New WHO chief issues bird flu warning
The new boss of the World Health Organisation has renewed the agency’s warning that the world must keep up its guard against bird flu.
Dr Margaret Chan holds the most prominent United Nations post ever filled by a Chinese national.
Chan said there had been a lull in bird flu infections in recent months, but that cases had begun picking up again in the last few weeks.
“This H5N1 (virus strain) is causing unprecedented damage to the poultry sector, and along the way many people were infected, and more than half of these people died,” Chan said. “We must not let our guard down. We must maintain our vigilance.”
She said the world was gearing up to improve surveillance of the disease and rapid response to any outbreaks.
More also needed to be done against older diseases, such as malaria, Chan said.
“We are taking a new look at how to deal with this very tenacious killer,” Chan said. “We have the tools, but we need to understand why we are not making progress.”
Some 3,000 children in Africa die from the disease every day, she said. The agency has in the past been criticised for its inconsistent advice regarding malaria control, resulting in an increase in cases.
WHO also intends to press on with its campaign to eradicate polio, even though it missed its original target of eradicating the disease worldwide by 2000. Some public health experts question whether it is feasible to rid the world of polio.
Chan said she was reviewing what should be done now that the global campaign is using a more effective vaccine because “having a vaccine is not good enough”.
“We need to have political commitment from the four countries who are still having problems with polio,” she said, referring to India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, where the disease remains endemic. “We also need to work with the donor community to provide very much needed resources to really move forward.”
The review will conclude “what action we need to put in place in the next perhaps 24 months in order to achieve the target” of eradicating the disease, Chan said.
WHO registered 1,874 cases of polio around the world last year, an increase from 1,749 in 2005. The vast majority of cases were in the endemic countries.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who took over as UN chief on New Year’s Day, extended his “warmest congratulations” to Chan yesterday and wished her “every courage and success as she prepares to carry on WHO’s vital mission”, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said at UN headquarters in New York.
“The secretary-general particularly welcomes Dr Chan’s visionary intention of judging the performance of WHO by two key indicators: improvements in the health of the people of Africa, and in the health of women.”
Chan told WHO staff she did not foresee a major restructuring of the agency, but that she would be looking for ways to improve cooperation among different parts of the organisation.
While WHO is based in Geneva, there are six regional offices worldwide – none of which are directly accountable to its headquarters.
“I will stick with my promise: Reform, yes. Upheaval, no,” she said.
She told reporters later that she hoped to make WHO programs more effective without having to undertake any major new initiatives.
Chan is also likely to be rated on how well she can get the Chinese government to cooperate with global efforts to contain infectious diseases like bird flu. China has been criticised for dragging its feet in reporting outbreaks to WHO and supplying virus samples to the global health community for analysis.
She said she remained the best qualified person to obtain Chinese cooperation, but she declined to say when she expected her efforts to bring results.
Chan, a 59-year-old from Hong Kong, defeated a field of 12 other candidates to become director-general in a vote by WHO member countries in November. Her term will run until June 30, 2012.
The agency has a two-year budget of $3.3bn (€2.5bn).
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