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PREPARATION OF EMERGENCY
AID WORKERS INADEQUATE, SAYS WHO STUDY
A study carried out by WHO
in Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania found that the preparation of relief workers for rigorous
duty under difficult and often dangerous conditions is inadequate. Aid workers often
receive little training and warning about the living and working conditions awaiting them
in the field, and the recruitment procedures used by many relief agencies are often less
than professional. "Many staff are recruited hurriedly and casually with little time
for references or checking. Briefing on security issues and political matters appears to
be especially deficient and staff sometimes feel they are placed at unnecessary risk as a
result, the study said.
Of particular importance for WHO was the neglect of health issues. Of the more than 200
relief workers questioned, 53% had not received any personal medical briefing prior to
departure and 20% of those surveyed had not had, or were not aware they had had, their
vaccination status verified. "It is not unusual for [emergency aid] staff to arrive
at duty stations without having had a medical exam, a personal medical kit, or any medical
briefing... Advice about food and water safety, and infectious and parasitic diseases is
often lacking, and inappropriate assumptions seem to be made about what relief workers
already know about health protection," the study found.
Psychosocial health was also a concern. Only half of the sample felt that they were able
to function well on the day that they were interviewed and a high proportion of
respondents reported general fatigue (59%) and headaches (50%). "The reported
frequency of sleeping difficulties, anger, and irritability is also noteworthy, not only
because of its immediate implications for the health of staff themselves but also because
of its wider implications for team work and performance under pressure. Reported increases
in smoking and alcohol were small (under 10% in both cases) and lower than might have been
anticipated.
Common causes of anxiety for field workers were found to be related to contract and
employment, and security, family, and health issues, while the three main general health
concerns wet diarrhoeal diseases, other gastrointestinal digestive problems, a ailments.
Almost 20% of the sample reported having a dia disease episode. This suggests that
"more deserves to be c terms of information, education, and management of food and
consumption." Well over half the people surveyed had not received any briefing about
food safety and/or the measures to take in case of food-bome problems.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 52/167 hi~ the personal risk taken by all
humanitarian personnel and c; action to improve their safety and security. WHO has begun
to reduce the health risks to field workers.
Almost one-quarter of all those surveyed said they ha recruited solely on the basis of
written correspondence and I been asked to provide any references! "It is not easy.
The tim to recruit field workers is often an issue, and support and supe at long distance
is difficult. We are convinced that much improved and hope the experience of
well-established agenc be brought to bear. We hope that our work will be a spur
international community as a whole. There is evidently a r protect humanitarian aid
workers more effectively," said I Inter-Agency Co-operation Unit for Emergency and
Humai Action (EHA/ICA).
Not to provide [emergency aid] staff with clear guidel: how to deal with these situations
might in the future [cause c staff neglect to] surface in the courtrooms," concluded
the which represents the first stage in a project which will next se( approaching relief
agencies at their headquarters to discuss policies and identify obstacles to the
implementation ol recruitment and health practices concerning aid workers. (This a WHO
Collaborating Centre.)
WHO HEALTH AGENDA FOR
THE 21ST CENTURY SHARING KNOWLEDGE FOR HEALTH
A knowledge-based
organization in an environment where knowledge has become a raw material must give serious
consideration to how such knowledge is managed, disseminated, and used. The interaction
between partners in international health is influenced by the following five key factors:
Globalization. Globalization
is principally about increasing interdependence - economic, political, and social. It has
both positive and negative influences on health. Integration at one level can be managed
by marginalization and increasing expertise at others.
The information
revolution. The rapid development of information and communications technology opens
up new ways to produce, analyse, and discriminate data and health knowledge. The challenge
is to build a managed network that allows accessing and dissemination of knowledge; makes
it useful and practical; and allows for debates and feedback mechanisms. Information
technology also makes available new means of assistance between centres (Telemedicine,
Intemet-based training, etc.).
The health
research/technology revolution. Health information itself is subject to ever more
rapid changes and updates, and WHO information (for example on drug development, safety,
treatment schedules, etc.) needs to be totally reliable and up to date. The average
shelf-life of a health fact is currently five years.
The increased
privatization of health, health research, and intellectual property. Increasingly,
health and medical research are private, and a determining factor in one of the largest
and most rapidly growing world markets. Research at university institutes is frequently
dependent on significant contributions from the private sector.
A broader
understanding of and accountability for health. The increased knowledge available on
determinants of health and or the impact of sectors other than health calls for a broader
range of information input in areas such as economics, law, human rights and ethics.
Reliable health
information and knowledge are becoming a soughtafter commodity not only in terms of
patents and intellectual propert) but also in terms of systems knowledge and comparative
data. Giver the increasingly fluid borders between healthibiochemical research
pharmaceutical and nutrition research, and agricultural research, the issues and partners
WHO deals with could change significantly. The challenge before the. international
community is how best tc manage the intellectual capital inherent in these many partners
anc networks. The result of good management of intellectual capital equal~ health
leadership. The leadership issue in this case is: who sets the "gold standard"
for local health issues and the global health debate and whose approach/paradigm on how to
define health is accepted From this follow proposals on how to manage health, pay for
health and measure the health, of populations.
WHO PRESS N° 2 1999 WHO
REVAMPS ITS 'BULLETIM'
The Bulletin of the
World Health Organization is relaunched in a new and expanded format. Since 1948, the Bulletin
has been reporting internationally important health research, much of it from
developing countries. Two of WH O's other journals, the World Health Statistics
Quarterly and the World Health Forum, are now being incorporated into the Bulletin
to make it, as the revamped publication's subtitle states, the "international
journal of public health". The new Bulletin will appear monthly in English and
cover a wide range of topics, from epidemiology to sharing of best practice and the latest
scientific developments. It is a testimony to WHO's commitment to seeing health from our
broad perspective that integrates disciplines and combines scientific enquiry with policy
analysis. The Bulletin now places research findings and policy relevant discussions
side by side in the same publication. In doin~ so, it is making an important point: people
with differen responsibilities for health cannot afford to ignore each other's work The
redesigned Bulletin will play a key part in developing researcl policy, managing
information, and building up a solid base of evideno on the best ways to promote health.
The Bulletin will be open to every perspective that can increasi understanding of
health problems and how to solve them. In thi way, it will reinforce WHO's position as a
leader in the fast-moving interactive process of global change. It will not shrink from
publishin well-founded arguments that are critical of current paradigms or th, policies of
governments and agencies, including WHO.
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