july-september 2008 qnt 73 from the association of former

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2008 QNT 73

Association of Former WHO Staff

from the Association of Former WHO Staff Tel :+4122 791 31 03 and 31 92

Office 4141, WHO, CH- 1211 Geneva, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.who.int/formerstaff

Twentieth anniversary of WHO: at the World Health Assembly the Regions were represented by

young girls in national costume who offered a flower to each delegate: also shown are Drs Can-

dau and Dorolle, Director-General and Deputy Director-General.



The Directors-Generals since the beginnings of WHO

Dr Brock Chisholm (1948-1953) Dr Marcolino Candau (1953-1973) Dr Halfdan Mahler (1973-1988)

Dr Hiroshi Nakajima (1988-1998)

Dr LEE Jong-wook (2003-2005)

Dr Gro Harlem Bruntland ( 1998-2003)

Dr Margaret Chan (2006 -



CONTENTS

Pages

Souvenir 20th anniv. WHO 1

Editorial opposite

Dr Martha Eliot 4

Dr Dorolle 5, 6

Dr Asvall 7, 8

Dr Gutteridge 9, 10

Dr Mahler 11,12, 13

Poem on the sixtieth 14

Readers’Corner; 15New members

Travels :Albania 16

In memoriam 17, 18

On the lighter side 19

Publication; new charges 20

Announcements 21

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Editorial Team

Editing & layout: David Cohen

Editorial Board :

Yves Beigbeder,

Jean-Jacques Guilbert,

Jean-Paul Menu,

Carole Modis,

Dev Ray, Rosemary Villars.

Translation, articles:

all the editorial board;

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to the Printing, Distribution,

and mailing Services.

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The opinions expressed

in this newsletter are

those of the authors

and not necessarily

those of the editor

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Send your contributions to :

David Cohen:

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EDITORIAL

n the occasion of WHO's 60th anniversary,this issue of QNT – No. 73 – is mainly de-voted to the Organization's early days: a1976 interview with Dr Pierre Dorolle, for-

mer Deputy Director-General; an article by Dr JoAsvall, former Director of the Regional Office forEurope; the speech given by Dr Halfdan Mahler,former Director-General, to the last World HealthAssembly; a letter from Dr Frank Gutteridge, LegalAdviser from WHO's earliest days and finally an ar-ticle on Dr Martha Eliot, the only woman among thefounders of WHO.

These articles all relate events and impressions whichalso reflect WHO's first steps and evolution

We would welcome articles from you, and particu-larly from our former colleagues in the regions, re-garding your memories of WHO and your « WHOlives ». Such articles would be welcome not only thisyear but at any time in the future.

The Committee has decided to make our annual re-ception in December a special event this year tocelebrate the 60th anniversary: there will be talks,music, etc.

Between now and then the elections will have takenplace, and there will be a new Executive Committee.

As has been the case for the last four years, free flu'vaccination will be organized at WHO HQ this au-tumn for the retirees living in and around Geneva.

This issue will have reached you a little late. This isbecause new administrative procedures and budget-ary restrictions at WHO mean that the Associationmust now assume the production costs; we shall keepyou informed of any new development.

However, we shall now be obliged to send the QNTto paid-up members only, i.e. either life members orannual members who have paid their dues for thecurrent year. So we strongly recommend that thoseof you who have not yet become members, or whohave not yet paid their contribution, do so as soon aspossible if they want to continue receiving the news-letter.

Many thanks.



Dr Martha Eliot, ADG 1949-1951, the only woman among the Founders of WHO

The only woman to sign the founding document of the World Health Organiza-tion was Dr Martha May Eliot (April 7, 1891-February 14, 1978). Born in Dor-chester, Massachusetts, Eliot graduated from Radcliffe College and, after be-ing denied entrance to Harvard Medical School because it did not admitwomen, she received medical degrees from Johns Hopkins.

As earlyas her se-cond yearof medical

school, Dr. Eliot was interes-ted in public health. Her firstimportant research—commu-nity studies of rickets in NewHaven, Connecticut, andPuerto Rico--explored issuesat the heart of social medic-ine.

For many years she was ac-tive in international healthwork. She was a member ofa group of experts appointedby the Health Organization ofthe League of Nations tostudy methods of assessingthe state of nutrition in infantsand adolescents. DuringWorld War II Eliot was sent toEngland to study the impactof defense activities on chil-dren in Britain, observing theevacuation of city children tostay with families living in thecountryside and publishingher report Civil DefenseMeasures for the

Protection of Children in1942.

Participating in UNRAA, UNI-CEF and in WHO as a USdelegate, she was influentialin bringing about the estab-lishment, at the First WorldHealth Assembly, of maternaland child health work as apriority programme for WHO.She joined WHO in 1949 asAssistant Director-General,Department of Operations.When she resigned her posi-tion as ADG in 1951 (to bereplaced by Dr MarcolinoCandau) Dr Chisholm paidher tribute:“During the two years that DrEliot has been with WHO shehas given herself unstintinglyand unreservedly to the workof helping to bring about bet-ter health for the peoples ofthe world. To this great causeshe has brought a singlenessof purpose and a whole-hearted devotion, which areunique. Those of us whoknow her best and have had

the privilege of working withher have been filled over andover again with a sense ofdeep admiration for her inde-fatigable energy and herboundless enthusiasm. Fromthe very beginning Dr Eliothas been and, although she isleaving us now, she will con-tinue to be a source of realinspiration to all of us”During the next twenty years,Dr Eliot returned to WHO andUNICEF as a consultant; sheserved for more than thirtyyears as chief of the US Chil-dren’s Bureau and then asProfessor of Maternal andChild Health at Harvard Uni-versity's School of PublicHealth. Dr. Eliot's service topublic health earned hermany honours, created newopportunities for generationof women physicians to fol-low, and contributed to thecause of health for all in par-ticular for the world’s mothersand children.

Martha Eliot –centre-at WHO (then in the Palais

des Nations)



RECOLLECTIONS: DR PIERRE DOROLLE

Dr Pierre Dorolle was Deputy Director-General of WHO from 1950 to 1973. As part of an early WHO Library

programme to record recollections of prominent figures in international health, he talked with Mrs Erica

Campanella and Dr Norman Howard-Jones on 21 September 1976.

In the interview, Dorolle spoke about his participation in international health activities with the League of Na-

tions between 1937 and 1950. In particular he refers here to the League at its Eastern Bureau, Singapore

and the Intergovernmental Conference of Far-Eastern Countries on Rural Hygiene, Bandung, Indonesia, in

1937.

“The [Eastern] Bureau playeda very important role in re-ceiving and distributing epi-demiological information. Italso played the role of epide-miological surveyor whennecessary. In particular, I re-member a request that theBureau had addressed at theend of 1936 to Indochina be-cause of its proximity to theChinese island of Hainanwhere – through a series oftranslations from Chinese intoEnglish and then from Englishinto French – we understoodthat there had been a numberof suspected cases of yellowfever. It was evidently ex-tremely serious informationthat which greatly concernedGeneva and Singapore, andthey requested the French toact as soon as possible. Thatwas easy, given the proximityof Hanoi to Hainan.

Bacteriologists from the Pas-teur Institute in Hanoi wentimmediately to Hainan wherethey found that they weresimply cases of viral hepatitis.There were cases with fever

and jaun-dice, but inthe trans-mission fromHainan thewords yellowand feverwere put

together,and created an emergency forthe Bureau.”

Everything had to be pre-pared long in advance.

The League of Nations didonly a few things, but thosethey did extremely carefullyand completely. “In thosedays, the majority of peopletravelled by boat, as did thepost. We would never send

anything by post or by air as itwould have cost far too much.

