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Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, Volume 57, Number 8, August 2003, pp. 374 Practitioners Section NEWS Code Number: ms03019 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE LAUNCHES AN AGENDA FOR ACTION - `SCIENCE IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY' - AND INVITES GOVERNMENTS TO ENDORSE IT DURING THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (GENEVA, DECEMBER 2003) 7 July 2003 (Paris, France) Following a meeting of leading scientists from around the world and representatives of international organisations in March this year, an agenda for action - Science in the Information Society - has now been released by the International Council for Science. The formal documents for the World Summit on the Information Society will be negotiated by governments during an Intercessional Meeting that will take place on July 15-18 (Paris, Unesco House) and during PrepCom III (Geneva, September 15-26). The agenda for action from the international scientific community should provide important input to these negotiations and subsequently to the Summit itself. Universal access to scientific knowledge, decision making and governance, policy issues for scientific information and improving education and training are the four key themes, which were chosen by the scientific community in developing its agenda for action. The science perspectives in relation to each of these themes is summarised in a series of four published brochures, which are available in English, French and Spanish. For each theme, the key principles, the challenges, the actions required, as well as examples of best practice, are highlighted. Examples can be found on water management, weather prediction, health surveillance, science communication and capacity building for research. A very strong message to governments is the need to strengthen the public domain for scientific data and information and ensure equitable access to this. As Professor Jane Lubchenco - ICSU President - states: "Scientific knowledge carries enormous potential for helping the world address the UN Millennium Development Goals, and the use of Information and Communication Technologies opens up unprecedented opportunities to accelerate this process. At the same time, scientists and governments must work together to address the very real risk that the so-called `digital divide' will continue to expand and reinforce the division between rich and poor, North and South." ICSU Founded in 1931, ICSU, the International Council for Science, is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to strengthen international science for the benefit of society. Its membership includes 101 national science bodies and 27 international science unions. In partnership with Its specialized Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), ICSU is working to highlight the importance of science in the developing information society. Further information can be found at www.icsu.org Contact: Hervé Barioulet Information on the `Science in the Information Society' meeting in March and the Agenda for Action can be found at www.icsu.org as well as the text (PDF Format) of the four published brochures. The brochures themselves can be obtained from herve@icsu.org A SIMPLE BUT AMBITIOUS PLAN: $20 MILLION TO JUMP START THE IRAQI HEALTH SYSTEM Press Release WHO/36 2 May 2003 Geneva/Baghdad The damage done to the Iraqi health system by years of underinvestment, economic sanctions and most acutely by weeks of conflict is clear to see. Now, the World Health Organization is working to assist in the long process of putting the system back on its feet. The first and most urgently needed step is to "jump start" hospitals and health centres across the country with a small amount of funding to prevent the damage from getting worse and most importantly to safeguard Iraq's committed and hard-working medical staff. "In the past days and weeks, we have seen the commitment of Iraqi health workers to public health. They have continued to work under some very difficult conditions," said Dr Gro Harlem Brudtland, Director General of the World Health Organization. "Now we must ensure that their dedication and bravery is not wasted. Iraq's health system must not collapse for want of finance and support." The idea behind the "jump start" programme is to build on existing Iraqi health facilities and their highly committed staff. In the first place, that means making sure the very basics are in place that floors are cleaned, patients fed and waste removed; that staff are given a daily allowance until a system is worked out to again pay their salaries; that basic maintenance work can be done, generators can operate and the most essential medicines can be supplied. WHO estimates that just an additional few thousand of US dollars per month is all that is needed to make sure that each one of the key hospitals in the country can continue to provide basic health services for the people who depend on it. The cost of not doing this could be much greater: without basic cleaning and maintenance, disease outbreaks are almost certain; without food, patients cannot recover; and without an allowance to enable them to feed themselves and their families, health workers and other hospital staff will have to look for work elsewhere. For the whole country, WHO estimates that US$20 million per month is all that is needed to keep the health system functioning. Without this small initial investment, much more will be needed to repair the damage that will inevitably result. Iraq's hospitals and health providers were shamefully targeted by looters hoping to gain from the chaos that followed the collapse of the government. Vital medicines and medical suppliers were stolen and health facilities were damaged in many towns and cities across the country. Now, a few thousand dollars a month is all that is needed to make sure each facility can continue to operate. At the same time, from south to north, there were many tales of heroic defence by health staff. Some took up positions in front of their hospitals, refusing to allow the looters in. Others took medical records and computer discs home to protect health and patient records. Many more continued to work when it was difficult and dangerous to do so, risking their own safety to protect their patients. Iraq had an advanced health system in 1990. Although it deteriorated over the next 10 years, it was still serving the Iraqi people at the beginning of this year. Now, WHO is working to ensure that people can access the essential health care they need under the current difficult conditions. Specific planning for emergency support to Iraq's health services has been developed by WHO's staff over the past two weeks. The good news is that this plan can now begin to be implemented because the WHO