Journal No. 3    11 November 2020

The Journal is intended to give delegates, representatives and other participants advance indications of the Health Assembly’s tentative programme of work. The Journal does not constitute an official record of the Health Assembly’s proceedings. The Journal is published in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish on every working day during the Health Assembly.

N° 3 Programme of meetings for Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Time	Commission A Virtual Room 1	Commission B Virtual Room 2
10:00	Fourth meeting	Fourth meeting
14:00	Fifth meeting	Fifth meeting

Table of contents

1. Programme of work of the Health Assembly

2. Report of meetings

3. Arrangement for the conduct of discussion in meetings

4. Announcements

Interpretation

Interpretation will be provided in the official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) to help delegates to follow the discussions. Delegates are requested to speak clearly and at a normal speaking pace to enable clear and accurate interpretation through the virtual platform. To facilitate this further, delegates are requested to submit copies of all statements at least one hour in advance by email to interpret@who.int. Clearly indicate the name of the country delegation/group and agenda item in the subject line of the email.

 

Note: a statement of three minutes at normal speaking pace is equivalent to approximately 330 words.

 

Delegates participating remotely are also particularly requested to:

·        Use a high-quality headset and ensure a soundproof and echo-free room

·        Adjust speech to account for the remote environment (speak clearly, avoid excessive use of acronyms, speak into the microphone)

·        Speak at a moderate pace (110 words/minute)

1. Programme of work of the Health Assembly

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Fourth and fifth meetings of Committee A

10:00 and 14:00

Draft first report of Committee A

Document (Draft) A73/45 containing one resolution entitled:

-       Strengthening preparedness for health emergencies: implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·       Item 13.3

Influenza preparedness

– Documents A73/4 and A73/4 Add.1

·       Item 13.4

Cholera prevention and control

– Document A73/4

·       Item 13.5

Poliomyelitis

o   Polio eradication

– Document A73/12

o   Polio transition planning and polio post-certification

– Document A73/13

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·       Item 11.1

Primary health care

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.2

Follow-up to the high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly on health-related issues

o   Universal health coverage: moving together to build a healthier world

– Document A73/4

o   Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

– Document A73/5

·       Item 11.3

Global vaccine action plan

– Documents A73/4, A73/6, A73/7, A73/A/CONF./1 and A73/A/CONF./1 Add.1

·       Item 11.4

Accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a global public health problem

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.5

Ending tuberculosis

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.6

Epilepsy

– Documents A73/5, A73/A/CONF./2 and A73/A/CONF./2 Add.1

·       Item 11.7

Integrated, people-centred eye care, including preventable blindness and impaired vision

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.8

Neglected tropical diseases

– Documents A73/8, A73/A/CONF./3 and A73/A/CONF./3 Add.1

·       Item 11.9

Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property

– Document A73/4

Fourth and fifth meetings of Committee B

10:00 and 14:00

Draft first report of Committee B

Document (Draft) A73/44 containing five decisions

-       Report of the External Auditor

-       Appointment of representatives to the WHO Staff Pension Committee

-       Maternal, infant and young child nutrition

-       Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

-       Data and innovation: draft global strategy on digital health

and two resolutions entitled:

-       Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

-       Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

Financial matters

·       Item 20.1

WHO programmatic and financial report for 2018–2019, including audited financial statements for 2019

– Documents A73/24, A73/24 Corr.1, A73/25, A73/37 and A73/INF./3

·       Item 20.2

Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Member States in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent that would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution

– Documents A73/26 and A73/38

WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel

– Documents A73/9, A73/B/CONF./2 and A73/B/CONF./2 Add.1

If time permits:

Progress reports

– Documents A73/32 and A73/32 Add.1

A.    Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017–2025 (decision WHA70(17) (2017))

B.    Towards universal eye health: a global action plan 2014–2019 (resolution WHA66.4 (2013))

C.   Eradication of dracunculiasis (resolution WHA64.16 (2011))

D.   Improving the prevention, diagnosis and clinical management of sepsis (resolution WHA70.7 (2017))

E.    Smallpox eradication: destruction of variola virus stocks (resolution WHA60.1(2007))

F.    Addressing the burden of snakebite envenoming (resolution WHA71.5 (2018))

G.   Strengthening integrated, people-centred health services (resolution WHA69.24 (2016))

H.   Reproductive health: strategy to accelerate progress towards the attainment of international development goals and targets (resolution WHA57.12 (2004))