Everything they did de-manded travel. For example,travel of a member of theLeague secretariat to Indone-sia took three weeks, and thesame for return!”

“The Intergovernmental Con-ference of Far-Eastern Coun-tries on Rural Hygiene] was infact the forerunner of whathas been discussed theselast few years at WHO on thesubject of the organi- zationof primary health care andintegrated health services –the model to adopt for healthcare in isolated rural areas….It is extremely unfor- tunatethat the Conference tookplace just before a greatworld catastrophe [World WarII], so that its important con-clusions were lost.”

From 1937-1940, Dr Dorolle worked for the League of Nations in China as chief expert for technical cooperation.

In China, the League of Na-

tions had a number of specific

programmes. One of them

was an anti-malaria cam-

paign, which became of vital

importance to China after its

encirclement by the Japa-

nese, who had cut all the

roads to the exterior. There

was only the little mountain

railway and road towards

French Indochina, which was

later called the Burma

Road…. We had established

there an anti-malaria project

to protect workers on the road

and also the many people

who had to travel on the road.

It also introduced something

that was a pioneer effort,

namely collaboration between

a League of Nations team

and a bilateral aid team.

China had requested aid di-

rectly from the United States

in the field of malaria. The US

Surgeon General responded

to this request by creating a

team headed by Dr Lewis

Williams…. Well, as you

know, the United States was

not a member of the League

of Nations. It asked the

League for its agreement to

provide American bilateral aid

to China. It was the world

upside down compared with

what you see today.

Like today’s United Nations peacekeepers, League officials often had dangerous working conditions.



We lived under war condi-

tions. I had a car, and it was

often machine-gunned by little

Japanese planes…. All our

travel was difficult and dan-

gerous. We had to carry our

own petrol. At one time, I be-

lieve that the petrol for China

came from Alma Ata, and

three quarters of our supply

was used up on the long jour-

ney. We lived in very difficult

conditions, but once again I’m

certain that we provided the

basis for the proposal to cre-

ate a specialised health insti-

tution in the United Nations. It

is interesting that, at the

United Nations Conference on

International Organizations

San Francisco, in 1946, China

was one of the two countries

that requested the creation of

an international specialised

health organization; [Brazil

was the other country].

Howard-Jones asks about Dorolle’s role on joining WHO in 1950 as Deputy Director- General.

When I arrived in WHO, [in

1950] our Director-General

had no personal experience

of field programmes but a

very wide national experi-

ence. One of the reasons that

I found myself by chance be-

coming Deputy Director-

General is because he found

himself face-to-face with

someone who was comple-

mentary to him – with French

language and also field ex-

perience in the Far East. I

found Dr Chisholm a very

agreeable man with a very

broad outlook. There were all

sorts of little internal problems

to settle. The increase of

WHO was beginning at that

moment, and little by little I

was able to develop myself

into a theoretician. We are all

inevitably theoreticians. It’s a

good thing, and it’s fortunate

that there were constant re-

newals through people com-

ing in who brought a vast field

experience with them. I think

of people like Dr Emilio Pam-

pana and Dr Lucien Bernard.

Dr Dorolle is an example of some of the dedicated, courageous, and exacting individuals who found-

ed and developed WHO. Many former WHO staff remember him with fondness and abiding respect.

A Reminder------------------------

It has been a great pleasure to meet many of you at the Global Health Histories

lunchtime seminars series. There are just three more before the end of 2008.

Place: WHO Library Meeting RoomTime: 12:30pm

2 October 2008: The fruits of a new internationalism: South Asian governments, the WHO and global smallpoxeradication

Speaker: Dr. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicineat UCL, UK

20 November 2008: The rise of the global health consultant: The life and times of Brian Abel-Smith (1926-1996)Speaker: Dr. Sally Sheard, Liverpool University, UK

4 December 2008: Antiretroviral Therapy in Zambia: Colours, ‘Spoiling’, ‘Talk’ and the Meaning of ARVsSpeaker: Dr. Lynette Schumaker, Manchester University, UK, and Dr. Virginia Bond, Lon-don School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the ZAMBART Project, University ofZambia

For additional information, please see the web site at: http://www.who.int/global_health_histories



WHO at 60 – Health and more

By Jo Asvall, MD, MPH, WHO Regional Director Emeritus, Europe

WHO is more than just a technical arm of the United Nations system – it is a beautiful vision andinstrument to create a better future for Mankind. This vision was not a pipedream; it was the workof persons with profound public health knowledge, extensive experience, strong social and ethicalviews and impressive practical know-how. Those persons1 had lived through the terrible cataclysmof World War II and wanted to marshal global resources and catalyze peoples’ energy for a betterfuture through healthy and just societies.

This dream was enshrined in theWHO Constitution, which still todayis the heart of WHO and as up-to-date as ever. Stating that the healthof all peoples is fundamental topeace and security and that health isone of the fundamental rights ofevery human being, it gives theorganization an extremely strongmandate: WHO shall act as thedirecting and co-ordinating authorityon international health work.

The scope of WHO’s work duringthose 60 years to fulfil its mandate isvast, and time permits me only tohighlight a few elements – whichmeans that very many essentialones will be left out, for which Iapologize.

World War II killed some 50 millionpeople, leaving huge destruction,untold suffering and widespreaddisease in its wake. Right after itscreation WHO threw itself into aglobal Tuberculosis control cam -paign, developing a systematicapproach to public health. Thatapproach subsequently became thehallmark of all its later programmes:A thorough Situation analysis (usingPrevalence surveys) on which tobuild the whole programme; a strongPrevention component (using BCGvaccinations); appropriate Care(Domiciliary drug treatment) andTechnology (X-Ray equipment im-provement) and Research (Epidemi-ological, operational etc.). Havingthus established its modus operandiand world-wide operational basis,WHO’s “global Parliament” – theWorld Health Assembly (WHA) - in1955 launched the biggest attack

ever on a global health scourge. TheMalaria Eradication program had avery strong foundation: A globalpolitical and scientific consensus; ascientifically solid strategy; huge,ample resources; excellent planningand management, and thoroughtraining of staff at all levels. When 10years later a growing DDT resis-tance in the Anopheles mosquitoand post-eradication surveillanceproblems led the WHA to cancel theeradication attempt, huge resultshad been achieved. 674 millionpeople in 35 countries had beenfreed from Malaria; in 76 countries(with 277 million people) eradicationefforts were in preparation; and onlyin 37 endemic countries (with 87million people) were there no plansyet. Furthermore, the value of thefundamental public health under-standing and operational experiencethat the programme had given tomore than a hundred thousand peo-ple around the world is difficult tooverestimate. A superbly managedprogramme of global reach the Ma-laria Eradication attempt was a rightinitiative at a right time and it gaveWHO a strong international image.

The 1960s brought freedom to thecolonies world wide and a tremen-dous joy and optimism to their newlyindependent peoples. Providingyoungsters in the newly independentnations with a “developed country”level education and channellingenough development funds to thenew nations was felt to be thestraight forward solution to healthproblems of the developing world.At the same time medical research

and techno-logical devel-opments made big breakthroughs,bearing thepromise of an improved health ser-vice as the major solution for theworld’s health problems and leadingWHO to expand its reach in thescientific field.