Representative in Iraq, Dr Ghulam Popal, was able to return to Baghdad on Thursday, 1 May along with colleagues from several other key United Nations agencies. "I am so pleased to return back to my team of dedicated national WHO staff, who have worked extremely hard in the worst imaginable circumstances." said Dr Popal. "As soon as it was safe, and often when it wasn't, our Iraqi colleagues came back to work, I am proud to be able to join them once again." DR JONG-WOOK LEE ELECTED AS DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION Press Release WHA/2 21 May 2003 Announces major new expansion of disease surveillance and response Dr Jong-Wook Lee of the Republic of Korea has today been elected as the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr Lee was elected by the World Health Assembly, which brings together all 192 Member States of WHO, following his nomination to the post at the Executive Board meeting in January. He is the first person from the Republic of Korea chosen to head a United Nations agency. Dr Lee announced that he would immediately expand and strengthen the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to identify and respond to disease outbreaks around the world. "SARS is the first new disease threat of the 21st century, but it will not be the last, Dr Lee said in his acceptance speech to the Assembly. There is an urgent need for "stronger disease surveillance and response mechanisms at local, national, and global levels," said Dr Lee, who recently travelled to China to see for himself the problem posed by SARS and how it is being tackled. Substantial funding has already been committed, he added, and 90% of the resources will go to build disease surveillance capacity at country and regional levels. In his speech, Dr Lee praised the dedication and commitment of Dr Carlo Urbani, a WHO colleague who first identified SARS in Hanoi and subsequently died of the disease. "Carlo Urbani has given us an image of WHO at its best," said Dr Lee. "Not pushing paper, but pushing back the assault of poverty and disease." Dr Lee told the World Health Assembly, "The world today needs leadership in the ongoing struggle for security and justice. Security from infections, and justice for those worst affected by diseases of poverty." He recalled the commitment of the WHO Constitution to work for the highest attainable standard of health for every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief or economic or social condition. "These commitments are not naïve," Dr Lee said. "They emerged from the most destructive war the world has ever seen." The Director-General Elect emphasised his clear commitment to improving primary health care across the world and to achieving clear, measurable results in countries. "We must renew the fundamental commitment to equity expressed by "health for all," he said. "WHO must work to translate this ideal into measurable results." Dr Lee said his five key priority areas will be: Meeting the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals; Shifting resources to serve countries more effectively; Running WHO more efficiently; Ensuring that WHO becomes more accountable, both financially and in its contribution to health outcomes; and Strengthening human resources both inside WHO and within Member States. He concluded his speech with a call for wide participation and urgent action: "In my work at WHO and as a physician before join in the staff, I learned the value of listening … Sharing ideas will be vital in the coming months. But our final test lies in action. Let us unite our strength for the work ahead." Dr Lee, who has worked for the World Health Organization in many capacities and many countries for two decades, will take office and begin his five-year term on 21 July, 2003. He will succeed Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland who has been WHO Director-General since July 1998. Biography Dr Jong-Wook Lee was born on 12 April 1945, in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He received a Medical Doctor degree (M.D.) Seoul National University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Hawaii. He has worked at WHO for 19 years in technical, managerial and policy positions, notably leading the fight against two of the greatest challenges to health and development: tuberculosis and vaccine preventable diseases of children. After heading the WHO Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations and serving as a Senior Policy Advisor, he became in 2000, Director of the Stop TB programme, a coalition of more than 250 international partners including WHO member states, donors, non-governmental organizations, industry and foundations. Dr Lee is married and has one son. He speaks English, Korean and Japanese and reads French and Chinese. WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY ADOPTS HISTORIC TOBACCO CONTROL PACT Press Release WHO/1 21 May 2003 Framework convention on Tobacco Control now ready for signature The 192 members of the World Health Organization today unanimously adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) aimed at curbing tobacco-related deaths and disease. This is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Convention requires countries to impose restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, establish new labeling and clean indoor air controls and strengthen legislation to clamp down on tobacco smuggling. "Today, we are acting to save billions of lives and protect people's health for generations to come. This is a historic moment in global public health, demonstrating the international will tackle a threat to health head on," said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the WHO to the 56th World Health Assembly. "Now we must see this Convention come into force as soon as possible, and countries must use it as the basis of their national tobacco-control legislation," she said. Four years in the making, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been a priority in the WHO's global work to stem the tobacco epidemic. Tobacco now kills some five million people each year. This death toll could double to reach 10 million by 2020, if countries do not implement the measures of the FCTC. While smoking rates are declining in some industrialised countries, they are increasing, especially among the young, in many developing countries. These will account for over seventy percent of that project death toll. "We must do our utmost to ensure that young people everywhere have the best opportunities for a healthy life. By signing, ratifying and acting on this Tobacco Convention, we can live up to this responsibility," said Dr Brundtland. To bring the FCTC into force, forty countries are needed to ratify or otherwise accept it. Copyright 2003 - Indian Journal of Medical Sciences. |
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