Meeting: 132nd WHO Executive Board
21–29 January 2013
Geneva, Switzerland
Provisional agenda
All documentation for the session

Speech: Report by the Director-General to the WHO Executive Board
Dr Margaret Chan
21 January 2013
http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2013/eb132_20130121/en/index.html
Editor’s Excerpt

“…Finally, in a most welcome trend, a new culture of accountability, for resources and results, is emerging. The recommendations of the Commission on information and accountability for women’s and children’s health, which supports Every Woman Every Child, have been the model for several other accountability frameworks, including the one for vaccines which you will be discussing during this session.

Equally welcome is the trend towards independent monitoring, with the Independent Monitoring Board for polio and the independent Expert Review Group for Every Woman Every Child being notable examples. Both are fiercely independent and do not shy away from frank criticism. We need this kind of guidance.

Rigorous mechanisms for accountability hold great promise as a way of spending resources wisely, honouring commitments, fine-tuning programme strategies in line with evidence of results, maintaining the confidence of donors, and winning the support of parliamentarians and ministries of finance.

The independent Expert Review Group issued its first report last September. Its main findings are summarized in your documents. Reports from the Independent Monitoring Board for polio have unquestionably helped reshape the eradication initiative at all levels, from headquarters down to country teams, and brought the initiative ever closer to success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Concerning the polio situation, I need to speak from the heart. In December, nine volunteers distributing polio vaccines were killed in Pakistan in a targeted and coordinated attack.

This is a despicable and totally unacceptable act of violence. The tragedy hits especially hard as it comes at a time when we have had so much good news.

The last case of polio in India was confirmed on 13 January 2011. India, arguably the most challenging of all the remaining sanctuaries of poliovirus, has now been free of the virus for more than two years. I ask India to keep up the good work.

The Independent Monitoring Board titled its November 2012 report with a question: Polio’s last stand? The report also revised the figure of all but 1% of cases eradicated to 0.1%, and concluded that the prospects for success were more positive than ever.

I am optimistic that we can put this setback behind us quickly. I thank the government of Pakistan for remaining fully committed to polio eradication. I thank the continued dedication of head office staff and teams working in countries. The initial expressions of outrage, nationally and internationally, have turned into an outcry of unwavering support. Like the prospects for success, the determination is stronger than ever.

The country’s civil society and religious leaders have echoed the sentiment of the international community: the killing of humanitarian aid workers is totally unacceptable. The commitment of all spearheading partners is unwavering. We will press ahead. The risk of international spread remains real…”