Spurred by the Malaria eradicationeffort the WHA decided to take onanother very serious global healthproblem. The Smallpox eradicationoperations started well, but thenstalled to some extent, leading WHOto undertake a thorough review of itsoperational procedures. This wassuccessful, and in 1977 a majormilestone in WHO’s history wasreached when the last wild Smallpoxfocus was extinguished. This amaz-ing success was due, above all, tosuperb leadership – in the field, atprogramme level and from the WHOtop.While the disease specific initiativesof WHO had brought a lot of suc-cess, they did not explore to the fullextent WHO’s constitutional man-date of global leadership. Further-more, in the beginning of the 1970sit became clear that the develop-ment theory of the 1960s was insuf-ficient, as the new health resourceswere spent on new hospitals in thecapitals, while nothing happened forthe masses in the rural areas.In 1973 Halfdan Mahler was ap-pointed Director General, andthrough his inspirational and enlight-ened leadership a unique globalmovement in health – Health for All(HFA) – was created. This

-------------------------1 Andrej Stampar, Karl Evang and Brock Chisholm were particularly strong and influential leaders among them.



Jo Asvall’s (contd)

took the organization back to itsorigins and ushered in a fascinatingperiod that has left its imprint onWHO and the world until today.

From its start as a WHA resolution in1977, HFA got its global launchthrough the 1978 Alma Ata PrimaryHealth Care (PHC) conference – themost influential public health confer-ence ever. Stating that PHC is themost important part of any healthcare system and is at the heart ofthe HFA, the Alma Ata Declarationbecame the lever that inspired all ofWHO’s programmes and a largenumber of its Member States worldwide to undertake fundamental re-views of health development andalign their own policies and pro-grammes with the HFA ideas.Thus, the HFA policy created a trulyglobal movement in health. Buildingon inspirational ethical values andup-to-date public health science, thismovement also managed to em-brace and inspire the “developed”countries, linking WHO’s pro-grammes logically to those of itsMember States in a cohesive andmutually supportive manner2. How-ever, during the second half of the1990s WHO Headquarters quietly letthe HFA drop, while it continued inseveral regions and in many coun-tries3.

During the 1980s 2 infectious dis-eases got particular attention:HIV/AIDS and Poliomyelitis:As HIV/AIDS emerged in the begin-ning of the decade, both its

prevention and its care strategiesposed formidable operational andethical problems – but problems thatwere well suited for the HFA ap-proach. Through the charismaticleadership of Dr Jonathan Mann andothers WHO developed a verystrong multidisciplinary AIDS/HIVprogram, which gave results andstrengthened WHO’s global leader-ship – until WHO’s program wasseverely weakened by the creationof UNAIDS.

When WHA adopted the PolioEradication programme at the endof the 1980s, it took on a task thatturned out to be a particularly vexingone. While by the end of the 1990seradication had been achieved in 3of WHO¨s 6 regions - as well as inmost countries of the remaining 3 –the last 10 years have not broughtthe final victory hoped for (althoughrecent developments are now re-kindling that hope).

In the second half of the 1990s

WHO’s groundbreaking Tobacco

Convention initiative explored with

success a tool (legally binding con-

ventions) of WHO’s Constitution that

had hitherto not been given the

attention it deserves. Through that

process WHO’s long fight against

the smoking habit has gained new

importance and created effective

strategic openings.

Since the start of the 21st century the

recent HQ initiatives to revive thePHC strategy is of great impor-tance, as is the increased focus onthe health consequences of theclimate change.

Many lessons can be drawn from theabove – and from the many otherimportant WHO initiatives not men-tioned here. Clearly, the eradicationinitiatives have been important, bothfor their health impact and for theirvalue in enhancing public healthmanagement capacities world-wide.Great contributions have been madeby WHO in many areas of healthservices development, health pro-motion and environmental healthprotection. Most fascinating, how-ever, has been the HFA experience– and most frustrating has been tosee HQ throwing that one out of thewindow. WHO’s 2 roles of scientificdevelopment and of assistance toindividual countries are essential,but without a unifying and visionarypolicy framework the efforts oftenbecome piecemeal, uncoordinatedand without a clear and coherentfocus. With the WHA and RC sup-porting HFA in hand it was easy togain access to the top political,managerial and professional leader-ship in countries and to extendWHO’s help in improving their na-tional health policies and program-memes – an issue of great impor-tance. Until WHO reclaims that thirdrole of being the keeper of theWorld’s Health Policy, its Constitu-tional mandate will not be fulfilled!

------------------------------------------------------

2In the European Region e.g. the Regional Committee (RC) adopted the first European HFA policy framework – “ a

blend of today’s realities and tomorrow’s dreams” – in 1980. The RC expanded it greatly in 1984, adopting time-limitedtargets, strategies to reach them, target specific indicators to measure progress in individual countries and in the regionas a whole, and a regional Action Plan that included predetermined dates for periodic evaluations and updating. Suchupdates occurred in 1991 and 1998; in 2005 the RC confirmed the 1998 version as still valid.

3The American Region in particular continued to give PHC a strong priority.



Address to the 61st World Health Assembly

Dr Halfdan Mahler, Former Director-General of WHO

Distinguished audience,

My remarks will focus on "Why Alma-Ata in 1978 and Whither theHealth for All Vision and Primary Health Care Strategy".

Milan Kundera wrote in one ofhis books: "The struggleagainst human oppression isthe struggle between memoryand forgetfulness." So allowme to remind all of us today,of the transcendental beautyand significance of the defini-tion of health in WHO's Con-stitution: "Health is a state ofcomplete physical, mentaland social well-being and notmerely the absence of dis-ease or infirmity."This definition is immediatelyfollowed by: "The enjoymentof the highest attainable stan-dard of health is one of thefundamental rights of everyhuman being without distinc-tion of race, religion, politicalbelief, economic or socialcondition." Most importantly,the very first constitutionalfunction of WHO reads: "Toact as the directing and coor-dinating authority on interna-tional health work." Please donote that the Constitutionsays "the" and not "a" direct-ing and coordinating authority.So please, allow this old manin front of you to insist thatunless we all become parti-sans in renewed local andglobal battles for social andeconomic equity in the spiritof distributive justice, we shallindeed betray the future of ourchildren and grandchildren.

My memory tells me that theWorld Health Assembly hadthis in mind when, in 1977, itdecided that the main socialtarget for governments andWHO in the coming decades

should be the attainment ofwhat is known as "Health forAll".

And the Health Assembly de-scribed that as a level ofhealth that will permit all thepeople of the world to lead so-cially and economically pro-ductive lives. The Health Ass-embly did not consider healthas an end in itself, but ratheras a means to an end. Thatis, I believe as it should be.

When people are mere pawnsin an economic and profitgrowth game, that game ismostly lost for the underprivi-leged.Let me postulate that if wecould imagine a tabula rasa inhealth without having to dealwith the constraints - tyrannyif you wish - of the existingmedical consumer industry,we would hardly go aboutdealing with health as we donow in the beginning of the21st century.

To make real progress wemust, therefore, stop seeingthe world through our medi-cally tainted glasses. Discov-eries on the multi-factorialcausation of disease have, fora long time, called attention tothe association betweenhealth problems of great im-portance to man and social,economic and other environ-mental factors. Yet, consider-ing the tremendous political,social, technical and eco-nomic implications of such amultidimensional awarenessof health problems I still findmost of today's so-called

health professions very conv-entional, indeed.

