Dr Hidayathulla Shaikh

Objectives  At the end of the lecture students should be able to –  Know what is NGO.  Enumerate some of international health agencies.  Discuss different international health agencies.

Introduction  A vast network of public health units has evolved to take care of the health of the people which is a proper concern of any government.  The smallest of these cater to the health needs of small rural areas and the large organization concerns to the entire world.  Two kinds of agencies carry on public health work. Governmental and non governmental

 Governmental agencies are those supported by public taxation and operated by national or state government.  Non governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government.  The NGO maintains its non governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization.

 Some of the International Health Agencies/Voluntary Organization – 1) The international Red cross and Red crescent movement 2) The PAN American Sanitary Bureau (PASB) 3) International Labor Organization (ILO) 4) The Ford foundation 5) Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) 6) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 7) United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 8) The World Health Organization (WHO) 9) United Nations Developed Program (UNDP)

1) The International Red cross and Red crescent movement  It is one of the largest humanitarian network, and provides protection and assistance to people affected by disasters and conflicts. It has 3 main components a) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) b) The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies c) 186 member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies  The Red Cross idea came when Henry Dunant, a Swiss man, came across battle field in Solferino, Italy.

 There he saw many wounded did not had medical assistance, so he organized local people to bind soldiers wounds and to feed them.  Later in 1863 the Red Cross was formed with 5 Geneva men including Dunant.  The seven fundamental principles of Red Cross and Red Crescent are 1) Humanity, 2) Impartiality, 3) Neutrality, 4) Independence, 5) Voluntary service, 6) Unity and 7) Universality.

Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SCRA)  SRCA is a humanitarian society that provides emergency medical services in five administrative regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  It was founded in 1963 by 2009, the Society had 447 First Aid Centers, run by 5,507 staff, with 1300 ambulances which are distributed in all hospitals and centres on the country.  The Red Crescent has a particular role to play during Hajj, providing on-the-spot first aid and using its fleet of vehicles to take emergency cases to the nearest medical facility.

2) The PAN American Sanitary Bureau (PASB)  PASB is the oldest international health agency in the world.  It was set up in 1902 in Washington to serve the objectives for the American continent.  In 1958 its name was changed to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).  Their main goal was health for all to all PAHO member states.

3) International Labor Organization (ILO)  ILO was formed in 1919 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.  Its main purpose is improving the living and working conditions of the working population in different parts of the world. The functions of ILO are – 1. Establishment of peace by promoting social justice. 2. To improve the living standards and working conditions of the working people around the world. 3. To promote economic and social stability.

4) The Ford foundation  It was established on January 15, 1936 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company.  Initially they were working for scientific, educational, charitable and public welfare works.  Over the past 5 decades they have contributed in agriculture and rural development, forest and natural resources, etc.

5) Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE)  It was founded in 1945, when 22 American organizations came together to provide life saving CARE packages to the survivors of world war II.  Over the years it has expanded its work to address some of the worlds threatening problems like poverty, hunger and primary health care.  In some countries they are providing Feeding programs like mid day meal for school children, medical units, equipments and medicines for rural people.

6) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)  Formed in 1945 with its headquarters in Rome, it is concerned with human diseases of animal origin, Nutrition and Rural hygiene. Its functions are  Provide help to all nations to fight poverty and raise living standards.  Increased availability of food and production of food.  Increased efficiency in fields of farming, forestry and fishing  Freedom from hunger.  Helping people to improve their conditions in rural areas.

7) United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)  Its was started in 1946 then it was called United Nations Children's Emergency Fund.  The main purpose was to meet the emergency needs of children around the world.  Later they emphasized on long term benefits to children of developing countries, hence changed the name to United Nations Children's Fund, though UNICEF title was retained.  It cooperates with countries in their efforts to protect children and provide basic rights and privileges.

Functions of UNICEF  Assists in planning and extension of services benefiting children.  Provides support for training and orientation of personnel of health and hygiene, teachers, nutritionists and child welfare specialists.  Supports activities related to women empowerment.  Provides appropriate communication material for health education.  Delivers technical supplies,equipment and other aids.

8) The World Health Organization (WHO)  WHO is a Specialized, nonpolitical health agency of the United Nations established in 1948 with its headquarters in Geneva.  The main purpose is to promote health of all the people, it serves as directing and coordinating authority for international health matters and public health.  The membership to WHO is open to all countries, in 1948 WHO had 56 member countries, as of 2015 it has 194 member countries. Structural organization of WHO a. The World Healthy Assembly (decision making body) b. The executive board (34 members qualified in health) c. The secretariat (around 8000 health and other experts and support staff)

 Regional offices of WHO RegionHeadquarters South –East AsiaNew Delhi, India Region of AmericaWashington DC,USA Western Pacific RegionManila, Philippines East Mediterranean Region Alexandria, Egypt African RegionBrazzaville, Congo European RegionCopenhagen, Denmark

Purposes of WHO  Help government strengthen their health services.  Promote better teaching standards.  Inform, advice and help in the field of health.  Co-operation with other agencies for improvement of nutrition, housing, sanitation, economic and other aspects of environmental hygiene.  Co operation among scientific and professional group.  Promote maternal and child health welfare and foster ability to live harmoniously in changing environment.  Foster activities in the field of mental health affecting human relations.

Areas of interest of WHO 1) Prevention and control of specific disease, 2) Development of comprehensive health services, 3) Family and environmental health, 4) Health statistics, 5) Biomedical research, 6) Health literature and information, 7) Cooperation with other organizations.

Key WHO publications 1) The world health report 2) International travel and health 3) International health regulations 4) The international classification of diseases 5) International pharmacopoeia WHO journals 1) Bulletin of world health organization 2) Weekly epidemiological record 3) WHO drug information.

9) United Nations Developed Program (UNDP)  Established in 1966, it serves as the main source of funds for technical assistance to both developed and developing countries.  Its main objective is to help nations strengthening their natural and human resources.  The UNDP takes up several projects in different parts of the world, covering economic and social sectors like agriculture, education, science, health, social welfare etc.