PHA-Exchange> WHO candidates debate last Sunday in Gva

[Aviva]

From: "Salah Mandil" <salah.mandil at bluewin.ch>

The  "Debate" was organised and held on Sunday, 19 January 2003 (at 3 pm
> to 5:15 pm, Geneva time).  Invitations went to all the Candidates, all the
> members of the WHO Executive Board, all Geneva-based organisations and
NGO's
> and all Geneva-based WHO staff, to participate on-site.  The debate was
also
> broadcast over the Internet, and on all six channels of the WorldSpace
> radio.  The topics for the debate were organised under these five main
> headings:  Health for All and Primary Health Care;  Access to Health Care
> services;  WHO Priorities and Structure; Global and other Partnerships;
and
> Health Information and Communication.
>
> Three of the candidates participated and the other four (one candidate
> withdrew from the race just a day before) apologised.  No member of the
> Executive Board took part.  About 500 (mostly WHO and NGOs staff) attended
> on-site.  The three candidates who participated were (in surname
alphabetic
> order):
>
> Dr Pascoal Manuel Mocumbi, Mozambique
> Dr Ismail Sallam, Egypt
> Dr Joseph Williams, Cook Island
>
> Dr Mocumbi and Dr Sallam were in Geneva, and Dr Williams was on Video
> Conference link from Aukland, New Zealand.
>
> The event was not intended as a debate between the candidates, nor an
> interview of the candidates, but an opportunity for the Global Health
sector
> to and listen to and question the Candidates on their Vision, Priorities
and
> intended method of their directing WHO - with particular emphasis on the
> needs and the true involvement of the poor communities and the
industrially
> developing countries.  Questions to the candidates were fielded via Video
or
> Audio links, and through the Internet, from over 70 health institutions in
> over 20 countries.
>
> It was an excellent event and the "debate" fully met its objectives,
albeit
> with only three of the seven candidates participating.  I had the honour
of
> chairing the Debate at the invitation of the main organisers:  the
> International Health Network, Exchange, The People's Health Movement and
The
> Academy of International Health Philanthropy.  An archive of the
> video-streaming, together with a transcript and a summary of the event
will
> shortly be available (www.ihn.org).
>
> Salah Mandil
> Geneva