It is, therefore, high time thatwe realize, in concept and inpractice, that knowledge of astrategy of initiating socialchange is as potent a tool inpromoting health, as know-ledge of medical technology.Primary health care is indeedconditioned by its holisticframework and as such, mayuse different expressions. Forexample, in some countrieshealth management has to beconsidered along with suchthings as producing more orbetter food, improving irriga-tion, marketing products, etc.It is not that people considerhealth services as unimpor-tant, but there are things likegetting food, or a piece ofland, or house or an acces-sible source of water whichare more of a life and deathnature and must, in the wis-dom of the people, come firstto make other things mean-ingful. We have rarely consi-dered these needs as fallingwithin our expressed policiesfor health development andtherefore, we risk being re-strictted, unilateral and inef-fective in our action.Again, I am afraid that con-ventional or medical wisdomhas done very little to providescientific and political credibil-ity to the alleged importanceof individual,



Dr Mahler’s address (Contd)

family and community parti-cipation in health promotion.

These concerns, to which Ihave just alluded prompted anorganizational study on"Methods of promoting thedevelopment of basic healthservices" by WHO's ExecutiveBoard in 1973 in which it isbluntly stated that:

"There appears to be wide-spread dissatisfaction ofpopulation about their healthservices for varying reasons.Such dissatisfaction occurs inthe developed as well as inthe Third World. The causescan be summarized as a fail-ure to meet the expectationsof the populations; an inabilityof the health services to de-liver a level of national cover-age adequate to meet thestated demands and thechanging needs of differentsocieties; a wide gap (whichis not closing) in health statusbetween countries, and be-tween different groups withincountries; rapidly rising costswithout a visible and mean-ingful improvement in service;and a feeling of helplessnesson the part of the consumerwho feels (rightly or wrongly)that the health services andthe personnel within them areprogressing along an uncon-trollable path of their ownwhich may be satisfying to thehealth professionals but whichis not what is most wanted bythe consumer".

It was this organizationalstudy by WHO's ExecutiveBoard that led to the decisionby WHO in co-sponsorshipwith UNICEF to convene "TheInternational Conference onPrimary Health Care" in thecity of Alma-Ata in 1978.Letme then repeat with awe andadmiration, the consensus

concept of primary healthcare as contained in the Dec-laration of Alma-Ata 1978:

"Primary Health Care is es-sential health care based onpractical, scientifically soundand socially acceptable meth-ods and technology madeuniversally accessible to indi-viduals and families in thecommunity through their fullparticipation and at a cost thatthe community and the coun-try can afford to maintain atevery stage of their develop-ment in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination. It forms anintegral part, both of the coun-try's health system, of which itis the central function andmain focus, and of the overallsocial and economic devel-opment of the community.

"It is the first level of contactof individuals, the family andcommunity with the nationalhealth system bringing healthcare as close as possible towhere people live and work,and constitutes the first ele-ment of a continuing healthcare process."

Let me also quote from theDeclaration of Alma-Ata, thatprimary health care includesat least: education concerningprevailing health problemsand the methods of prevent-ing and controlling them;promotion of food supply andproper nutrition; an adequatesupply of safe water and ba-sic sanitation; maternal andchild health care, includingfamily planning; immunizationagainst the major infectiousdiseases; prevention and con-trol of locally endemic dis-eases; appropriate treatmentof common diseases and inju-ries; and provision of essen-tial drugs. In my opinion, an

admirable summation of keypriorities.

Are you ready to addressyourselves seriously to theexisting gap between thehealth "haves" and the health"have-nots" and to adopt con-crete measures to reduce it?

Are you ready to ensure theproper planning and imple-mentation of primary healthcare in coordinated effortswith other relevant sectors, inorder to promote health as anindispensable contribution tothe improvement of the qualityof life of every individual, fam-ily and community as part ofoverall socioeconomic devel-opment?

Are you ready to make pref-erential allocations of healthresources to the social pe-riphery as an absolute prior-ity?

Are you ready to mobilize andenlighten individuals, familiesand communities in order toensure their full identificationwith primary health care, theirparticipation in its planningand management and theircontribution to its application?

Are you ready to introduce thereforms required to ensurethe availability of relevanthuman resources and tech-nology, sufficient to cover thewhole country with primaryhealth care within the nexttwo decades at a cost youcan afford?

Are you ready to introduce, ifnecessary, radical changes inthe existing health deliverysystem so that it properlysupports primary health careas the overriding health prior-ity?



Dr Mahler’s address (Contd)

Are you ready to fight the po-litical and technical battlesrequired to overcome anysocial and economic obsta-cles and professional resis-tance to the universal intro-duction of primary healthcare?

Are you ready to make un-equivocal commitments toadopt primary health care andto mobilize international soli-darity to attain the objective ofhealth for all ?

Alma-Ata was, in my biasedopinion, one of the rare occa-sions where a sublime con-sensus between the havesand the have-nots in local andglobal health emerged in thespirit of a famous definition ofconsensus: "I am not trying toconvince my adversaries thatthey are wrong, quite to thecontrary, I am trying to unitewith them, but at a higherlevel of insight."

The Alma-Ata primary healthcare consensus also reflectsa famous truism: "The HealthUniverse is only complete forthose who see it in a com-plete light, it remains frag-mented for those who see it infragmented light!"In conclu-sion, my personal view is thatthe Alma-Ata primary healthcare consensus has had ma-jor inspirational and opera-

tional impacts in many coun-tries having a critical mass ofpolitical and professionalleadership combined withadequate human and financialresources to test its adaptabil-ity and applicability within thelocal realities through a heavydose of systems and opera-tions research.

Mind you, it is much easier tobe rational, audacious andinnovative when you are rich!But, please, let us not forgetthat the inspirational energiesand the evidence base camefrom the developing countriesthemselves; be they govern-mental or non-governmentalsources.

For a majority of these coun-tries, financial support fromso-called donors was essen-tial to carry out a broad arrayof studies, in appropriatetechnology, human resourcesdevelopment, infra- structuredevelopment, social participa-tion, financing etc. in order tointegrate the Alma-Ata visioninto heavily constrained localcontexts.

Most donors, after an initialoutburst of enthusiasmquickly lost interest or dis-torted the very essence of theAlma-Ata Health for All Visionand Primary Health CareStrategy under the ominous

name of selective primaryhealth care which broadlyreflected the biases of na-tional and international donorsand not the needs and de-mands of developing coun-tries.

But in spite of these brutalimpediments many develop-ing countries have shown,before and after the Alma-Atahappening, courageous adhe-sion to its health message ofequity in local and globalhealth. Civil society move-ments have also been primeshakers and movers in theseadmirable efforts.

And so, being an inveterateoptimist I do believe that thestruggle between memoryand forgetfulness can be wonin favour of the Alma-AtaHealth for All Vision and itsrelated Primary Health CareStrategy. Let us not forgetthat visionaries have been therealists in human progression.And so, distinguished audi-ence, let us use the completelight generated by WHO'sConstitution and the Alma-AtaHealth for All Vision and Pri-mary Health Care Strategy toguide us along the bumpy,local and global health devel-opment road.

Thank you.

This new project was started on August 6 by the sending of an e-mail to 226 AFSM members (outside the Geneva area). Theywere asked if they would accept to tap their memory about their own WHO experience through extensive exchanges by e-mail ofcarefully-structured written "interviews" based on a list of "suggested questions and themes".Within 24 hours 20 positive replies were received and another 12 followed since. Detailed instructions were sent by return toeach respondent. We have already received a first draft from two of them. The final text of the "interviews" will be transferred to theWHO Archives.We also were able to correct an unfortunate oversight thanks to a message saying "My husband died several years ago and istherefore unable to participate". Effectively we had thoughtlessly "forgotten" the spouses. An adapted list of suggested questionswas immediately prepared - a spouse has already volunteered to participate.Whatever your status, it is your participation which is important. If ready to participate please let me know ([email protected])NB: Over 45 e-mail addresses were reported as having "permanent errors” Please be kind enough to inform Ann Yamada(annyamada@)gmai.lcom, in case of a modification of your e-mail address by checking the one indicated in the AFSM "2007 Direc-tory" list of members. Thank you.



