PRESS CONFERENCE BY BARBADOS

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY BARBADOS

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, Dr. George Alleyne, the candidate nominated by Barbados for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters that if elected he could make the organization more effective and more relevant in addressing regional problems.

The Executive Board of WHO will elect a new Director-General to a five- year term, renewable once, in January 1998, to replace the outgoing Director- General, Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima.

Dr. Alleyne was introduced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados, Billie Miller, who said her country was proud to nominate such a qualified candidate. Dr. Alleyne had a distinguished career as a professor at the University of the West Indies and as the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and was professionally and technically the best candidate. Her Government also felt it was the turn of the developing world to head the WHO. Dr. Alleyne understood the concerns of the developing world which would become a major focus of WHO in coming years, and he understood the interface between developing and developed countries.

Dr. Alleyne said his candidature had been endorsed by all 14 heads of government of the Caribbean, and he had widespread support in the region because of his competence, his capabilities and his aptness for the position. He said the WHO had outlined seven criteria for candidates and his qualifications fit the list "like a glove". His capability was demonstrated in his intimate knowledge of PAHO, an organization whose aims were congruent with, if not identical to, those of WHO. The PAHO had shown how it could improve the health of the people in the region of the Americas.

Although a global organization should take action in areas that had global significance, he said, WHO could not remain relevant if it limited itself to such issues. It was important to establish programmes to deal with the pain, disease and suffering of people at the local level, as well. The new Director General of WHO should have enough experience to be able to empathize and deal with problems that were local in origin.

Another qualification, Dr. Alleyne said, was his experience in management. As in other areas of the United Nations, reform would be an issue at WHO. It would be an ongoing process and he was confident he could identify the areas that needed attention and put in place appropriate programmes.

A correspondent asked how, given the pressures for financial reform, Dr. Alleyne would manage to reduce budgets and at the same time implement the new local programmes that he had suggested. Dr. Alleyne replied that reform was not only about cutting budgets; it was about making an organization more effective. In his experience, some restructuring was necessary, but it was important to demonstrate the usefulness of the organization so member countries would be persuaded to pay their quotas. In fact, if convinced it would be effective, they would often contribute extra funds. That had been his experience at PAHO.

What was currently wrong with WHO? a correspondent asked. What would he do to correct the problems? Also, did he think Dr. Nakajima had done a good job? Dr. Alleyne replied that he would not say there were things wrong with the organization. Rather, he would build on what was right. He said WHO was intrinsically a good organization that had excellent people in it. The structure of WHO was another of its strengths, as was its presence in so many countries. He would increase that presence -- although not by expanding the bureaucracy -- and that would improve the image and the effectiveness of the organization. Continuing, Dr. Alleyne said it would not be appropriate to comment on Dr. Nakajima, but he was sure that history would show he had done a good job. People often ignored the good WHO had done. Such work as the international classification of diseases, its response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus and its immunization programmes often went unnoticed.

The correspondent, in a follow-up, said that in the material distributed to the press, Dr. Alleyne had said he could rid WHO of its ills. What were those ills? Dr. Alleyne said one of the ills of the organization was not of its own making; that was the negative image that had been created. One way he would correct that would be to engage the media, inviting it to understand the organization better.

A correspondent referred to Dr. Alleyne's support by Caribbean heads of State. Would he be lobbying for support from other leaders? Certainly, he replied. He had mentioned the Caribbean leaders because they had pledged to lobby actively in their spheres of influence for his candidacy.

Since the Caribbean counties were close to Latin America, would there be a problem if Latin America put forward its own candidate? a correspondent asked. Dr. Alleyne replied that PAHO had 37 member countries and he was the first Director to have been elected unanimously, indicating that he had the support of the Americas.

Should the larger or the richer countries contribute more money to WHO? asked a correspondent. Everyone in health was concerned about the decrease in investment in the field, he replied. Of course, anyone in health would wish to see more money coming from the developed countries, but money was not all. It was also necessary for the developed countries to become more engaged in world health. There were contribution quotas fixed for WHO and it was the

Press Conference by Barbados - 3 - 10 October 1997

United Nations who fixed them, but the richer countries could place extra funds at the disposal of WHO for action in countries in countries of greater need.

How would Dr. Alleyne deal with the "brain drain" of young professionals in the field of health from developing countries? asked a correspondent. "I have to admit that this problem has bedeviled me for 30 years", he replied. He had worried tremendously about it and there was no clear answer. One way of dealing with the problem was to ensure there were interesting opportunities in developing countries for such professionals.

A correspondent asked how Dr. Alleyne would distinguish himself from the two other candidates for the post at WHO, both well-known women. He replied that he had learned never to comment on opponents. He could only outline his own qualifications. He would not compare himself with others, and there were certain things he could not change. "You would not have me change my sex, would you?" he asked.

* *** *