Third Global Meeting of WHO Representatives and Liaison Officers
Opening address
Representatives, Liaison Officers, Regional Directors, colleagues,
Welcome to your Office in Geneva. I have met many of you over the last twenty years, but this is the first time I get to see you all at once in my capacity as Director-General. This week gives us an opportunity to see how we can support and coordinate our efforts.
I have been saying often that one important measure of success for WHO is improved health outcomes in countries. I thank you, WRs and Liaison Officers, for the hard work you are doing, often in very difficult conditions.
Communication catalyses change. This meeting is one venue for communication but our daily communication is also important. One of the priorities I described in my speech to staff on 21 July was improving country connectivity. Since then, we have been able to link several countries to the Global Private Network. More will be added by the end of the year. We have also started construction of a situation room here in headquarters. The information on health crises, outbreaks and progress towards reaching key health targets that we generate in this situation room, will be available to you all through the internet and intranet.
Last month I was in Kazakhstan to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata. "Health for all through primary health care" is a clear expression of our one objective. You are invited to celebrate this anniversary here tonight. I am pleased to announce that Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Dr Hiroshi Nakajima and Dr Halfdan Mahler will also be joining us. This is a unique event in WHO, as it is the first time three former Directors-General have gathered together in one place, in this building.
Change, renewal and reform are one important value. However, it has to be built on understanding tradition and continuity. Otherwise we will be in the business of re-inventing wheels, again and again. During the celebration this evening, we will hear from Dr Mahler about the Alma Ata Declaration. Don’t expect to hear from Dr Mahler that Alma Ata was the greatest conference ever in public health or that he was enthusiastic from the beginning. In fact, it was the Soviet Union that wanted the conference most, at the peak of the cold war. At that time, the then new Director-General, Dr Mahler, was reluctant. Anyway, Health for All became the mantra that led our work for two decades. Tonight we have an opportunity to revisit that vision of social justice and ensure it continues to guide our future work.
Last week I visited President Chirac at the Elysée Palace in Paris. Among other matters, the President reaffirmed the support of the French government on polio eradication. Only seven countries remain polio endemic. Though we are facing many difficulties. It is in Nigeria and India that the answer as to whether we will stop transmission by 2005 will be found.
On September 22, I declared a global health emergency, due to the failure to get antiretroviral therapy to those who need it in developing countries. HIV/AIDS is the worst social and health disaster the world has seen for many centuries. What is most disturbing is that effective treatment exists but this disease is still killing almost everyone infected in poor countries. This situation is unacceptable both morally and by any standard of public health. By getting three million people onto ARV therapy by the end of 2005, we will demonstrate that it must and can be changed. That is the target. The goal is universal access to AIDS treatment. The key question is not if we can afford to do this but if we can afford not to do this.
The key question is not whether we can afford to do this, but whether we can not afford to do this.
One of the things that convinced me that "3 by 5" was possible was that this is the right thing to do. As with the SARS outbreak, there has been a tremendous response from within WHO and our many partners, especially in the countries most affected. During the SARS outbreak, many of you were working long hours for days and weeks at a time, here, in the regional offices and in the country offices. I recognize your contribution and thank all those of you who were directly and indirectly involved. The SARS epidemic was stopped in 120 days even though there was no effective treatment for cases, and no certainty about the mode of transmission. In the case of HIV/AIDS, we do have that knowledge, and we have more than two years to achieve “3 by 5”.
We will be discussing plans for “3 by 5” in detail. These plans need to be closely coordinated with the other health priorities in each country.
An important aim of “3 by 5” is to catalyse the strengthening of health systems, by injecting a sense of urgency and creating new ways of working within the Organization. This will have a much more direct effect in some countries than in others. But, among the most pressing needs, are resource mobilization on a large scale, a higher degree of coordination and connectivity, and a very sharp focus on measurable results within a specified timeframe. These are of major importance for all countries and for all our activities.
As you know, I want to see more resources being used at the country level. This means finding ways to respond more quickly and effectively to needs in countries as they arise. The practical steps we can take to achieve this should be a key element in all our discussions this week. Operational planning of the 2004-2005 Programme Budget is underway. I have indicated that the proportion of resources allocated to countries and regions within this budget must increase to 70%.
A key requirement for achieving Health for All is skilled and motivated human resources. For our staff, this means more direct participation in supporting the work in countries, more mobility, more diverse experiences and more training opportunities. The mobility and rotation policy we are now putting in place will facilitate the optimum deployment of staff in support of WHO's aims. An interim system will be in place by the end of the year. Later this week, we will be discussing these in more detail and there will be an opportunity for all staff to discuss the proposed system at lunchtime on Friday.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional Director for South- East Asia. Dr Uton will retire next year after many years of distinguished service with the Organization. This will, therefore, be the last time he attends a WR meeting as Regional Director. We wish him a long and healthy retirement.
We will be covering a broad agenda over the next few days. Our topics include the programme budget, decentralization, mobility and rotation, country connectivity, transparency, and accountability. I look forward to learning more from you about what is going on, how we can solve problems and how we can consolidate our successes. Feel free to think and speak as clearly, honestly and boldly as you can. It is a time of opportunity for all of us and for WHO. Let’s generate as much information and as many bright ideas for action as we can from this week of meetings. This will help us to make a unified and lasting contribution to the health of all.
Thank you.