The WHO Constitution provides that the respective regional directors be appointed by the Board in agreement thereon with the Regional Committee, which is composed of representatives of the member states in the region. English, French, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish are the official languages. The working languages of the Assembly, Executive Board, secretariat and expert committees are English and French. Documents of the secretariat and of the meetings of the constituent organs and committees are published in the working languages.20 FINANCES Budget. The constitution of the WHO provides that the annual budget of the Organization shall be approved by the Health Assembly. The budget estimates are prepared by the Director General and submitted to the Executive Board for transmittal, with the Board's comments, to the Assembly. The Assembly's Committee on Administration and Finance reviews the proposed budget and submits its recommendations to the Assembly which gives its final approval. The assessment budget for the period September 1 to December 31, 1948, amounted to $4,800,000, including $2,150,000 for repayment of the United Nations loan to the Interim Commission of the WHO. The assessment budgets for the calendar years 1949 and 1950 amount to $5,000,000 and $7,000,000, respectively. In addition, the WHO received a grant of $1,000,000 from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to be used to finance programs or projects approved by the Joint Committee of the WHO and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.21 Members' Quotas. The WHO constitution stipulates that the expenses of the WHO shall be apportioned among members in accordance with a scale fixed by the Health Assembly. A unit system was adopted in assessing contributions. The scale of assessments for 1948 and 1949 was based upon the United Nations scale with adjustments to take into account differences in membership in the two organizations. The Second World Health Assembly, in 1949, adopted a resolution recognizing "that it is in the best interests of WHо that no one Member State should contribute more than one-third to the regular expenses of WHO for any year, provided that the per capita contribution of any Member State shall not exceed the per capita contribution of the Member paying the highest contribution," and deciding "that this principle be made effective as world economic conditions improve, in gradual stages, starting in 1950." In this same resolution the Assembly decided to base the 1950 scale of assessments on that for 1948 and 20 See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 262. "The Interim Commission previously had received from UNRRA $3,000,000 for the continuation of UNRRA health functions taken over by the WHO. 1949 with appropriate adjustments to establish the United States contribution, which was 38.54 percent of total assessments in 1949, at 36 percent. The following table shows member gross contributions for the calendar year 1949: Authorization. United States participation in the WHO was authorized by a joint resolution approved by the President on June 14, 1948.22 On December 30, 1948, the President designated the WHо as a public international organization entitled to enjoy the benefits of the International Organizations Immunities Act.22 Payments. The joint resolution authorizing United States participation also authorizes an annual appropriation of not to exceed $1,920,000 for the payment by the United States of its share of the expenses of the WHо. The United States pays its contribution out of funds appropriated to the Department of State for this purpose. Its contribution for the financial year 1948 was $1,860,884. Its gross contribution for the financial year 1949 was $1,926,978, but its net contribution, after deducting its pro rata credit in a 1948 surplus, was $1,918,220. The United States has been assessed a contribution of $2,519,907 for the financial year 1950, and in addition, $551,023 23 as an advance to the Working Capital Fund, which amount would stand to its credit. Due to the statutory limitation, however, an appropriation of only $1,920,000 can be made. There is before Congress legislation which would authorize an appropriation of the full amount. Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Public Health Service of the Federal Security Agency and the Department of State are the United 22 23 See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 262. The amount of $551,024, together with the United States advance of $650,354 to the Working Capital Fund, which was included as a part of its contribution to the 1948 budget, and the United States share of $332,057 in a 1948 budget surplus transferred to the Fund, would bring the total United States advance to the Working Capital Fund to $1,533,435. States agencies principally concerned with the United States participation in the WHO. Other agencies, such as National Defense, participate with them in the formulation of policy and implementation of program obligations as their interests are affected. Participation. The United States played a leading part in the movement for and the establishment of the WHO. The Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service was a member of the Technical Preparatory Committee, which met in Paris in March-April 1946 to prepare for the International Health Conference, and was President of that Conference which met in New York in June 1946. The United States was a member of the Interim Commission and is now one of the states entitled to designate a member of the Executive Board. