SEAlRC3012 Page 85 views on matters of mutual interest. Fifteen such organizations were represented at this session of the Regional Committee. Regional Office staff also continued to maintain close contacts with organizations which are located in countries of the Region and are the national affiliates of their respective world bodies. The Organization was represented at the First Asian Regional Red Cross Conference held in New Delhi in March 1977. 5.4 Bilateral and Other Agencies As in the past, the Organization has been associated with the assistance provided on a bilateral basis to Member countries in the Region. Consultations with US AID continued with regard to its assistance to malaria programmes in the Region. Discussions were held with a visiting DANIDA team on assistance to India for its blindness prevention and maternal and child healthlfamily planning progranunes. The Special Adviser Qn Health and Population to CIDA visited the Regional Office and held discussions with the Regional Director concerning Canadian assistance to Burma, Nepal and Thailand. The Regional Office was also involved in discussions concerning SIDA assistance to the medical termination of pregnancy programme in India as well as the expanded programme of immunization. The WHO Representative to Indonesia represented the Organization at the Twelfth Conference of the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Council (SEAMEC) held in Jakarta from 3 to 7 March 1977. The Regional Adviser on Health Statistics attended the Fourth Workshop on Health Statistics and Health Documentation, convened by SEAMEC in Bangkok from 11 to 17 January 1977. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION The work of WHO in South-East Asia continued to receive favourable attention from national and international press, radio and television. The year witnessed the epochlnaking accomplishment of the eradication of smallpox from Bhutan, India and Nepal, and the announcement of this historic event received enthusiastic coverage by the mass media all over the world. During the several meetings with regional and international participation which were organized by WHO, a number of press and radio interviews were arranged with participants, singly as well as in groups. Press releases were issued on meetings held in the Regional Office as well as in the various countries of the Region. Information material provided by the Regional Office formed the basis for several articles which were published by outside writers. SEA/RC30/2 Page 86 Reuters, United Press International, Associated Press and Samachar were among the global and national news agencies which carried stories on such topics as traditional medicine, malaria, leprosy, dengue haemor- rhagic fever, health manpower development, and the delivery of health care. Leading national newspapers in the Region such as The Bangkok World, The Ceylon Daily News, The Indian Express, The Statesman, The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indonesia Times, and The Indonesian Observer, reproduced WE0 press releases and prepared their own articles, and also published editorials on health subjects. A radio journalist representing Radio Monte Carlo, on an assignment from UNICEF, recorded interviews with Regional Office staff on the general health situation in the Region. Arrangements were made for him to visit Thailand and record specific programmes in that country. A team of writer-journalists from the Federal Republic of Germany visited Bangladesh to gather information on the national programme for the prevention of blindness. This team was provided with information material and helped in establishing the necessary contacts in the , country. Several newspapers and magazines were provided with photographic mate- rial to illustrate stories on various health topics. Films A film on the programme of prevention of blindness due to vitamin A deficiency was made in India in collaboration with the Royal Common- wealth Society for the Blind. It is also proposed to use this film for health education purposes in other countries of South-East Asia where the problem of blindness is equally acute. Film footage was obtained on the involvement of medical students in community health work in Rajasthan, India. This sequence will form part of a global film being produced by WHO Headquarters. World Health Day The theme of World Health Day 1977, "Immunize and protect your child". was used to highlight the special significance of immunization to the countries in this region, where millions of children still suffer and die from childhood infections. The mass media responded enthusiasti- cally in spreading the message of the Day. In most countries committees were formed at the national level to observe the occasion. A large number of public meetings, seminars, group discussions, essay contests and exhibitions were organized in which national leaders, health offi- cials, students and the general public participated. As in the past, the Regional Office reproduced and distributed copies of the set of articles prepared on the theme and also had the material translated into several national languages. Copies of an illustrated SEA/RC30/2 Page 87 folder and a poster on immunization were supplied to health authorities, social welfare organizations, hospitals, medical and nursing institu- tions, schools and colleges. A large number of posters, leaflets, book- lets, vaccination charts and display banners were also designed locally by the national health services. The Regional Director recorded a talk in English for All India Radio. This was translated into 26 languages and broadcast to listeners in countries in South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East. A WHO film on the theme of immunization was provided to Delhi Television for a showing on 7 April. The Calcutta Television Centre was supplied with written and visual material for a documentary film produced for use on World Health Day. Filming was also done in Bangladesh of some of that country's major disease control programmes, emphasizing self-reliance in meeting health challenges. This footage will be used in a film to mark WHO'S 30th anniversary in 1978. Publications World Health and the WHO Chronicle carried several items of regional interest during the year. These included full-length stories on rural health in Bihar, India, the work of a feldsher - health worker - in Mongolia, primary health care in Thailand, maternal and child health care in Madras, India, the evaluation of ayurvedic therapy for rheuma- toid arthritis and the role of traditional medicine in the health care programmes in South-East Asia. Miscellaneous Two exhibits were prepared for use in Nepal and the Maldives. The first one formed part of a public exhibition organized in Kathmandu in connexion with the King's birthday celebrations; the second was used in Male on the occasion of the silver jubilee celebrations of an educational institution on the island. Some 3 000 requests for general information received from freelance journalists, writers, teachers, students and the general public were processed, and relevant material supplied. Groups of medical officers, health educators and nursing students visiting World Health House were briefed on the work of WHO. .