WFPHA Policy Committee
2005/06
The main focus in the last work period was on the promotion of the Federation’s Pages in the quarterly issues of the Journal of Public Health Policy now affiliated to the WFPHA.
The Pages have the following sections: Editorial, Special Reports, Resolutions Revisited, and News & Notes.
After the meeting in Bonn, May 2005 on Preventive Legislation, there are several papers now forthcoming which will be published end of 2006 and throughout 2007.
With regard to resolutions a new resolution on HIV/AIDS will be proposed the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association at the conference in Rio de Janeiro, August 2006. In addition resolutions of the last years are revisited by their proponents in the Federation’s Pages.
The conclusions and operative proposals from the session in Brighton are reconfirmed:
Ad 1) The individual and the public health is a human rights issue. The assurance of public health is a catalyst for peace. The Geneva convention should be amended to include the guaranty of public health especially in irregular modern wars.
Ad 2) Preventive strategies aiming at the causes especially of man-made disasters have to be given a much higher weight versus the present focus on protective measures. This applies especially to entrenched chronic conflicts.
Ad 3) To ensure professional autonomy the Public Health Associations nota bene WFPHA should formulate and encompass a code for public health professionals including reference to minimum health care irrespective of combat status.
Ad 4) The Geneva Convention declares hospitals as protected zones, however, it should be amended to include all types of sanctuaries and shelters. Public health professionals have to be given a maximum of security as well as they have to ensure the full implementation of security standards.
Ad 5) The coping with Complex Humanitarian Emergencies i.e. man-made and natural disasters in terms of prevention, preparation and protection (PPP) should become an essential part of public health education be it undergraduate, postgraduate or continuing.
Ad 6) Public health professionals and their organizations must cooperate beyond the conflict lines and share their knowledge, resources and capacities to help the individual and to maintain the public health.
With regard to a follow up and monitoring of the policy resolutions the business meeting of the WFPHA agreed on the following procedures:
- After proper approval of a resolution the organization or member who has proposed the resolution is requested to coordinate the implementation on behalf and with the support of the Board. The coordinator is obliged to monitor the implementation process and to report to the board at least annually. To this aim the coordinator is free to employ all suitable means, especially setting-up a Task Force on the basis of a selection ad personam (but in need of approval by the board).
2) The secretary general is requested to set up a registry of specifically competent experts, member organizations, and other sources of relevant information (e.g. websites, key references etc.) for each of the resolutions adopted in 2003 ff.
3) The Executive Board should review regularly together with the coordinator whether the implementation process needs continuation or can be terminated.
4) The Secretary General should – in addition to the presentation on the website of WFPHA – send out the approved resolutions to all relevant institutions, associations and partners, especially other regional Public Health Organisations (e.g. in Europe ASPHER, EUPHA, EHMA, EPHA) pro-actively.”
Prof. Dr. med. Ulrich Laaser DTM&H, MPH
Chair, WFPHA Policy Committee
