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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">TWN Info Service on Health Issues No.
1<o:p></o:p></B></P>
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<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT size=5><FONT
size=4>World Health Assembly opens with calls for more health financing<BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"></FONT><BR
style="mso-special-character: line-break"></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG>By Martin
Khor<o:p></o:p></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Geneva, 17 May 2005<o:p></o:p></B></P>
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style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> <o:p></o:p></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>The World Health Assembly
(WHA) opened Monday with speeches by the </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">President of Maldives Maumoon
Gayoom and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">both urging that more funding be
given to health to reduce global health inequities.<BR><BR>World Health
Organization Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook warned that<BR>although
health was at the centre of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),<BR>progress
towards meeting them was not reassuring. He and President
Maumoon<BR>warned about the impending avian flu pandemic, which could kill many
millions if<BR>measures are not taken now.<BR><BR>Among the highlights on the
agenda of the Assembly, which will end on 25 May, are<BR>the achievement of
health-related MDGs, revision of the International Health<BR>Regulations, and
health action in relation to crises and disasters.<BR><BR>In view of the avian
flu problem, the item on pandemic influenza preparedness and<BR>response will
also be a closely-followed item, as will the issue of scaling up treatment<BR>of
HIV/AIDS. The Assembly will also discuss controversial proposals to
allow<BR>genetic engineering experiments on remaining stocks of the smallpox
virus.<BR><BR>At the opening plenary session, the President of the Assembly,
Spanish Health<BR>Minister, Ms. E. Salgado, highlighted two issues that will
occupy the Assembly:<BR>assessment of the attainment of health-related MDGs, and
the adoption of a revised<BR>draft of the International Health
Regulations.<BR><BR>The revised regulations, which will replace the 1979
regulations, had been discussed<BR>for two years and were finalized late night
on 13 May. They pertain to prevention and<BR>control of international
spread of disease, particularly in relation to transport, travel<BR>and
trade.<BR><BR>WHO Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook, in his opening speech, said
that health<BR>issues are at the centre of the MDGs, yet the translation of
those goals into reality is<BR>very far from completion, and progress towards
them was not reassuring.<BR><BR>Unless there are major changes in the very near
future, the targets for reducing child<BR>mortality will not be achieved by
2015, warned Dr. Lee. Although the coverage rates<BR>in some areas rose as
planned, "we have not yet seen improvement in health<BR>indicators. In
some areas death rates have actually risen due to extreme poverty
and<BR>epidemics." The technical knowhow exists to do what is needed for
global health, but<BR>"we have not yet found ways to apply it on a large enough
scale."<BR><BR>Dr Lee added that the rise in funding for health development was
encouraging, having<BR>risen steeply, but was still a small fraction of what is
needed. "We have at least begun<BR>to overcome lack of resources, one of
the biggest obstacles to meeting MDG targets."<BR><BR>He cited the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (which has entered into<BR>force with 64
contracting parties) as a "shining example" of negotiation ensuring
that<BR>knowledge leads to action.<BR><BR>He mentioned the launching in March of
the Commission on Social Determinants of<BR>Health which will define and
confront major underlying causes of ill-health in the<BR>21st century; and
the Commission on Intellectual Property which will present its<BR>findings to
next year's WHA.<BR><BR>On specific diseases, Dr Lee mentioned the campaign to
treat 3 million HIV/AIDS<BR>patients by end-2005. He said the milestone of
700,000 people on treatment was<BR>passed last December but did not reveal what
the present level of achievement was,<BR>except to say that the next progress
report is due in June.<BR><BR>On tuberculosis (TB), the treatment success rate
reached 82% but case detection is<BR>still lagging at 45%. In Africa, the
HIV epidemic is fuelling TB resurgence.<BR><BR>On malaria, which kills over a
million people annually, under-investment in control<BR>activity has accelerated
drug resistance and excluded whole populations from<BR>protection. The new
artemisinin-based combination therapies and insecticide-treated<BR>nets are
effective and WHO is preparing a major initiative based on these.<BR><BR>He
ended by warning about avian influenza, which he described as "the most
serious<BR>health threat the world is facing today". While the timing cannot be
predicted, "rapid<BR>international spread is certain once the susceptible virus
appears."<BR><BR>He said this was a grave danger for all people in all
countries, adding that the<BR>magnitude can be gauged by the 20-50 million
deaths from the Spanish flu epidemic<BR>in 1918.<BR><BR>Dr Lee added that there
is time to prepare for the next global pandemic. "When this<BR>event occurs, our
response has got to be immediate, comprehensive and effective."<BR><BR>The
President of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, made an eloquent plea
for<BR>international cooperation to come to the aid of small countries
like his, which were<BR>threatened by natural disasters such as the recent
tsunami and the effects of climate.<BR><BR>He gave a wide-ranging panorama of
the health problems and crises facing the world. <BR>He said the tsunami
directly affected one-third of the people of the Maldives, with<BR>two decades
of development and the equivalent of 62% of the Gross Domestic<BR>Product washed
away. An early warning system alone isn't enough, what is needed<BR>is a
strategy for people to find refuge once the alert is sounded.<BR><BR>Though
substantial funds have been committed for recovery and reconstruction,
he<BR>feared the promised aid would take too long to materialize, with
particularly slow<BR>reaction in aid for repairing water and sewerage
infrastructure and the clearing of<BR>debris and waste.<BR><BR>He highlighted
the need for treatment for HIV/AIDS and drug-resistant TB, and<BR>warned that
globalization, travel and trade were rapidly spreading infectious diseases.
