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WHO INDIA TECHNICAL COLLABORATION

Review of the Government of India/WHO In-country Fellowship Programme

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare suggested holding a review of Government of India/WHO In-country collaborative Fellowship Programme. Accordingly, a meeting was held on 12-13 December 2009 in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Eminent experts from prestigious educational institutions, senior functionaries from Government agencies and autonomous NGOs participated in the meeting, which was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. More>…

Meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centres in India

On 12 & 13 November 2009, WHO Country Office organized a meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centres (CCs) operational in India. This meeting was attended by all the WHO CCs, representatives from the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and WHO South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO). The meeting was inaugurated with the welcome address by Dr. S. J. Habayeb, WHO Representative to India, followed by speech by the Director General Health Services, Dr. R. K. Srivastava, and the inaugural address was delivered by Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, SEARO. The meeting was facilitated by Dr J. S. Thakur, Cluster Focal Point for Noncommunicable Diseases and Social Determinants, WHO Country Office for India. The objectives of the meeting were to explore the potential role of WHO CCs in evolving national health priorities and possible development of a network of WHO CCs in India.

These objectives were discussed through technical presentations from resource persons from Thailand and India, groupwork on generic as well as cluster-specific issues, and a panel discussion. A General Body Meeting (GBM) of participating centres decided on formalizing an organizational network and a secretariat at the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi. The meeting concluded with recommendations related to WHO, MOHFW and WHO CCs, and decided on similar periodic meetings.

World Pneumonia Day – 2 November 2009

Pneumonia a major killer in children; prevention possible with safe & effective vaccines

Pneumonia is the leading single cause of childhood mortality. The disease accounts for 19 per cent deaths in children less than 5 years. Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness, more than measles, malaria and AIDS combined. Globally 156 million new pneumonia cases are reported every year in the developing world. As many as 8.7 per cent of these cases are severe enough to be life-threatening and require hospitalization. India accounts for the maximum 43 million new cases followed by China (21 million cases) and Pakistan (10 million cases). Pneumonia is estimated to kill 410,000 children in India every year. More>…

Healthcare Executive Management Development Programme (HxMDP)

This was the 5th HxMDP organized by AIIMS. The Health Minister of Bhutan, H.E. Lyonpo Zangley Dukpa, inaugurated the programme and expressed his pleasure for the bilateral collaboration between the two nations. He stressed the importance of this programme since it addresses the need for improving the managerial capacity in healthcare to lasting improvement in delivery of the services. He was accompanied by H.E. the Ambassador of India to Bhutan, Mr. Pavan K Varma; the Health Secretary of Bhutan, Dr. Gado Tshering; WHO Representative to Bhutan, Dr HSB Tennakoon; senior officials, stakeholders; and the media. Dr. Shakti Kumar Gupta presided over the function and advised the participants to actively interact and benefit the most from this programme, which is a fertile ground for rich exchange of experience and ideas. Dr Salim Habayeb, WHO Representative to India, served as faculty. Dr RT Anand, AIIMS, effectively facilitated day-to-day organization; and DK Sharma, Medical Superintendent, AIIMS presided over the Valedictory function of the programme on 10 October 2009. The next programme of this series is scheduled for March/April 2010. More>…

WHO FCTC Working Group meeting in New Delhi

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare hosted the first meeting of the Working Group on Article 17 and 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in New Delhi from 16 – 18 September, 2009. The Article 17 of WHO FCTC supports economically viable alternatives for tobacco workers and growers while Article 18 provides for protection of their environment and health.

The WHO FCTC, the first treaty aimed at curbing tobacco-related deaths and disease, has been ratified by 164 countries till date. A number of working groups have been formed to develop protocols and guidelines for different provisions of the treaty. More>…

National Initiative on Patient Safety

The National Initiative on Patient Safety was organized by the Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), in collaboration with WHO and INCLEN on 14-16 September 2009. The initiative was launched by Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Honourable Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare. The event was attended by Dr R C Deka, Director, AIIMS; Dr Shakti Kumar Gupta, Medical Superintendent & Head of the Department o Hospital Administration, AIIMS; Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Deputy Regional Director, WHO-South East Asia Region; and Dr S. J. Habayeb, WHO Representative to India; amongst others.

The target participants were from the departments of administration; surgical disciplines; anaesthesiology; microbiology; medicine/paediatrics; and nursing administration from ten institutes of India. The scientific sessions were conducted by several eminent national and international experts on topics such as surgical safety, hand hygiene, management of medication, and patient communication. At the end of the three-day workshop the participating teams presented their framework of patient safety plans for implementation in their respective institutes.

EUR 5 million Grant from KfW Development Bank to WHO for Laboratory Support

On 17 September 2009, a grant agreement was signed between KfW and WHO for 5 million Euros as a contribution by the Government of Germany’s development bank to WHO for supporting laboratories in polio surveillance. The agreement was signed by Mr Stephan Opitz, First Vice President South and Central Asia, KfW Development Bank; and Dr Salim Habayeb, WHO Representative to India. Also attending the signing function were Mr Oskar Von Maltzan, Director, KfW Office New Delhi; Ms Renu Chopra, Head-Administration, KfW Office New Delhi; and Ms Virginia Swezy, Deputy Project Manager, National Polio Surveillance Project.

Photo:

Mr Stephan Opitz, First Vice President South and Central Asia, KfW Development Bank, and Dr Salim Habayeb, WHO Representative to India signing the grant agreement.

Pandemic H1N1 2009

Archives

I. Core Programmes of Technical Support

Fellowship Programme

Communicable Diseases and Disease Surveillance (CDS)

Family & Community Health (FCH)

Non-communicable Diseases & Mental Health (NMH)

Health Systems Development (HSD)

Sustainable Development & Healthy Environment (SDE)

Immunization and Vaccine Development (IVD)

Health Action in Crisis

II. Special Programmes of Technical Support & (Main Supporting Agencies)