WHCA/WHEN Guide to the
World Health Assembly 2008
Draft Outline
Overview
This Guide aims to provide World Health Assembly attendees, including ministerial delegates, public health advocates, and media representatives, with practical and reflective information on key players and agenda items.
In the first instance, the Guide will provide an annotated overview of the Assembly agenda and identify relevant experts and web-based resources for research and advocacy purposes. Profiles of key WHO staff and Ministers of Health from WHO’s Member States will be presented, along with contact information. Relevant experts from governmental organisations, NGO, industry, academia and the media will be invited to produce short reflective pieces on key agenda items. Additionally, information related to practical advocacy during the Assembly will be presented.
The Guide will include relevant graphics and pictures and will be published and launched several weeks before the Assembly. The format will be similar to the existing WHCA Working with the Media Action Guide.
If time and money permit, translations will be considered.
Draft Table of Contents
Section I Introduction to WHO and the World Health Assembly
Section II Key WHO staff profiles and contact details
Section III Key ministerial delegation profiles and contact details
Section IV Navigating the World Health Assembly – an advocate’s guide
Section V Overview of the 61st World Health Assembly agenda
Section VI Perspectives on key agenda items related to:
• Communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
• Chronic non-communicable diseases, including mental disorders, violence and injuries
• Life-stage challenges, including pregnancy, childbirth, sexual and reproductive health, and active and healthy aging
• Health consequences of emergencies, disasters and crises
• Reducing risk factors, including tobacco, alcohol, drugs, physical inactivity, unsafe sex and unhealthy diets
• Enhancing health equity, including poverty, gender and human rights issues
• Addressing environmental threats to health
• Improving nutrition, food safety and food security
• Strengthening health services
• Improving access, quality and use of medical products and technology, including intellectual property rights
Section VII Useful websites and other organisational contacts
Section I – Introduction to WHO and the WHA
This section will contain information gleaned from the WHO website and historical archives and provide a brief overview of the history of WHO and its governance, including the role of its Executive Board and the World Health Assembly.
Approx 2-3 pages
Section II – Key WHO staff profiles and contact details
Available material from WHO websites and Google, including names of key staff, their functions, short biographies and contact details, will be provided in this section.
Approx 5-10 pages
Section III – Key ministerial delegation profiles and contact details
This section will comprise a listing of all Member States and current Ministers of Health, and contact details available through web sources.
Approx 5-10 pages
Note: as contact details in both sections II and III change frequently, updates will be available on the WHCA website at the time of the Assembly. These details will be verified with attendance lists compiled and published by WHO.
Section IV – Navigating the World Health Assembly – an advocate’s guide
This section will provide practical information about where, when and how to lobby/contact/connect with key delegates and experts. It will include a listing of regularly scheduled receptions and identify the best opportunities.
Approx 3-4 pages
Section V – Overview of the 61st World Health Assembly agenda
This section will provide a general annotated overview of the agenda as it is published on the WHO website. Annotation will focus on proposed action items.
Section VI – Perspectives on key agenda items
This section will include invited contributions from a variety of different stakeholder perspectives, on selected agenda items. Stakeholders will include government officials, NGO advocates, academic and industry-based experts, as well as journalists. Contributors will be asked to produce 2-3 page critiques of agenda-related proposed actions. Critiques will include answers to the following questions:
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of proposed actions?
• What do they see to be the obstacles to implementation?
• How do they see these obstacles being overcome?
• What other actions would they propose?
Critiques should be adequately supported with relevant references and case reports and should contain relevant pictures and graphics.
All contributors will be asked to declare their primary affiliations and any potential conflict of interest.
All critiques will contain a disclaimer to the effect that the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of WHO or WHCA.
Approx 40-50 pages
Section VII Useful websites and other organisational contacts
Agenda-related website references will be included in Section V. This section will include other organisational websites and contacts for key WHEN member journalists.
Approx 3-5 pages