<BR>While the challenges of dealing with old diseases like malaria, TB and
cholera<BR>remain, the emergence of new pathogens such as SARS and avian flu
were equally<BR>worrying.<BR><BR>He warned that the avian flu could transform
into a new pandemic strain against<BR>which human beings have no immunity, and
such a pandemic could kill over 100<BR>million people.<BR><BR>Localised health
hazards are equally more devastating, he added, citing that one in<BR>five
persons in the Maldives is a thalassaemia carrier. Bone marrow
transplantation,<BR>the only permanent cure, is not available locally. The
cost of treatment is projected<BR>to consume over 40% of per capita health
expenditure in 50 years, if preventive steps<BR>are not taken.<BR><BR>President
Maumoon Gayoom also stressed the importance of the environment, citing<BR>that
over 5 million children die annually from illnesses caused by the
environment<BR>they live in. He pinpointed the health effects of
global warming, which could kill the<BR>corals and starve the Maldives of fish
supplies, and would increase vector-borne<BR>diseases, lead to more virulent
forms of tropical diseases and poison water aquifers<BR>and soil with excess
salination as the seas rise.<BR><BR>Bill Gates, speaking in his capacity as
founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates<BR>Foundation, said the world is failing
billions of people as governments in rich and<BR>poor countries are not putting
enough funds in health, while the private sector is not<BR>developing vaccines
needed in developing countries as they could not afford to
buy<BR>them.<BR><BR>The story, however, is changing, he said, with the
application of more scientific<BR>research on treating diseases such as
pneumonia, malaria, sleeping sickness and<BR>AIDS, giving examples of projects
funded by his Foundation.<BR><BR>Delivery and distribution of medicines were
also important, and he urged that the<BR>design of medicines be shaped by the
needs of delivery, for example, by developing<BR>a pill to be taken once a month
instead of AIDS patients who now have to take three<BR>pills a day.<BR><BR>Gates
said governments in rich countries must match resources to meet the scale
of<BR>the problem, governments in developing countries should increase the share
of their<BR>budgets going to health, and all countries should increase research
on diseases that<BR>claim the most lives, while scientists should design
inventions with delivery in mind.<BR><BR>Earlier, the Assembly proceedings were
held back by consideration of the issue of<BR>whether to place on the agenda the
issue of whether Taiwan could be accepted as an<BR>observer in the
WHA.<BR><BR>Chad and Malawi supported placing the issue on the agenda, arguing
that the WHO<BR>would lose credibility if it marginalizes small and weak
members.<BR><BR>Pakistan spoke against the proposal. China said the WHA
had repeatedly rejected the<BR>request of a few countries that Taiwan should
take part as an observer. It said that to<BR>admit Taiwan as an observer
would be against the UN Charter, UN General Assembly<BR>and WHA resolutions and
the WHA rules of procedure on observer status. It added<BR>that China
would safeguard its sovereignty and would not allow anyone to
conduct<BR>secession activities through the WHA.<BR><BR>The Assembly decided not
to include this issue on its agenda.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>