PRESS BRIEFING ON WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

The Director of the New York Office of the World Health Organization (WHO), Andrew Joseph, addressed correspondents today at a Headquarters press briefing to signal the launching of two art exhibitions at the United Nations aimed at raising awareness of children's health and development and increasing contributions to the programme of integrated management of childhood illness. The exhibitions were part of the WHO's fiftieth anniversary celebrations, which would be launched at 5:30 p.m. in the United Nations lobby. The exhibitions were entitled: "Fifty Years: So much accomplished, so much still to be done", and: "Edge of Awareness", which was aimed at raising awareness of children's health and development.

Mr. Joseph was joined by the Medical Officer of the WHO's Division of Child Health and Development, Gottfried Hirnschall; the President and Founder of Art for the World, Adelina von Furstenburg; and the President of the Zambon Group -- chosen as the global donor -- Andrea Zambon. Exhibition artists also participated in the press conference, which was followed by a preview of the exhibit.

Mr. Hirnschall expressed his Division's appreciation for the generosity of the many participants who were "standing with the children" -- among the poorest in the world and at risk of dying from preventable deaths. One of the participating artists Olu Oguibe (Nigeria) had echoed the sentiments at the heart of the exhibit when he wrote about the death of his younger brother from dehydration, due to diarrhoea, and complications from measles.

Mr. Hirnschall quoted the following from Mr. Oguibe's description of his brother's death: "When I think of him, as I do each day, I think of the several million other children around the world who have dreams like him, bright and innocent, oblivious of life's complications and cruelties. It is a sad commentary that so many children still remain at the mercy of the most minor disorders even as we enter the new millennium; that little children still die of measles and dehydration while we learn sophisticated technologies on the face of Mars."

He expressed his gratitude to Mr. Oguibe and to the other artists who had drawn attention to that inequity through their work. Especially appreciated were the contributions of six artists who had pledged the proceeds from their art sales to the improved training of health workers in 10 countries, under a training approach developed by the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Through that training, known as "integrated management of childhood illness", health workers learned to treat children who were at risk of dying from diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition. Those illnesses represented 70 per cent of the childhood fatalities globally, and a higher percentage in the poorest developing countries.

Ms. von Furstenburg, Art for the World President, said the exhibition would consist of 15 large works of art. The first venue of the New York opening had been the PS1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City. The tour, which involved 40 itinerant artists from five continents, had begun last May at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva. Following the New York show, the exhibition would travel to San Paulo, Brazil, in December and on to New Delhi, India, in February, 1999. The works presented in the exhibition underscored the tremendous ability of art to address important world issues, such as health and well-being, and the afflictions of disparate societies.

The exhibition, which included art forms such as paintings, sculptures, internet and videos, was modified according to the locations and contexts of the host countries, she said. Art for the World was an independent, not-for- profit organization that combined contemporary art with humanitarian objectives. Founded in 1995, it had grown out of the "Dialogue for Peace" exhibition in Geneva, which had commemorated the United Nations fiftieth anniversary. Art for the World was art, not only for the art world, but for everybody.

Mr. Zambon said that the convergence of the United Nations, a symbol of peace, and the WHO, a symbol of health, had made the Zambon Group very proud to be the global donor for the celebration of the WHO's fiftieth anniversary. He shared the motivations that had compelled his grandfather to found the company, including a passion for research and discovery, the glue that held together the company's 2,500 staff members. The present exhibition was "told" in an international language as it moved around the world in an attempt to help people make a better life.

One of the participating artists, Joe Ben, was a native Navajo Indian, who said his work concerned the results of uranium mining, including the abandonment of those mines and the decades-long practice of utilizing the resultant materials to house indigenous peoples. Mr. Ben strove to give voice to the children, like himself, who had been raised in such dwellings. Indeed, his own father had worked in the uranium mines. It was important to understand those imprints, which were embedded not only in his memory but also in his genes.

Mr. Oguibe, the Nigerian artist, said that one of his "red badges of courage" had been surviving childhood during the Biafran war. More than half of his generation had been "wiped out" as a result of military violence and the use of famine as an instrument of war. He thought he had forgotten the past, until he grew older and became aware that the same violence and human tragedies, deprivation, injustices and political instabilities still existed - - all the factors that could lead to a repeat of that terrible history.

That awareness had touched him as an artist and motivated his work on the most vulnerable bystanders and the greatest sufferers -- the children, he

WHO Briefing - 3 - 14 September 1998

said. As such, the effect of political and social violence on children formed the basis of much of his art. Similarly, many artists around the world were dealing with the social realities affecting their communities on a daily basis, and the present exhibition had brought together a good number of them.

A correspondent expressed his surprise at hearing that during a recent discussion in the General Committee of the General Assembly concerning the inclusion of agenda items in the fifty-third session, several speakers had said that the WHO had declined to intervene when there had been an outbreak of childhood illness in Taiwan, Province of China, earlier this year. Asked if those statements were correct, Mr. Joseph said that would require a careful response, which he would submit at a later time to the correspondent.

Another correspondent noted that despite the celebration of the WHO's fiftieth anniversary, the health situations in many countries had not improved since 1948. He asked if the Director could provide a message of hope for the next 50 years. Mr. Joseph said that the WHO was committed to a policy of health for all. That commitment covered everything that could be done to improve the health conditions of peoples worldwide. Successes had occurred, but because it was a human endeavour, failures had also occurred. Many people believed that the successes outweighed the failures and justified the continued existence of the organization.

Mr. Hirnschall pointed out that the WHO was currently undergoing a substantial restructuring process under the new leadership of Gro Harlem Brundtland. The close linkage between health and economic development was coming to light. Unless economic development and the alleviation of poverty occurred, health would not improve. Dr. Brundtland planned to work closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and others with economic development as their mandate. That should result in an improvement in global health and the establishment of linkages between the two spheres.

To a follow-up question about whether economic under-development was being used as an excuse for the WHO's failures, Mr. Hirnschall said that the recognition of such linkage and the resulting joint efforts were a positive development that should contribute towards a more positive future.

Mr. Oguibe added that health was a political issue, one in which the press had a responsibility, especially in areas of the world where public policies and foreign policies led to situations that made it impossible to provide health for the majority of the population. The situation in Iraq was an example. Mr. Zambon said that an anniversary was a renewal of an oath and a signal that the dream was alive.

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