Memories of a former Legal Adviser - Talk given by Dr Gutteridge on 7April 2008

I came to Geneva in the spring of 1948, 60 years ago. I travelled by train through war-torn France having changed in Paris

to take the night sleeper. Geneva was a much smaller city at that time but it was striking to come from a former war zone to

a place of peace with no obvious signs of destruction (the outskirts of Geneva had been bombed in error) and hardly any

rationing.

This was to the Interim Commission of WHO - Although the Constitution had come into force on April 7, the organization

proper did not come into being until 31 August 1948, when at the first World Health Assembly all the activities of the Com-

mission were taken over by WHO.

I came asa lawyer,

a profession regarded withsome suspicion by the doctors.I recall Dr Gautier, one of theIC's senior staff, who had agood knowledge of vernacularEnglish saying to me, during adiscussion on a matter ofPharmaceuticals, "you people- you would call a spade abloody shovel". My chief hadbeen looking for an Englishspeaking lawyer with know-ledge of French. In point of factmy main experience at thattime was military as I hadserved in the British army from1941 to 1946 and had landedin Normandy in 1944 and wasengaged in the battles innorthern Europe until the ces-sation of hostilities in 1945. Bygood luck I had survived whenmost of my contemporarieshad died. However, I foundmyself with other former mili-tary men, including Dr BrockChisholm, Dr Dorolle, Dr Mani,Dr Jaffar, Dr Lakshmanan whotogether with others had beenengaged in the military in theirprofessional capacities. In anyevent the military experiencewas useful in the sense ofadministration and organisa-tion and also enabled one notto take occasional disasterstoo seriously.

We were housed in the Palaisdes Nations as a rather unwel-come tenant and a small ex-tension was built at the west-ern end of the complex for thispurpose. I think that WHO was

the only UN agency at the timenot having its own headquar-ters building.

Nevertheless, after the helland horror of war it did seemto be a wonderful thing to beengaged in United Nationsactivities and I remember theenthusiasm of the early staff,eager to get on with the crea-tion of a new internationalhealth organisation and help-ing to reconstruct the world.We were all of 60 individualsat the beginning. I began as aPI at the age of 27 and fi-nished as a Director – I imag-ine that this would probably beimpossible in the UN system today.

Despite the auspicious begin-nings, problems soon beganto loom. Finances were re-stricted, there were legal diffi-culties over an acceptance ofthe Constitution linked to aright of withdrawal and thequestion whether this would beof general application, a matterwhich as far as I know hasnever been resolved, regionalarguments, political problemsand rumours of war. Togetherwith these was the question ofrelations with UNICEF, WHObeing the only SpecializedAgency in the UN System find-ing itself with another organi-sation created almost simulta-neously to deal with matters ofpublic health, maternal andchild health being a function ofWHO under Article 2(1) of theConstitution. This causedsome heart searching in theWorld Health Assembly until

an accommodation wasreached with UNICEF.

In the then legal office wedealt with a variety of subjects:constitutional interpretation,rules applying to the governingbodies, treaty making, agree-ments and contracts, institu-tional programming issues,examples being the creation ofthe International Agency forResearch on Cancer in Lyonsor the Onchocerciasis controlprogramme in Africa, person-nel and financial problems,staff disputes, etc.

We were also pressed to dealwith various hot potatoes thatnobody else wanted to touch,such as human rights. Thus, amissive from the Secretary-General of the UN that hadbeen festering on someone'sdesk for a month or so wouldarrive on a Friday afternooncovered with urgent slips andsignatures in varied colouredinks passing the buck andasking for a full report to beprepared by the followingMonday. For some reason wealso had to deal with mes-sages received from the men-tally disturbed or other frenziedindividuals claiming that WHOhad in some way done themwrong or seeking help from us.

I believe that some of WHO'spast and present problemshave arisen from the relativestatus of public health withingovernment structures. As anexample of this I remember a



Dr Gutteridge (contd)

TV news programme referringto a government minister'smove to the health departmentas "slipping all the way downto health". Hardly very compli-mentary. Brock Chisholm in histime complained that he wasthe worst remunerated execu-tive head in the UN systemand had to put up with laymeddling in health matterswhen a UN commission de-leted medical training andmental health from the draftUN Convention on economic,social and cultural rights. De-spite their importance, theseremain outside of Article 12 ofthe Convention to this day.

As an aside, a rather farcicalincident that came to theeventual knowledge of therank and file, like myself, wasthe discovery that at the heightof rumours over the possibilityof a third world war, a schemehad been concocted to evacu-ate those staff who were notmilitary reservists to anotherneutral country somewhat re-moved from the potential bat-tle zone on chartered civil air-line planes in the event of anoutbreak of fighting in Europe.I have no idea who dreamedup such a scheme. Whoever itwas had little concept of mod-ern war as all civilian aircraftwould have been immediatelygrounded at the outbreak. Inany case it seems doubtfulthat the Secretariat had theauthority to do this; the matterwas never reported to the gov-erning bodies which wouldprobably have rejected such aproposal. The matter came toour knowledge because theHeadquarters Contract ReviewCommittee was asked to de-cide on the disposal of time ex-pired medical kits to accom-pany the aircraft, presumablyto bandage us up when shotdown or to succour those eld

erly staff with heart attacks.They were broken up and theviable contents distributed tothe Regional Offices. Good-ness knows what they did withthem.One matter which exercisedme and others in the earlydays was the primitive state ofcommunications. When tele-communications were in thehands of Post Offices it reallywas a performance, for exam-ple, to get in touch with a Re-gional Office or another sisterorganisation in another coun-try. Messages were sent bymammoth telexes, requiring adedicated operator and werepunctuated with prolific"STOP" and "I REPEAT". Callshad to be booked in advanceand there was no guaranteethat one would not be cut off inmid-conversation, I recall atone Director General's morn-ing meeting during a HealthAssembly saying that it waseasier to bring back a crippledspaceship from the moon thento ring WHO from the Palaisdes Nations. Personal com-puters had arrived in forceshortly before I retired and Iimagine that those old prob-lems have long since goneaway.

Considering the organization'sprogramme, one must recallthat WHO's two main predec-essors, the League of NationsHealth Organisation in Genevaand the International PublicHealth Office in Paris wereunder somewhat of a cloud atthe time, The League organi-sation because of its failure tosecure peace and the IPHObecause of its rather staticnature and its association withVichy. WHO clearly did notwant to become a bureau-cratic convention making bodyand therefore followed theinitiatives of the League or

ganisation and UNRRA in di-rect operations in the membercountries. There was perhapssomewhat of a tendency at theoutset to "blind them with sci-ence" and a lack of under-standing that no programmecould succeed unless thehealth administrations andauthorities involved were in aposition to continue the workafter the international coopera-tion had ceased.

This came to be recognised inan important resolution adopt-ed by the World Health As-sembly in 1970 when the As-sembly set out the most effec-tive principles for the estab-lishment and development ofnational health systems, in-cluding the proclamation of theresponsibility of the State forthe protection of the popula-tion, to be based on puttinginto effect a complex of eco-nomic and social measureswhich directly or indirectlypromote the attainment of anationwide system of healthservices based on a generalnational plan and local plan-ning. This marked a far cryfrom the early days, when theDirector General had beenenjoined not pursue a policy ofwhat was termed "socialisedmedicine" This was a precur-sor of "Health for All".Since those days, WHO hasgreatly progressed, with majorachievements such as small-pox eradication. Hardly a daygoes by when WHO is notmentioned in news reportsand I think that the organiza-tion must be the best known inthe UN system and held in thehighest regard. I am veryhappy to have served in thoseearly days and to have helpedin WHO'S creation and devel-opment.



