OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION No. 114 THE WORK OF WHO 1961 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL TO THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY AND TO THE UNITED NATIONS Covering the Period 1 October 1960 - 31 December 1961 The Financial Report, 1 January -31 December 1961, which constitutes a supplementtothis volume,is published separately in the Official Records series. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION GENEVA March 1962 The following abbreviations are used in the Official Records of the World Health Organization: ACABQ - Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions ACC - Administrative Committee on Co- ordination BTAO - Bureau of Technical Assistance Operations CCTA - Commission for Technical Co- operation in Africa South of the Sahara CIOMS - Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences ECA - Economic Commission for Africa ECAFE - Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East ECE - Economic Commission for Europe ECLA - Economic Commission for Latin America FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization ILO - International Labour Organisation (Office) IMCO - Inter - Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization ITU - International Telecommunication Union MESA - Malaria Eradication Special Account OIHP - Office International d'Hygiène Publique PAHO - Pan American Health Organization PASB - Pan American Sanitary Bureau SMF - Special Malaria Fund of PAHO TAB - Technical Assistance Board TAC - Technical Assistance Committee UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund UNRWA - United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNSCEAR - United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation WFUNA - World Federation of United Nations Associations WMO - World Meteorological Organization The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this report do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the Director -General concerning the legal status of any country or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. PRINTED IN SWITZERLAND CONTENTS Page Introduction v PART I - GENERAL REVIEW Chapter 1. Malaria Eradication 3 Chapter2.Communicable Diseases Tuberculosis - Venereal Diseases and Treponematoses - Veterinary Public Health - Virus Diseases - Parasitic Diseases - Bacterial Diseases - Leprosy 6 Chapter3. Environmental Health Community Water Supply - Air Pollution Control - Community Sanitation - Vector Control, Environmental Biology and Insecticide Resistance 20 Chapter4.Public Health Services Public Health Administration and Organization of Medical Care - Health Education - Health Laboratory Services - Maternal and Child Health - Nursing 25 Chapter5.Health Protection and Promotion Cancer - Cardiovascular Diseases - Dental Health - Mental Health - Nutrition - Social and Occupational Health - Radiation Health, Radiation Medicine and Human Genetics 31 Chapter 6.Education and Training 40 Chapter7.Medical Research 44 Chapter8.Health Statistics 46 Chapter9.Biology and Pharmacology Addiction -producing Drugs - Biological Standardization - Pharmaceuticals 48 Chapter 10.Publications and Reference Services 50 Chapter 11.Public Information 52 Chapter 12.Constitutional, Financial and Administrative Developments Constitutional and Legal - The Financial Position - Administration 54 PART II - THE REGIONS Chapter 13.African Region 61 Chapter 14.Region of the Americas 69 Chapter 15.South -East Asia Region 77 Chapter 16.European Region 83 48089 - III Page Chapter 17.Eastern Mediterranean Region 88 Chapter 18.Western Pacific Region 94 PART III - CO- OPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Chapter 19.Co- ordination of Work with other Organizations 103 Chapter 20.Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance for Economic Development 106 PART IV - PROJECT LIST Projects in Operation in 1961 110 Africa 111 The Americas 118 South -East Asia 126 Europe 137 Eastern Mediterranean 148 Western Pacific 160 Inter -regional 167 ANNEXES 1.Members and Associate Members of the World Health Organization 173 2.Membership of the Executive Board 174 3.Expert Advisory Panels and Committees 176 4.Organizational Meetings and Meetings of Expert Committees and Advisory Groups (1 October 1960 - 31 December 1961) 184 5.Tentative Schedule of WHO Organizational Meetings in 1962 187 6. Non -governmental Organizations in Official Relationship with WHO 187 7.Regular Budget for 1961 188 8.Structure of the Headquarters Secretariat at 31 December 1961 189 9. Numbers and Distribution of the Staff 190 10.Composition of the Staff by Nationality 192 11.Fellowships awarded, by Subject of Study and by Region (1 September 1960 - 30 November 1961) 193 MAP 1. WHO Regional Offices and the Areas they serve 60 - IV - INTRODUCTION TO the great majority of countries in all regions, 1961 meant further progress against the main communicable diseases which still constitute the greatest obstacle to better health for their citizens.In many countries, although unfortunately not inall, the advances made are part of a more general endeavour to strengthen the basic health services and can therefore be considered as definite contributions to the long -range task of raising health standards.Whether and to what extent this goal will be attained depends on the results achieved in the next few years in the three fundamental branches of public health: medical education and training, nutrition and environmental health.Finally, as is evident in all parts of the present report, the intensification of medical research holds out the best hope for the future of the world's health. As in previous years, the review of work on communicable diseases must begin with a brief account of the progress made in 1961 in the world -wide malaria eradication campaign which for several years is to remain the principal target of WHO's activities. Looking at the programme from a global point of view, itis gratifying to note that during the year seven more countries, with popula- tions amounting to about 150 million, have initiated malaria eradication programmes. Within the regions affected, there is no doubt that the machinery of co- ordination has greatly facilitated the effective organization of eradication efforts.For example, the Antimalaria Co- ordination Board for South - East Africa, which met in Southern Rhodesia, and the Antimalaria Co- ordination Meeting for West Africa, in Togo, proved extremely useful for the planning of the work for both those areas of Africa. In the Eastern Mediterranean co- ordination was carried out through border meetings between the countries concerned. The countries still lacking adequate health services -and many of the newly independent nations are in this situation -need assistance in gradually building up the necessary operational services and facilities for eradication campaigns. For these countries WHO's main objective has been to help in organizing pre -eradication programmes. For another group of countries in which eradication has made great progress, the problem is how best to organize surveillance operations. Here WHO's main effort has been to perfect the methods to be followed in the final phases of the campaign. Research into many aspects of malariology has been encouraged and supported by the Organization. For example, to combat the steadily growing resistance of vector species, investigations have been pursued into the use of newer types of insecticides, mainly of the organophosphorus group, which may have to replace the chlorinated hydrocarbons in areas where the vector has become resistant to all the latter.They, however, are still the main weapons in eradication and therefore ways of employing them more economically are being studied.In chemotherapy, field trials were conducted in order to find the most efficient and practical methods of administering medicated salt. With the many developments taking place, both governments and the Organization have found it increasingly difficult to recruit specialists in malaria. It is therefore natural that considerable emphasis has been laid during the year on the intensification of training programmes. Because of the increased participation of many countries, progress was made in the world -wide effort sponsored by WHO to eliminate smallpox as a public health hazard. With continued and inten- sified effort in the years to come we can hope that the dangerous endemic foci of the disease in certain parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America will eventually disappear. Though mass campaigns against yaws, endemic syphilis, leprosy and trachoma were extended during the year, there were some setbacks in other fields. Indeed, outbreaks of cholera and paracholera, yellow fever and trypanosomiasis occurred again in countries where they had not apparently been present for some time. There were also unfortunately indications of a serious recrudescence in certain areas in the incidence of syphilis and gonorrhoea.These developments re- emphasize the fact that, if communicable diseases are to be successfully controlled, we must not relax our efforts, particularly in strengthening epidemiological services and training the personnel necessary for their continuing day - to -day control. In tuberculosis the purpose of a number of pilot area projects, initiated and partly carried out during the year, was to help to formulate the epidemiological and socio- economic objectives of national tuberculosis programmes