of approving a resolution to reach consensus, amendments to the text were withdrawn and an agreement of the text was reached after a series of supportive comments. The resolution will now go before the full plenary for final approval.
Management issues: Over the course of the day, issues related to staffing, budget and audit and oversight were considered by Committee B. Collaboration within the UN system and with other intergovernmental organizations was also discussed. The UN reform process and the harmonization of operations was discussed, with several delegates taking the floor to give examples of how this is working in the pilot countries. Many of the challenges discussed related to procedural and operational issues.
TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS
International Health Partnership: Ethiopia and Zambia, two of the first countries to sign the International Health Partnership 'compact', voiced their hopes that the new partnership will bring true results. The partnership is a new donor-and-recipient coalition to improve funding for health and coordination of health action on the ground. Both countries stressed the need for donor alignment and a country-led approach to have real impact on people's health and to scale up towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Ethiopia has developed a five-year health plan in consultation with donors and identified the need for US$ 2.8 billion to achieve the health-related MDGs. After the Health Assembly, Ethiopia will continue discussions with donors to secure the missing funds. Zambia began working towards a similar plan in 1994 and recently gained donor support for a National Health Strategic Plan. The government is now undertaking a gap analysis to determine the actual costs of the plan and the resources required to scale up to achieve the MDGs.
SIDE EVENTS
Public health prizes: Every year at the World Health Assembly, tribute is paid to individuals and institutions who have accomplished outstanding innovative work in development of health. The awards this year were given to:
- The Sasakawa Health Prize, Japan of US$ 40 000 was awarded to the Movement for Reintegration of People Affected by Hansen's disease (MORHAN), Brazil. The movement works to fight against leprosy (Hansen's disease), which still persists in Brazil. Its goal is to educate the community and prevent discrimination. It develops and distributes educational materials and organizes workshops to involve families and the public, using multimedia communication.
"When I was eight years old, I suffered from leprosy and was forced into isolation. The elimination of Hansen's disease cannot be rooted in the death of the bacillus or the end of the disease. We need to do our best to ensure the well-being of people affected by this disease," said Cristiano Torres, vice-national coordinator of MORHAN. "In our 27-year history, it is the first time that we have been given such an important award." - The United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize of US$ 40 000 was awarded to the Children’s Cancer Hospital in Cairo. Opened in July 2007, this modern hospital treats children regardless of their race, creed or ability to pay. Most children come from poor families in Egypt who cannot afford the cost of cancer care.
Mrs Ola Zaki Ghabbour, the General Secretary of the hospital said, "It is amazing to be able to give sick children the opportunity to get better. The Children's Cancer Hospital was a dream that came true, thanks to the generous contributions of all Egyptians, the private sector, governmental authorities, and all loyal and faithful friends from all over the world." - The State of Kuwait Prize for Research in Health Promotion was jointly awarded to Dr Zaza Metreveli from Georgia and Dr Chuon Chantopheas from Cambodia who received US$ 20 000 each.
Dr Zaza Metreveli is the Chief of the Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Critical Care Medicine at the Gudushauri National Medical Centre in Tbilisi, Georgia. During national emergency and conflict, especially during the war in the 1990s, he made a significant contribution to national welfare and has received recognition and awards from the Georgian government. When asked what he will use the prize money for, Dr Metreveli said, "I wish to channel some of the money towards a trauma prevention programme."
Dr Chuon Chantopheas is the Deputy Head of the Technical Bureau of the National Laboratory for Drug and Food Quality Control at the Ministry of Health of Cambodia. She has played a leading role in raising awareness about food-borne diseases, a major cause of ill-health in her country. She has been recognized as an expert in this field, both nationally, and by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAC) and WHO, and is regularly invited to address international meetings and public forums on food-borne disease.
On receiving the award, Dr Chantopheas said, "It may come as a surprise but I would like to get an Internet connection in my own home in order to communicate my work to the communities more effectively. My work is targeted at rural communities and small businesses to produce and process safe food and reduce the incidence of food-borne diseases."
The application for awards is open to all individuals or organizations active in the field of health. Proposals are made to the Director-General of WHO, who submits them to a selection panel. The panel decides on the recommendations to be made to the Executive Board, which designates the recipients of the prizes.