Sixty Years of WHO's Global Public Health Achievements

A poem by Sue Block Tyrrell

---------------------------------------------------------------

Sue Block Tyrrell (TDR) * has worked in the Organi-zation for quite a few of its sixty years. In her sparetime, she enjoys writing poems and lyrics for special oc-casions, including those celebrated by WHO - for exam-ple on the occasion of the departure of Dr D.A.

Henderson, who led the smallpox eradication campaignin WHO, and for the occasional staff cabaret show atpast WHO dances. « Sue has written various poems forspecial events in TDR where she works, and decided toput pen to paper on the celebration of sixty years of

WHO.

Her poem highlights landmark achievements and considerable progress made by WHOand its many partners and collaborators over the past six decades. As WHO staff, we canlook back on our history with gratitude and pride.

7 April 1948

Proved to be an auspicious date,The WHO Constitution came into forceAnd WHO's work began its courseTo make health for all people a priority,A right to absence of disease and infirmity.Five Regional Offices began to grow,Adding global coverage to existing PAHO,Plus country offices all over the worldWhere the WHO flag flutters high, unfurled.

First targets were infectious diseases, all too rife,Bringing sickness and ending so many a life.Early successes focused on yaws and TB,Plus malaria control, no sign yet of HIV.Disease eradication took on a roleAnd with smallpox WHO achieved that goal,A huge contribution for humanity,It took 21 years from dream to reality.But the polio goal has yet to be won,Despite the hard work and efforts done.

Many agencies/programmes were set up to markThe spread of disease, IARC, EPI, TDR,Global Programme on AIDS, RBM, Stop TB,All striving for greater health security,Assisted by GOARN to keep constant viewFor deadly viruses like SARS, avian flu.Today's travel brings rapid disease from afar,

A good rationale to enforce IHR.

Non-communicable diseases are now on the rise,Health needs good diet and regular exercise.Tobacco control and road safety promotionWere not liked by all, they caused a commotion.Essential medicines are key where funding is tight,Health for all makes our common future bright.So many key areas are covered by WHO,Further topics will come and bring programmesanewSuch as climate change issues, innovation, IPWill bring new challengers to solve by the DG.

Seven DGs for the 60 years spanned,Chisholm, Candau, Mahler, Nakajima, Brundtland,On to JW Lee and now Margaret ChanHave led to the current strategic health plan.May your successes continue and showThe need to strive for global public healthAnd help each other to share in our com-mon wealthSix decades of work for which to beproud,On this 60th birthday, to proclaim aloudMany happy returns to you WHO.



Readers’ Corner

I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Committee on the progress made in the

presentation of the Quarterly Newsletter. I imagine the daily efforts it entails for the Editorial Board

and thank them most sincerely.

And I must refer to the considerable work that our Committee carries out for the benefit of the re-

tired, with the support of the Management and the personnel. Warm thanks. Jean Romain

Dear Friends

Unable to be a candidate for the 2008 elections, living as I do some 600 km from Geneva, I would

like you to know how much I appreciate all you do in defending the retired staff of WHO. My

thanks to you all. Robert Daspres

ED: Our thanks to these three readers: your appreciation encourages us to keep at it!

New members

We have pleasure in welcoming to the large AFSM family the following new

members and we congratulate them on their decision.

Life members :

Mr Sora BHANDARY; Dr Mohammadou Kabir CHAM; Mrs Geneviève PINET; Dr Brian WILLIAMS.

Annual members:

Mrs Josseline BOISBELAUD; Mrs Elisabeth FELLER ; Mrs Praxedes FONTANILLA ;Mrs Gisela VOGEL .

Conversion from annual members to life members :

Mrs Raymonde BENE ; Mr Giovanni CEREDA ; Mrs Marguerite DE HALLER;Dr Marcus A. C. DOWLING; Mr Virgilio FEDRIZZI; Mr Jean GERMAIN;Mrs Margaret GRINLING; Dr Frank GUTTERIDGE; Dr Amara TOURÉ.

HELP WANTED

We are looking for a a recently retired WHO staff member who worked on a WHO

website using WebIt and who would be able to give us some time to help improve and

revise the AFSM web site (http://www.who.int/formerstaff) ? We can handle routine up-

dates to the web site, but we would be grateful for help to add some new photos or

graphics. If you can assist us, please contact Carole Modis at [email protected]



Travels

One of the last secrets of the Mediterranean

This morning I woke up in “…a strange city that seemed to have been cast up in the valley one winter’s night like someprehistoric creature that was now clawing its way up the mountainside. Everything in the city was old and made ofstone... ”.

In the afternoon, I wanderedthrough an archaeological site in anolive grove buzzing with cicadas—according to classical mythology itwas founded by exiles from Troy.Later, I swam in an opal colouredsea with white beaches, and now,with a cold beer in hand, I watch thesun set on the wine-dark Ionian Sea.Can you guess where I am?

Most likely, your first thought wasnot the Republic of Albania orShqipëria land of eagles. A part ofllyria in ancient times and later of theRoman Empire, Albania was ruled

In Tirana

by the Byzantine Empire from 535 to1204. An alliance of Albanian chiefsled by Skanderbeg failed to halt theadvance of the Ottoman Turks, andthe country remained under Turkishrule for more than four centuries,until it proclaimed its independenceon Nov. 28, 1912.

A battlefield in World War I, Albaniabecame a republic under a conser-vative Muslim landlord, King Zog.During World War II, first Italy thenGermany occupied Albania untilCommunist guerrillas seized powerin 1944. For the next forty years,Enver Hoxha coerced Albania toforge its individual version of thesocial state and become one of the

most isolated, mysterious andeconomically underdeveloped coun-tries in the world. Changes ofgovernment and civil unrest charac-terized the 1990’s. Today Albaniaseems to be slowly recovering fromits turbulent and often tragic pastas it enjoys a period of relative free-dom, peace and renewal.One of the first harbingers of thisrenaissance is tourism. Although,the roads are often rough and underconstruction and accommodationsvery basic, it is a privilege to visit thisbeautiful, ancient country and fasci-nating to witness how it is waking upto the twenty-first century.

Among the discoveries to be madein Albania are remarkable archeo-logical sites such as Apolliniafounded by Greek settlers in 600 BCand used under Roman rule byJulius Caesar in his campaignagainst Pompeii. Another marvel isBurtint, a microcosm of Mediterra-nean history representing the riseand fall of the great empires thatdominated the region: llyrian ruins,a Roman town and theatre, an early

Berat

Christian baptistery and basilica.Situated in lovely wooded park bythe sea, it is easy to imagine the

arrival of Aeneas as recounted inVirgil’s epic poem or Lord Byron2

striding down the shaded paths inAlbanian dress I

The first lines in this article refer toGjiorcaster with its stone medievalOttoman-houses—200 of them aredesignated as historical monuments.Another of the delightful towns is

Berat, the village of a thousandwindows and innumerable narrowstreets and courtyards.

