PRESS
RELEASE
|
New WHO Director Sets Out Health Challenges
Washington, DC, September 24, 2003 (PAHO)—Health inequalities, the danger of terrorist acts involving infectious disease, and the "catastrophe" of HIV/AIDS are among the many health challenges facing the world today, said WHO Director-General Dr. Jong-Wook Lee here today.
WHO Director-General Dr. Jong-Wook Lee (click on the photo for higher resolution)
|
Speaking at the Pan American Health Organization's Directing Council meeting, in which ministers of health of all the countries of the Americas gather to analyze important public health problems, Dr. Lee said, "In this continent, you too have faced the shock of terrorism and the terrible feelings of vulnerability it leaves in its wake. We continue our work to ensure that the world is ready to deal with outbreaks of infectious disease, whether they are naturally occurring or deliberately caused."
Dr. Lee said "Everyone equally needs health, and when society fails massively through negligence to meet that need, it is in very serious trouble." Citing the "common danger" of unequal development in the promotion of health and control of disease, he noted that in some countries, conditions associated with poverty are bring life expectancy down to 40 years, "while in others, wealth and health technology are enabling it to rise towards 80. Inequalities of this magnitude are not just a danger but an injustice which itself undermines human well-being."
"The greatest challenge facing us now the catastrophe of HIV/AIDS. More than 42 million people in the world are HIV-positive. Each of those infected urgently needs treatment," said Dr. Lee, adding that lack of treatment for millions in developing countries is a "global health emergency" and WHO "must deliver an integrated global AIDS/HIV strategy linking prevention, care and treatment."
Other infectious diseases, including dengue and TB are serious problems and the struggle to eradicate polio worldwide "is entering its final stages" over the next two years, Dr. Lee said.
He said that half a million women still die every year from giving birth, and "Despite the struggle of parents for their children's survival, ten million children in low and middle income countries die every year before reaching the age of five. Seven million of these deaths are from five preventable and treatable conditions: pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles and malnutrition." By building up strategies such as the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness and safer pregnancy initiatives, Dr. Lee said, "reducing child mortality worldwide by two-thirds by the year 2015 is probably achievable. But it will not happen without major rethinking and commitment."
PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, and WHO Director-General Dr. Jong-Wook Lee (click on the photo for higher resolution)
|
Noting that the United Nations Millennium Summit had committed the global community to the goals of cutting child mortality, improving maternal health, and controlling major infectious diseases, as well as others with a direct bearing on health, he said, "Better health for all is our common goal. Let's work together to achieve this, in the Americas and globally."
Dr. Lee, a native of Korea, was elected to head WHO in May. He was formerly chief of the WHO Global Program for Vaccines and Immunizations, senior policy advisor, and director of the Stop TB department. He holds and MD from Seoul National University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Hawaii.
The ministers' meeting, which continues through Friday, covers key public health topics such as programs on rubella vaccination and a plan to eliminate it by 2010, preparations for an influenza pandemic in the Western Hemisphere, the impact of violence on health, dengue, primary health care, and others.
PAHO, which also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, has been working for more than 100 years with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their peoples. Established in 1902, PAHO Member States today include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States, and Portugal and Spain are Observer States. Puerto Rico is an Associate Member.
|
