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WHO Child Health Policy Initiative (CHPI) yields Success
Tunisia is the first country in the Region to finalize its National Child Health Policy, an outcome of country efforts undertaken within the frame of the Child Health Policy Initiative (CHPI) conceived by the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) in October 2003.
H.E. Tunisian Minister of Public Health will sign and launch the policy document in a formal celebration to be held in Tunis on 10 December 2006, during the opening session of the Third Intercountry Workshop on Child Health Policy initiative, organized by the Regional Office Child and Adolescent Health and Development Unit (CAH).
The National Child Health Policy document developed by Tunisia relies on a thorough situation analysis described in the official document of the Ministry of Public Health “Child health situation analysis in Tunisia” developed in October 2005. The analysis was carried out as a key step to identify strengths of existing policies and child health issues which could be addressed effectively through new policies or strengthening existing ones. The aim was to bring together in one document all policies, old and new ones, which address the health and development of Tunisian children, as a further commitment to ensuring that Tunisian children develop and live to their full potential. The document covers both the healthy and sick child and addresses such issues as access to care and service provision, committing financial resources, health professional development, medicines policy and other health system elements, communication, prevention, monitoring and scaling-up of child-related programme interventions.
The policy document deals with challenges such as providing equity and equality, ensuring quality services and access to health care to all children, ensuring quality of services and personnel performance, raising preventive services, promoting child psychosocial development and disability prevention and control, allocating more financial resources to support the implementation of child health policies and eventually strengthening partnerships defining partners’ responsibilities and coordination mechanisms.
As part of its efforts to support Member States, the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean produced guidelines to help these states to formulate their National Child Health Policy. Dr Hussein Gezairy, Regional Diretor, confirmed the importance of such policy indicating it as “ an innovative approach that further show the government’s resolve to apply its policy effectively for the betterment of its children’s health.” Dr Gezairy will address the Third Intercoutry Workshop that will be inaugurated Sunday 10th of December 2006 with the participation of representatives of 11 Member States. Three countries namely Egypt, Tunisia and Sudan will review their experiences in this field. EMRO will review a recommended process for analysis and prioritization of policy issues.
It is worth mentioning that the WHO initiative was positively received by most of the countries. Four countries pioneering the Initiative, namely Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, were able to prepare and finalize in 2005 their child health situation analysis reports, which represent the platform on which subsequently to develop their national child health policy documents. Other countries expressed interest such as the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Palestine and Yemen
UN Road Safety Week to be held on April 2007
26.4 deaths per 100 000 population is the mortality rate from road traffic injuries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, The highest record in the world after the African Region.
With the steady increase in the number of road traffic deaths witnessed by this Region over the past decade, it is estimated that even a higher mortality rate will be reached soon.
More growing facts and chocking numbers are involved, deaths and morbidity due to road traffic crashes surpasses even the deaths caused by most prevalent diseases, like Tuberculosis in developing countries, the cost incurred to the governments in the Eastern Mediterranean Region by road traffic crashes was more than US$ 7.5 billion.
“The First UN Road Safety Week” is a global endeavor to respond to the enormity of the situation. It is the outcome of the UN General Assembly Resolution 60/5 which mandates the UN Economic Commissions and the World Health Organization (WHO) to assist the Member States in raising awareness about the issue, helping them in designing policy frameworks and promoting action around key risk factors as identified in the World Report or road traffic injury prevention.
To make Member States better prepared to organize the UN Road Safety Week, three organization mainly WHO, ESCWA and GRSP are organizing a two day training workshop for the focal persons representing 13 Member States from the Region.
The objectives of the workshop that is held at EMRO premises from 20-21 December 2006 are to engage those focal points in preparations of the UN Week and discuss various National and Regional events towards one week, and to create a Regional network of individuals and organizations for road safety.
“Road traffic crashes, no doubt, stand among the most important causes of injuries and deaths not only globally but also in our Region. Every day thousands of people are killed and annually millions are injured who may never be able to lead the same lives again.” Dr Hussein Gezairy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Stated.
It is worth mentioning that worldwide, deaths due to road traffic crashes each year are estimated at almost 1.2 million, while the number of those injured could be as high as 50 million- the combined population of live of the world’s large cities. Worse, without increased efforts and new initiatives, the total number of road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide is forecast to rise by some 65% between 2000 and 2020.
Prevention is the key for road safety crisis anywhere in the world but prevention efforts would bear fruits only when all the important partners and sectors are actively engaged in a coordinated response. Partnership between different agencies within or outside the UN system at the international, regional and country levels is all but important. Partnership broadens the support for road safety efforts
53rd session of WHO-RC endorsing new strategies for wider role of governments in health development
The 53rd Session of WHO’s Regional Committee for Eastern Mediterranean concluded here in Isfahan today with a call for a strong commitment and joint endeavors for health development by the Member States. It noted with satisfaction the progress in the implementation of WHO’s collaborative programmes and activities in the Region.