I.     Health and the environment: road map for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects of air pollution (decision WHA69(11) (2016))

J.    Female genital mutilation (resolution WHA61.16 (2008))

K.    Public health dimension of the world drug problem (decision WHA70(18) (2017))

L.    The WHO strategy on research for health (resolution WHA63.21 (2010))

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Sixth and seventh meetings of Committee A

10:00 and 14:00

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·       Item 11.1 continued

Primary health care

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.2 continued

Follow-up to the high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly on health-related issues

o   Universal health coverage: moving together to build a healthier world

– Document A73/4

o   Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

– Document A73/5

·       Item 11.3 continued

Global vaccine action plan

– Documents A73/4, A73/6, A73/7, A73/A/CONF./1 and A73/A/CONF./1 Add.1

·       Item 11.4 continued

Accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a global public health problem

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.5 continued

Ending tuberculosis

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.6 continued

Epilepsy

– Documents A73/5, A73/A/CONF./2 and A73/A/CONF./2 Add.1

·       Item 11.7 continued

Integrated, people-centred eye care, including preventable blindness and impaired vision

– Document A73/4

·       Item 11.8 continued

Neglected tropical diseases

– Documents A73/8, A73/A/CONF./3 and A73/A/CONF./3 Add.1

·       Item 11.9 continued

Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property

– Document A73/4

Sixth and seventh meetings of Committee B

10:00 and 14:00

Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan

– Documents A73/15 and A73/B/CONF./1

Friday, 13 November 2020

Third Plenary meeting

10:00

Draft first report of Committee B

Document (Draft) A73/44 containing five decisions

-       Report of the External Auditor

-       Appointment of representatives to the WHO Staff Pension Committee

-       Maternal, infant and young child nutrition

-       Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

-       Data and innovation: draft global strategy on digital health

and two resolutions entitled:

-       Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

-       Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

Draft first report of Committee A

Document (Draft) A73/45 containing one resolution entitled:

-       Strengthening preparedness for health emergencies: implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)

Awards

– Document A73/INF./1

Reports of the main committees

Eighth and ninth meetings of Committee A

Immediately after conclusion of Item 8 in plenary and 14:00

Finalization of resolutions/decisions and reports

Eighth and ninth meetings of Committee B

Immediately after conclusion of Item 8 in plenary and 14:00

Finalization of resolutions/decisions and reports

Saturday, 14 November 2020

Fourth Plenary meeting

10:00

Reports of the main committees

Closure of the Health Assembly

2. Report of meetings

Second meeting of Committee A

In the Chair:
Dr Bjørn-Inge Larsen (Norway)

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·        Item 13.1: Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme

·        Item 13.2: WHO’s work in health emergencies

International Health Regulations (2005)

The Chair reopened these items for discussion and drew the Committee’s attention to documents A73/10, A73/11, A73/14, A73/INF./4, and draft resolution EB146.R10 contained in document EB146/2020/REC/1. At the invitation of the Chair, the co-Chairs of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and The Right Honourable Helen Clark, provided opening remarks. Comments were invited from the floor.

Due to time constraints, it was announced that discussion of these items would continue at the next meeting of Committee A.

The Chair announced that the following agenda items under Pillar 3 would be transferred to Committee B:
Item 15 Review of and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

-       15.1: Decade of Healthy Ageing

-       15.2: Maternal, infant and young child nutrition

-       15.3: Accelerating efforts on food safety

The Committee was informed that Member States who had requested the right of reply would be given the floor before the end of the next meeting of Committee A.

The meeting was adjourned.

Second meeting of Committee B

In the Chair:
H.E Mrs Elizabeth Wilde (Australia), Vice-Chair

Audit and oversight matters

·       Item 21.1: Report of the External Auditor

·       Item 21.2: Report of the Internal Auditor

·       Item 21.3: External and internal audit recommendations: progress on implementation

The Chair invited the External Auditor, Mr Michael G. Aguinaldo, to present his report and then opened the floor for discussion. The Secretariat responded to questions raised. The Committee noted the reports contained in documents A73/27, A73/28 and A73/29, and adopted the draft decision contained in document A73/39. The agenda item was closed.