Driving from the capital, Tirana, themountains come dramatically downto the sea as the road winds down toVlorë, Djermi, Saranda and Durres.Along the way there is a stop to visita hilltop monastery. A guardiancomes forward with a bunch of keysand opens the wooden church doorsrevealing

Apollonia

Byzantine frescos blazing on thewalls. Last but not least, the localwine is inexpensive; there are to-mato, cucumber and feta salads andfish to eat and the Albanian peopleare happy to see you. HopefullyAlbania will be able to preserve itsnatural beauty while progressingtowards a prosperous and peacefulfuture. Carole Modis

----------------------------------

1The first line from Chronicle of Stone by Ismail Kadare, first published in Albanian in 1971 as Kronikë në gur

2In his notes to Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage he wrote that the Albanians “struck me forcibly by their resemblance to the

Highlanders of Scotland, in dress, figure and manner of living. Their very mountains seemed Caledonian with a kinderclimate.



In memoriam

PROFESSOR AMBROSE WASUNNA

A message from Dr Steffen Groth, Director, Department of Essential Health Technologies, World Health Organi-

zation, Geneva, Switzerland: On behalf of Professor Ambrose Wasunna's former colleagues and friends inthe World Health Organization, I am honoured to pay tribute to a remarkable and much loved man.

Ambrose's involvementwith WHO began as earlyas 1978 when he partici-pated in an Expert Com-mittee on Cancer Statisticsand he joined WHO in1986, following the firststage of his distinguishedcareer in Kenya. In 1987,

he was an active member of the Global BloodSafety Initiative, which was established as acollaborative endeavour between WHO, theGlobal Programme on AIDS, the InternationalFederation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties, the World Federation of Hemophiliaand the International Society of Blood Transfu-sion.

As Director of the Programme on Health Tech-nologies, Ambrose worked closely with theincumbent Director of the new department ofBlood Safety and Clinical Technology, whoremembers him as a close friend and trustedcolleague, who will be sadly missed. He playeda key role in establishing a vibrant and forward-looking new programme to address the manyareas of work that he recognised as being es-sential to the developing world.

Ambrose worked closely with the many col-leagues and friends he made in his time in

WHO. He was a deeply devoted Christian,which was reflected in his work and attitude inthe complex environment of an internationalorganization. He is also remembered with greataffection by a number of professional organiza-tions and institutions for which he was respon-sible in their roles as Organizations in OfficialRelations with WHO, none more so than theWorld Federation of Societies of Anaesthesi-ologists.

After retirement from his post as Divisional Di-rector, Ambrose returned to the University ofNairobi to realize his dream of building a dis-trict hospital in Samburu.

Ambrose was greatly respected and loved byhis former friends and colleagues in Genevaand beyond. He is remembered as much forhis inimitable personal qualities as for his ex-pertise as a clinical specialist and a manager.His tall, charismatic figure, always so elegant,was accompanied by an enthusiastic yet mod-est personality that captivated and animatedothers. Colleagues speak particularly of hiswarm smile and infectious, often mischievous,sense of humour. "He was a true gentleman",said one. Another spoke of how anyone need-ing surgery would feel so safe and confident inAmbrose's hands. We all agree that he wassimply a lovely man.

He is survived by his wife, Marigold and 4 children, and grandchildren.

--------------------------Charles GOOSSENS

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Charles Goossenswhich occurred on 10 March 2008. We understood each other very well –Charles, always calm, balanced, with clear sound judgement – and we usu-ally shared the same opinion. But I had not seen him during the past 5-10years busy as we each were with our respective families and other activities.

I often called Charles «Carolus ; he had beenselected as the DirectorGeneral's messenger, a

key post on the seventh floor of the mainheadquarters building. « God's messenger »,as he was called could be found behind a largedesk in a wide open space where he received

the Director-General's visitors. In Februaryl988 I was designated to replace Charles tem-porarily during a brief absence. As the Direc-tor-General was absent, a long calm daystretched lay ahead of me and I amused my-self by writing the following text, which happily Ifound was still in my possession:

See next page



In memoriam (contd)

Un plaisir, Carolus que de te remplacer.

Mais, à ton bureau, ce que l’on peut s’ennuyer !« L’ennui naquit, dit-on, de l’uniformité »,C’est pour moi maintenant vérité révélée.Chaque jour où, par Ciron1, au septième dépêché,Il me faut de longues heures sur mes fesses endurer !Je grimpe, comme au théâtre, jusqu’à ce poulailler,D’ailleurs, ne suis-je point dessous le pool2, oyezCes vains bavardages et ces caquètements :

- « M’sieur Goossens n’est donc pas là ?- Non, mais demain il sera là !- Mon Dieu, il n’est pas malade pour le moins ?- Nenni, ma mie, je crois qu’il vaque à Moëns3

- Son dos... ? N’est-il pas retenu par son dos4 ?- Depuis son siège neuf, il l’a comme un sandow ! »- À croire, vu le vif intérêt qu’il est porté- À ton ramage, à ton plumage, à ton joli nez,- Que, de ce beau et vaste poulailler,- Tu es, des vrais coqs, le plus recherché... !Février 1988

---------------------------------1 The affectionate gallicisation of the name of our Chief « il Signore Cirone »; 2 the pool, the shorthand typing services in the official

languages; 3 Charles lived in Prevessin Moens: 4 Like many former pilots, Charles suffered from back pain resulting from the « g »endured at the commands of fighter planes.Based on the above text, it could be thought that Charles was something of a Don Juan: nothing was further from the truth. I was aston-

ished how many secretaries noticed Charles' absence and I drew it to his attention in this humoristic way.

-------------------------------------------------------Dr. George Shidrawi died on 17 July 2008 after a long struggle with stomach cancer.

Born in 1932, Georgegraduated as a biologistfrom the American Uni-versity of Beirut in l953and won a 2-year WHOfellowship to studyMedical Entomology atthe London School of

Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He obtained anM.Sc in l955 and became a member of theRoyal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygieneand the Royal Entomological Society. Georgesubsequently studied at CDC, Atlanta, with fieldtraining in Florida, Georgia and with the Ten-nessee Valley Authority.

Returning to Lebanon, he joined the Ministry ofHealth as Director of the Division of Insect andRodent Control, and subsequently directed theProgramme of Malaria Eradication when Leba-non became the first country in EMR to eradi-cate malaria and one of its main vector spe-cies.

George was recruited by WHO in l959 as Ad-viser (entomology) to the Malaria EradicationCampaign, Tunisia. He married his wife Odilein l963 while on home leave from his secondassignment in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)and later that year joined the WHO inter-regional Malaria Field Research Project inSouthern Uganda where his first two childrenwere born. In l965 George joined the other in-

ter-regional team in Kankiya, Northern Nigeriato test the possibility of interrupting malariatransmission by combining insecticide sprayingand mass drug administration moving, in l969and until its final evaluation, to the reformulatedproject in Garki, North of Kano.

In l975 George became Regional Adviser forVector Biology and Control in EMRO; and inl986 he joined the Malaria Action Programmein Geneva, transformed in l990 into the Divi-sion of Control of Tropical Diseases. He retiredin Geneva in 1992, obtained a D.Sc. in 1994,and undertook numerous STC missions in Af-rica and Latin America.

George said the best period of his life hadbeen in Dacca and Kankiya, places where lifewas reduced to real essentials. A born natural-ist with a keen interest in biology, Georgethrived on field research. A patriarchal discipli-narian with his team, he was the first to followrequired discipline, demanding but protective ofhis staff.

George could enliven any party and was agreat dancer. He was a perfectionist not only inhis work but in all he undertook, including golf.Always ready to help he served for two yearson the Executive Committee of AFSM.George leaves a large vacuum in the hearts ofall who knew him. Dr José Najera

-----------------------------------------------

Other deceases recently notifiedMs May RACINE;Mrs Suzanne TESTUZ;Mrs Isabella CORRIGAN: 20 August 2008;Mr Michel REVERDIN: 11 September 2008.



