CE128/25 (Eng.) 6 June 2001 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
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PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION 128th SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Washington, D.C., USA, 25-29 June 2001 Provisional Agenda Item 7.1 CE128/25 (Eng.) 6 June 2001 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER ACTIONS OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY OF INTEREST TO THE PAHO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 14 to 22 May 2001. The Assembly adopted 22 resolutions, 5 more than in 2000. This document provides a summary of the work of the Assembly and the resolutions which, in the judgement of the Regional Director, are of interest to the Executive Committee in its role as working party of the Regional Committee of the World Health Organization for the Americas. The document considers 16 of the 22 resolutions and the new membership of the WHO Executive Board. The Executive Committee is asked to analyze and discuss the significance of the resolutions for the Member States of PAHO/WHO and for the Regional Office. CE128/25 (Eng.) Page 2 CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 3 2. Program Policy Matters .............................................................................................. 3 2.1 General program of work (WHA54.1)............................................................. 3 2.2 Infant and young child nutrition (WHA54.2)................................................... 3 2.3 Scaling up the response to HIV/AIDS (WHA54.10) ....................................... 4 2.4 WHO medicines strategy (WHA54.11) ........................................................... 5 2.5 Strengthening nursing and midwifery (WHA54.12)....................................... 6 2.6 Strengthening health systems in developing countries (WHA54.13) .............. 7 2.7 Global health security: epidemic alert and response (WHA54.14).................. 8 2.8 International decade of the world’s indigenous people (WHA54.16).............. 9 2.9 Transparency in tobacco control process (WHA54.18) ................................. 10 2.10 Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections (WHA54.19).................................................................................. 10 2.11 International classification of functioning, disability and health (WHA54.21)................................................................................. 11 3. Administrative and Financial Matters....................................................................... 11 3.1 Salaries of staff in ungraded posts and of the Director-General (WHA54.3) ........................................................................ 11 3.2 Real Estate Fund (WHA54.7) ........................................................................ 12 3.3 Casual income (WHA54.8)............................................................................ 12 3.4 Appropriation resolution for the financial period 2002-2003 (WHA54.20) .................................................................................................. 12 4. Otter Matters ............................................................................................................. 13 4.1 Reform of the Executive Board (WHA54.22) ............................................... 13 4.2 Executive Board membership ........................................................................ 13 Annexes CE128/25 (Eng.) Page 3 1. Introduction The Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly (WHA54) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 14 to 22 May 2001. Mrs. Mariángeles Argüello, Minister of Health, Nicaragua, was elected one of the four Vice-Presidents, and Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, Chief Medical Officer, Bahamas, was elected Vice-Chairperson of Committee B. During its deliberations, the World Health Assembly reviewed the work of the Executive Board at is 107th Session and considered a variety of programmatic, administrative and financial, and other issues. The Assembly adopted a total of 22 resolutions, 5 more than in 2000 but 2 fewer than in 1999. The work of the Assembly is summarized in the following sections. Only those resolutions considered of particular importance to the Region of the Americas are included, and they are presented according to subject matter. Those related to items being considered by the Executive Committee are also noted with cross-references. The 22 Assembly resolutions are included in the Annex in numerical order. 2. Program Policy Matters 2.1 General program of work (WHA54.1) Resolution WHA54.1 approves the general program of work of WHO for the period 2002-2005. As the Regional Office for the Americas, PAHO will be executing all relevant aspects of the general program of work, and there will be close correspondence between PAHO’s biennial program budget for the period and WHO’s general program of work. Under item 4.1, the 128th Session of the Executive Committee will consider the proposed program budget for PAHO for the financial period 2002-2003, and under 4.13 it will receive an update on the strategic planning process for PAHO for the period 2003-2007. 2.2 Infant and young child nutrition (WHA54.2) Expressing concern that more than one-third of under-five children are still malnourished and that malnutrition contributes to nearly half of the 10.5 million deaths each year among pre-school children worldwide and noting the need to reinforce the fundamental role of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding, resolution WHA54.2 calls on all sectors of society to cooperate in efforts to improve the nutrition of infants and young children. It urges Member States to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child; to reach national consensus on strategies and policies for improving nutrition; to CE128/25 (Eng.) Page 4 protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for six months as a global public health recommendation; to provide safe and appropriate complementary foods, with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond; to support the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative; to improve complementary food and feeding practices; to ensure global compliance with the International Code and subsequent relevant Health Assembly resolutions; and to recognize and assess the available scientific evidence on the balance of risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding compared with the risk of not breastfeeding. The resolution further requests the Director-General to give greater emphasis to infant and young child nutrition; to monitor progress toward implementation of the International Code; to provide support to Member States, emphasizing exclusive breastfeeding for six months, the provision of safe and appropriate complementary foods, and continuous breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond; to involve the international health and development community, in particular UNICEF; to encourage and support further independent research on HIV transmission; and to submit the global strategy for infant and young child feeding to the Executive Board at its 109th Session in January 2002 and to the 55th World Health Assembly in May 2002. The global strategy is important to PAHO as it will provide a platform for the development and implementation of policies and programs in infant and young child feeding. The process for review and finalization of the strategy involves a series of country and regional meetings throughout the WHO regions, including the Americas. PAHO has been actively involved in planning meetings in this Region, including ones in Brazil, Jamaica, and Guatemala. Currently, the majority of national guidelines and recommendations call for exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with the introduction of appropriate complementary foods thereafter and continued breastfeeding up to two years of age and beyond. 2.3 Scaling up the response to HIV/AIDS (WHA54.10) Resolution WHA54.10 recalls that the Constitution of the World Health Organization states that enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being and that realization of that right in the context of HIV/AIDS should involve access to health facilities, prevention, care, treatment, and support; recognizes that prevention and care are inextricably linked; further recognizes that inexpensive and effective drugs to prevent and treat opportunistic infections exist, are urgently needed, and can be made rapidly available; acknowledges that the lack of affordable pharmaceuticals and of feasible supply structures and health systems continues to hinder an effective response to HIV/AIDS; and welcomes the work in progress to develop a global AIDS and health fund. It urges Member States to scale up CE128/25 (Eng.) Page 5 their responses to HIV/AIDS; reduce stigma and discrimination; provide progressively and in a sustainable manner, the highest standard of treatment for HIV/AIDS; develop appropriate modalities of care; increase investment in research; and cooperate constructively in strengthening pharmaceutical policies and practices. It urges the Director-General to provide Member States high-quality, normative, health-related guidance; to support the development of necessary health system capacities and structures; to foster research; to give guidance and support the building of national capacity for surveillance of adverse drug reactions and emergence of resistance to antiretroviral medicines; to maintain