The Committee deliberated on several issues of importance to the countries and adopted resolutions on subjects of regional priority, including the following:
Consumption of Alcohol in the Region. The Regional Committee showed Concern at the growing number of reports from Member States referring to alarming signs of a
hidden epidemic in pockets of the young population in the Region with regard to hazardous consumption of alcohol. It urges Member States to Promote the conduct, in collaboration with WHO, nongovernmental organizations, medical
colleges and other academic institutions already working in this area, of well designed research and case studies to determine the magnitude, pattern and trend of alcohol consumption in the Region, and the impact for specific disease conditions and population groups.
The RC encouraged Member States to raise awareness of the potential for public health problems arising from alcohol consumption and the need to develop integrated strategies at national level to address the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including alcohol;
The R WHO Regional Director was requested to support Member States in formulating or reformulating their national drug abuse policies to include alcohol-related problems;
And to advocate with Member States in favor of greater transparency regarding alcohol and other drug-related problems;
The Regional Strategy on preparedness and response for Human pandemic Influenza:
The committee Recognized the significance and impact of the current outbreaks of avian influenza, and the potential gravity of the anticipated human pandemic influenza;
And also recognized that the broadened purpose and scope of the International Health Regulations (2005) is a significant step towards protection of the international community against the potentially devastating consequences of public health emergencies such as pandemic influenza. Hence the committee endorsed the WHO Eastern Mediterranean strategic plan for avian influenza and human pandemic influenza.
It called upon Member States to:
establish a high-level stewardship and policy-making committee on avian influenza and human pandemic influenza comprising representatives from key ministries, and a technical committee comprising representatives from all sectors concerned, together with a Ministry of Health focal point to facilitate smooth communication with WHO;
The RC53rd Session requested the Regional Director to further support development of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Network for Outbreak Alert and Response to ensure prompt response to and containment of outbreaks of communicable diseases within the Eastern Mediterranean Region; and to encourage and support development of vaccines and antiviral medicines in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
It asked him to further support and foster partnerships and resource mobilization among the main stakeholders in order to contribute to capacity-building in communicable disease surveillance and response;
The Regional Director was also requested to facilitate coordination with other international agencies and WHO collaborating centers in establishing and strengthening influenza surveillance in Member States;
Regional Strategy for knowledge management to support public health
The 53rd Session of the Regional Committee expressed Concern by the knowledge gap and the lack of ability to translate knowledge into action; nevertheless, it recognized the efforts of some Member States in developing strategies and policies for some aspects of knowledge management.
The committee endorsed the regional strategy for knowledge management to support public health,
And Urged Member States to conduct a situation analysis of information and knowledge management institutions including publishers, libraries, information centers, information networks, health on the internet, information
technology centers and media centers;
The WHO Regional Director was requested by the committee to promote and catalyze public-private partnerships in support of e-health activities in the Region
and to provide technical support to Member States to formulate their national policies, strategies and plans for knowledge management and sharing, knowledge generation, use of ICT for health, human resources, and knowledge translation;
The committee called upon the Regional Director to develop and sustain the Eastern Mediterranean Knowledge Network (EMRKNet) in collaboration with Member States.
Medical devices and equipment in contemporary health care systems and services:
The committee, Recalling resolution EM/RC44/R.3 on appropriate health technologies;
Recognizing that medical devices equip health care providers with indispensable tools necessary to perform their functions effectively and efficiently;
And concerned at the number of regional problems related to medical device management, at a time when the regional market for medical equipment is growing;
urged Member States to collect and/or update information on medical devices and the processes for technology assessment, selection and management;
It requested the Regional Director to establish a regional advisory group on assessment, selection and management of medical devices with a view to developing a regional strategy; and asked him to develop guidelines on assessment, selection and use of medical devices and to promote norms and standards focusing on quality and cost effectiveness;
The role of government in health development: the regional committee acknowledged the importance of the role played by governments in health development and noted the dramatic changes and challenges facing the role of government in general and health development in particular; and the growing
concerns over equity in access to quality health care, increasing vulnerability and limited coverage by social protection; hence , the committee urged Member States to promote investment in health development as having important economic return, and advocate the centrality of health in all social and economic development initiatives;
It encouraged them to continue to play their leadership role in health development in order to protect societal values of equity, solidarity and fairness in line with health for all policies and strategies which consider health as a human right and not as a market commodity;
And called upon Member States to protect the role of government in service delivery in order to secure access for the poor, vulnerable groups and rural and remote populations;
And to pay particular interest to improving working conditions for professionals working full time in government facilities.