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS The WHO, both through its representative organs and its secretariat, maintains close relations with other international organizations to insure cooperation in matters of common interest and to avoid unnecessary duplication and overlapping of activities. Formal agreements for this purpose have been concluded with the U. N., UNESCO, FAao, Ilo, and the UNICEF and joint committees established with the three latter agencies. The WHO also participates in joint working parties and other arrangements with these and other organizations, including ICAO, with which, by mutual accord, no formal agreements have been concluded. In addition, 18 nongovernmental organizations having interests in public health have been brought into formal relationship with the WHO. Since present housing facilities for the WHO staff at the Palais des Nations are not adequate for the future needs of the WHO, the construction of an annex to the Palais is now under consideration by the U. N., WHO and the Government of Switzerland. The proximity of the U. N.-European headquarters in Geneva has enabled Who to utilize the facilities of the U. N. for its publications, meetings, and various services connected therewith. Similarly, arrangements have been made for joint use of facilities by the U. N. and WHO at the U. N. headquarters in New York and at the regional office in New Delhi where the WHO regional office is also located. BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669; 8 U.S.C. 203, 215; 22 U.S.C. 288 a, b. c, d, e, f, note; 26 U.S.C. 116, 1400, 1426, 1600, 1607 and notes, 1621, 3466, 3469, 3475, 3797; 42 U.S.C. 401, 409, 1001, 1101, notes) made applicable to the World Health Organization by Executive Order 10225, dated December 30, 1948. The texts of the protocols of 1946 are to be found in the U.S. Department of State Treaty Series Nos. 1551 and 1552. U. S. Department of State. The International Sanitary Convention of 1944 modifying the International Sanitary Convention of June 21, 1926. Treaty Series 991. The International Sanitary Convention of 1944 modifying the International Sanitary Convention for Aerial Navigation of April 12, 1933 (Ibid., No. 992). World Health Organization: Establishment of an Interim Commission: Arrangement between the United States of America and Other Governments-signed at New York July 22, 1946; effective July 22, 1946. Treaties and Other International Acts Series 1561. Pub. 2738. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1947. (61 Stat. pt. 3, 2349.) World Health Organization: Constitution Adopted by the United States of America and Other Governments. Opened for signature at New York, July 22, 1946. Entered into force April 7, 1948. Entered into force with respect to the United States of America June 21, 1948. Pub. 3318. Treaties and Other International Acts Series 1808. Pub. 3318. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949. (62 Stat. pt. 3, -.) International Health Conference, New York, N. Y., June 19-July 22, 1946: Report of the United States Delegation, including the Final Act and Related Documents. Pub. 2703, Conference Series 91. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1947. 145 pp. World Health Organization." Progress and Plans. Pub. 3126. International Organization and Conference Series IV, World Health Organization 1. 1948. 23 pp. (A report on the activities of the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization.) Challenges and Opportunities in World Health: The First World Health Assembly. Pub. 3311. International Organization and Conference Series IV, World Health Organization 2. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1948. 23 pp. International Health Security in the Modern World: The Sanitary Conventions and the World Health Organization. Pub. 2995. Conference Series 104. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1947. 6 pp. World Health Organization. Bulletin of the World Health Organization." Quarterly. Geneva, 1947- This publication, which replaces the Bulletin of the Health Organization of the League of Nations and the Bulletin mensuel de l'Office International d'Hygiène Publique, contains articles on technical subjects connected with the work of the World Health Organization and its expert committees. International Digest of Health Legislation." 24 25 Weekly Epidemiological Record." This publication, intended for national health-administrations and for health services at ports and frontiers, contains notifications concerning diseases qualified as "pestilential" in the International Sanitary Conventions, as well as other information about the application of these conventions. It is mainly intended for official use and is not for sale separately. It can, however, be obtained in conjunction with the Epidemiological and Vital Statistics Report." 24 Separate editions in English and French. 25 * Published in English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. |