World Health Assembly Opens Amidst Concerns About Influenza Pandemic

The 62nd World Health Assembly opened in Geneva, as officials from 193 member countries began their annual review of the activities of the World Health Organization and set new priorities for the future. In her address to the Assembly, the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, noted that the world was facing multiple crises, including the current financial crisis and global economic downturn.  In addition to this, it also faced the prospect of the first influenza pandemic of this century. 

She said that the world today was more vulnerable to the adverse effects of an influenza pandemic than it was in 1968, when the last pandemic began. The increase in air travel, meant that any city with an international airport was at risk of an imported case. Global economic interdependence amplified the potential for economic disruption. 

Under these circumstances, it was vital to see that no part of the world suffered disproportionately. “We have to care about equity. We have to care about fair play,” she said. 

Dr Chan noted that 85% of the burden of chronic diseases was concentrated in low and middle income countries, which meant that the developing world had by far the largest pool of people at risk for severe and fatal H1N1 infections. 

Read more….