On the lighter side

How to Give a Cat A Pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your leftarm as if holding a baby. Position right forefingerand thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gentlyapply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in righthand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth.Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa.Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pillaway.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm,holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jawsopen and push pill to back of mouth with right fore-finger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from topof wardrobe.

6. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie oncat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pillin end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pen-cil and blow down drinking straw.

7. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to hu-mans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood fromcarpet with cold water and soap.

8. Retrieve cat from neighbour’s shed. Get anotherpill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and

close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Forcemouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill downthroat with elastic band.

9. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboarddoor back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle ofscotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress tocheek and check records for date of last tetanusshot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect.Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away andfetch new one from bedroom.

10. Call fire department to retrieve the damn catfrom across the road. Apologize to neighbor whocrashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat.Take last pill from foil wrap.

11. Tie the little *******'s front paws to rear paws withgarden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table,find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pillinto mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Berough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pintsof water down throat to wash pill down.

12. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse todrive you to the emergency room, sit quietly whiledoctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pillremnants from right eye.

13. Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat fromhell and call local pet shop to see if they have anyhamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill: 1. Wrap it in bacon. 2. Toss it in the air.

--------------------------------------

Only great minds can read this

This is weird, but interesting!fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid tooCna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht Iwas rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, itdseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the

olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be inthe rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you cansitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamnmnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod asa wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhotslpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it

----------------------------------------

WIZARD OF ID International Herald Tribune 20.12.2004



Publications

Violence and Health

Jean-Paul Darmsteter, formerPublic Information Officer in EUROand still a poet, published in 2007“Violence et santé, le refus engagéd’une fatalité” (Violence and Health,the committed refusal of a fatality) atthe Hôpitaux universitaires deGenève in co-edition with Médecineet Hygiène, to celebrate the tenthanniversary of the “Consultationinterdisciplinaire de médecine et deprévention de la violence deGenève” (Geneva InterdisciplinaryConsultation of medicine and pre-vention of violence).The Consultation is open to all per-sons confronted with a situation ofviolence, whatever role they have inthis situation. Its action is based onthe following principles:

- acts of violence are unacceptableon the grounds of human rights;- violence has an impact on physical,mental and social health, and has aneconomic cost;- the person is considered in thecontext of his/her life, history, cul-ture;- the confidentiality of the meetingsis guaranteed by the medical secret;- the intervention aims at promotingthe autonomy of the person.The book includes studies andthoughts, collected by the author,that explain and justify the need todetect and look after victims of vio-lence, and the major role of preven-tion.

The creation of the Consultation in1997 predated the recommendations

of WHO’s report “World Report onViolence and Health” published in2002. While many countries onlyhad a punitive approach to this prob-lem, WHO had already adopted aresolution in 1996 which definedviolence as a public health problem.According to the Organization, vio-lence is one of the major causes ofdeath and traumas in the world. Itrecommends setting up systematicand coordinated measures of pre-vention.According to Professor DanielHalpérin, founder and manager ofthe Consultation, medicine cannotelude the problem of violence: itmust extend its action in this area,where social and legal elementsinteract with medical ones.

Yves Beigbeder

Communiqué

------------

As indicated in the Editorial (page 3), the cost of producing the newsletter will

in future be borne by AFSM, which will probably have to assume other costs

till now absorbed by the Administration of WHO.

We shall be obliged to print fewer copies and to send them to paying members

only. However, QNT will continue to be available to all retirees on our website

http://who.int/formerstaff.

As regards information circulars, in order to keep costs low we would prefer

to send them to members by e-mail where possible; of course those of you

who do not have an e-mail address will continue to receive them by mail. So

kindly check whether the e-mail address included in the Directory is valid

and if not please send the current one. Those who have not so far indicated

their e-mail address are kindly requested to send it to us at:

[email protected] thanks.



Announcements

ElectionsAs you are aware, there will be elections this year – 15 candidates have come forward for the 12places on the Committee to be filled. The ballot counting will take place on 21 October and thenew Committee will be in place on 11 November.We hope that you will all vote!We will keep you informed of the results.

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Vaccination against Influenza in Geneva--------------

For the fourth consecutive year, two sessions of free flu vaccination for retirees and spouses, whoare still insured under WHO staff health insurance, will be undertaken in October at WHO/HQ, incooperation with the Medical Service, Health Insurance, and AFSM.

The first session will take place on Monday 13 October from 9:00 to 12:30, and 14:00 to 16:30 andthe second one on Monday 20 October, from 9:00 to 12:30, and from 14:00 to 16:30.

The vaccinations will take place in the Hall in front of the Medical Service. You are invited to dresssuch a way that you can easily bare your arm.

You already received a circular describing the whole process. Please be kind enough to fill in andreturn the form attached, by e-mail or post, as soon as possible.

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Health Insurance---------------------

A joint meeting of the Health Insurance Surveillance Committees of HQ and the Regions will take

place at Headquarters from 6 – 10 October; the purpose of this meeting, the 7th, is to review the

current financial situation of the Fund, prospects for the coming years, any modifications and /or

improvements needed and the consequent adjustment of the allowances and contributions, and to

modify the rules accordingly.

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How can the AFSM Committee help you ?

Dear Readers- do you know what the Committee can do to assist you ?

Apart from this newsletter, which we hope you find interesting, we have organized, and will con-tinue to do so, trips (cruises, tours, at very competitive prices) to Morocco, Bavaria, Andalucia,capitals of the North, and the Mediterranean, and visits to museums---which make up the culturalside of our activities. We also help with more basic matters:

- we assist members with health insurance, pensions, survivors entitlements, retirement homes,long -term health care, etc.

- Examples include helping resolve a question of non payment of retirement home expenses fol-lowing the death of an insolvent retiree; finding a retirement home for another member while help-ing one of the family to obtain a residence permit, and assisting a widow who had not received thepension for her deceased husband for many months.

There is also the important rôle played by the Committee's representative on the Health InsuranceSurveillance Committee.

The purpose of this information is not to pat ourselves on the back. but to remind you of the waysin which we can help you, if needed.



Joining AFSM – Updating membership

It is intended only for those who are not yet members, or are annual members.

Are you still not a member of AFSM? Is it because you don’t like it or what it stands for? Let us know. Or, do

you keep forgetting to join?

Hope you will become a life member – it costs only 250 CHF – and you will never again have to remember to

pay your dues. Or, you want to give it a try? Then join for a year at 25 CHF – and decide after a year. Fill in

the form below and send us your payment.

I am not yet a member and I want to join

as a life member

as an annual member

(Please fill in the application form below)

I am already an annual member and I want

to convert into a life member

to pay my dues for the current year

_________________________________________________________________________________

Dues can be paid either in cash at the office or through a postal form (add 2 CHF for charges) for

persons who live in Switzerland, or by bank transfer to the AFSM account number (+ bank charge, if

any):

IBAN : CH 4100279279-D310-2973-1

SWIFT : UBSWCHZH80A

_______________________________________________________________________

APPLICATION to JOIN

Name ………………………….. First Name…………………………………………….

Address:

Postal Code ……………………… City…………… Country ....................................................................................

Phone ………. Fax ............................. e-mail ……….

Date of Birth …………………… Nationality …………………………………………………………………

Date of separation from WHO ………………………………. Length of service with WHO ....................................................

Function occupied on separation ......................................................................................................................................

......... .....................................................................................................................................................................................

I should like to receive documentation in □ English □ French

Date .................................................................................................................... Signature

july-september 2008 qnt 73 from the association of former

Documents