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·       Item 18.1: Programme budget 2020–2021

·       Item 18.2: Financing and implementation of the Programme budget 2020–2021

·       Item 18.3: Geneva buildings renovation strategy

·       Item 18.4: WHO reform

·       Item 18.5: Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

·       Item 18.6: Data and innovation: draft global strategy on digital health

·       Item 18.7: Human resources: annual report

·       Item 18.8: Report of the International Civil Service Commission

·       Item 18.9: Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

Appointment of representatives to the WHO Staff Pension Committee

The Chair opened the item and the Committee approved the draft decision containing the following recommendations:

-       to renew the mandate of Dr Alan Ludowyke (Sri Lanka) as a member of the WHO Staff Pension Committee for three years until closure of the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in May 2023;

-       to appoint Dr Arthur Williams (Sierra Leone), the most senior alternate, as member of the WHO Staff Pension Committee for the remainder of his term of office of the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly in May 2022;

-       to appoint Ms Yanjmaa Binderiya (Mongolia) as an alternate member of the WHO Staff Pension Committee for the remainder of the term of office of Dr Chieko Ideda until closure of the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly in May 2021;

-       to appoint Dr Kai Zaehle (Germany) as an alternate member of the WHO Staff Pension Committee for the remainder of the term of office of Dr Christophe Hauschild until the closure of the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly in May 2021; and

-       to appoint Dr Ahmed Shadoul (Sudan) as an alternate member of the WHO Staff Pension Committee for a three-year term until the closure of the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in May 2023.

The item was closed.

Collaboration within the United Nations system and with other intergovernmental organizations

The Chair opened the item and invited comments from the floor. The Secretariat responded to questions raised and the Committee noted the report contained in document A73/30.

The Chair informed the Committee that Item 15 (Pillar 3) Review of and update on matters considered by the Executive Board has been transferred from Committee A to Committee B and that this item would be opened for discussion at the next session of the Committee.

The item was closed and the meeting was adjourned.

Third meeting of Committee A

In the Chair:
Dr Bjørn-Inge Larsen (Norway)

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·        Item 13.1: Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme

·        Item 13.2: WHO’s work in health emergencies

International Health Regulations (2005)

The Chair opened the meeting and drew the Committee’s attention to a point of procedure asking delegates to lower their hands (on-line) once they have taken the floor. The Chair reopened the agenda items with consideration of documents A73/10, A73/11, A73/14, A73/INF./4, and draft resolution EB146.R10 as contained in document EB146/2020/REC/1. Comments were invited from the floor and pre-recorded interventions were streamed. In accordance with Rule 53 of the rules of procedure, the Chair invited a Member State to submit their statement in writing.

Dr Felicity Harvey, Chair of the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee, was invited to make some concluding remarks.

The Secretariat responded to issues raised and the Chair then gave the floor to Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe, and Dr Poonam Singh, Regional Director for South-East Asia. At the invitation of the Chair, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the Committee.

The Chair invited the Committee to note the reports and consider draft resolution 146.R10 Strengthening preparedness for health emergencies: implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) contained in document EB146/2020/REC/1. The draft resolution was approved without amendment.

The Chair gave the floor to one delegation which disassociated itself from the preambular paragraph 25 of the approved resolution.

The Chair informed the Committee that as indicated in document A73/INF./5, Member States who had expressed their wish to exercise a right of reply would be invited to take the floor.  The Chair then invited the following six Member States to address the Committee: China, Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, United States of America, Ukraine and Cuba. The agenda items were closed.

The Chair announced that the following agenda item under Pillar 1 would be transferred to Committee B:
Item 12: WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

The meeting was adjourned.

Third meeting of Committee B

In the Chair:
Mr Amadou Thiam (Mali), Vice-Chair ad interim

Review of and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·        Item 15.1: Decade of Healthy Ageing

·        Item 15.2: Maternal, infant and young child nutrition

·        Item 15.3: Accelerating efforts on food safety

The Chair opened agenda items 15.1, 15.2 and 15.3 and drew the Committee’s attention to the relevant documents A73/4, A73/4 Add.2, A73/5 and A73/INF./2. The Committee was informed that the draft decision contained in document A73/4 Add.2 would be considered at the end of the discussion. The Chair invited comments from the floor and the Secretariat responded to questions raised. The Committee noted the reports and adopted the draft decision, thus closing the item.

Review and update on matters considered by the Executive Board

·       Item 18.1: Programme budget 2020–2021

·       Item 18.2: Financing and implementation of the Programme budget 2020–2021

·       Item 18.3: Geneva buildings renovation strategy

·       Item 18.4: WHO reform

·       Item 18.5: Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

·       Item 18.6: Data and innovation: draft global strategy on digital health

·       Item 18.7: Human resources: annual report

·       Item 18.8: Report of the International Civil Service Commission

·       Item 18.9: Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

The Chair reopened the item and invited the Committee to refer to subitem 18.5 Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization. The Committee adopted the resolution contained in document A73/20 and the draft decision contained in document A73/20 Add.1.

The Chair then invited the Committee to refer to subitem 18.6 Data and innovation: draft global strategy on digital health. The Committee adopted the draft decision contained in document EB146(15).

The Chair then invited the Committee to refer to subitem 18.9 Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules. The Committee adopted the draft resolution EB146.R5.

The item was closed and the meeting was adjourned.

3. Arrangement for the conduct of discussion in meetings

Individual statements by Member States and Associate Members must be limited to three minutes. Statements by Observers, invited representatives of United Nations and other participating intergovernmental organizations will be limited to two minutes. Statements by non-State actors in official relations with the Organization will be limited to one minute and regional and group statements will be limited to four minutes. To ensure accurate and clear interpretation through the virtual platform, copies of all statements should be submitted in advance by email to interpret@who.int. Clearly indicate the name of the delegation/group in the subject line of the email. All remote speakers should use headphones and microphones to ensure optimal sound quality for interpreters and listeners.

Written statements

Member States, Associate Members, Observers, invited representatives of the United Nations and of other participating intergovernmental organizations and non-State actors are invited to post written statements on the website in the language of submission. In line with the guidelines for written statements outlined in decision EB146(17), statements by Member States may be provided in any of the six WHO official languages and should be limited to 500 words for individual statements and 800 words for group statements. Member States are advised to submit their statements to statements@who.int, clearly indicating the relevant agenda item or sub-item in the subject line.

Member States and Associate Members may submit a pre-recorded video statement in place of live interventions. Video statements should be received by Saturday 7 November (COB) and may be uploaded at the following link: https://bit.ly/3nPXAUG. The following time limits will apply: Member States and Associate Members - 3 minutes and Group statements - 4 minutes. When uploading each video, please indicate clearly the relevant agenda item or sub-item in the description field. Videos received after the deadline, exceeding the time limits or labelled in such a way that the relevant agenda item or sub-item cannot be identified, may not be played. Video statements may be included in the live streaming and therefore will be included in the official records.

4. Announcements

The Zoom platform will be used for virtual sessions of WHA73. In order to ensure good sound quality on the virtual platform, please ensure that when taking the floor to deliver a statement, you select the language on the interpretation channel in which you are planning to speak and use high-quality headsets with echo cancelling microphones and webcam. We recommend that you use a personal computer, rather than a smartphone or tablet, and download the latest version of the Zoom software. Please deliver your statement at a moderate speed that allows for its interpretation and ensures your message is conveyed clearly and accurately.

For support related to the virtual platform, please send an email to GBS-support@who.int           

The Plenary sessions will be webcast in the six UN languages. The webcasts can be viewed on Mac and PCs, as well as all mobile devices including iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows-enabled phones.

Arabic:            https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=ar

Chinese:         https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=zh

English:           https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=en

French:           https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=fr

Russian:          https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=ru

Spanish:          https://player.4am.ch/who/20200518-19_wha73/player.html?lang=es

The World Health Assembly application allows you to receive updates on the WHA73 programme of work and access documentation directly on your mobile device. Scan the QR code below and download the application in your device.

 

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