75 years of WHO: a trip to prosperity and maturity

Photo: © FAO/Vladimir Mikheev

07/04/2023

“First of all, on this day, I would like to remember not the achievements of the World Health Organization (WHO), but the cooperation with all of you over many decades,” Melita Vujnović, WHO representative in Russia for the past six years, said on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of WHO. “Without great partners and collaborators like you, WHO would not be able to move forward towards the universal goal of health for all.”

A specialized forum on the occasion of the anniversary was held by the WHO Moscow Office in cooperation with the National Medical Research Centre for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation.

“WHO is not getting old, but on the contrary, it is transforming, gaining strength by expanding its spheres of influence, introducing new experience, and, of course, rich traditions of humanitarian impact with countries from all continents of the world,” Sergey Glagolev, Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, said in his welcoming speech. “I would like to acknowledge the role of our country as a founding member of the organization. Russia has engaged with WHO on various fronts from the very beginning. First of all, this is the eradication of smallpox and the signing of the Alma-Ata Declaration 50 years ago, which established the basic requirements for primary medical care and formed the principles that laid the foundation of the Millennium Goals (MDGs) and then the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

“Along with communicable diseases, the USSR and Russia worked actively with WHO for overcoming diseases,” Sergey Glagolev continued. “It is worth mentioning the international conference on non-communicable diseases held 12 years ago in Moscow, which laid the foundation for the UN General Assembly declaration on this category of diseases.

This was the impetus for the opening of a geographically remote office in the Russian Federation in 2014 for preventing non-communicable diseases in European countries. This office has made a significant contribution at the global level in fighting smoking, alcohol, childhood obesity and physical inactivity.”

Equally important are efforts that have been taken “for overcoming the burden of counterfeit and substandard medicines. Russia was the initiator of the relevant Council of Europe convention and has made a significant contribution to this work through WHO. Finally, it is impossible not to mention joint projects aimed at eradicating tuberculosis, as well as other health projects that have gained in relevance due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic,” the Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation stressed.

“I also want to recall important points about smallpox,” Melita Vujnović said. “Viktor Zhukov returned the USSR to the World Health Organization in 1958. At the time, it was the Soviet Union that declared that it was necessary to launch a programme to eliminate this disease. In the first year, the Soviet Union provided WHO with more than 20 million doses of smallpox vaccine. Many years have passed since we announced that there is no more smallpox. Today, I want to thank the Russian people and all my colleagues for their hospitality. We have achieved a lot together. And despite the difficult situation in the world, we continue to work together. Thank you so much.”

“On this day we pay tribute to all those who were at the origins of our sister organisation, one of the oldest and most representative specialized agencies of the United Nations system and have worked over the years to strengthen and improve the world's health system,” Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, said in his welcoming remarks.

“Our two organizations have worked closely together for many decades and through their complementary mandates have addressed a range of issues related to maintaining global food safety and good nutrition and protecting consumer health.

The attention given to the health agenda by FAO’s founding countries is reflected in the fact that John Boyd Orr, a world-renowned nutritionist and child nutrition expert, was elected FAO’s first Director-General.

In September 2015, the Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Almost all SDGs are directly related to health, food security, and nutrition, or indirectly contribute to improving health and food security. SDG 3 specifically calls for “Ensuring a healthy lifestyle and promoting well-being for all at all age.” Its 13 targets are based on a new focus on non-communicable diseases and universal health coverage.

FAO acts as “guardian” for 21 SDG indicators, most notably SDG 2 – Zero hunger, but also SDGs 5, 6, 12, 14 and 15, and as a contributing UN agency to five other SDGs. FAO and WHO are jointly responsible for some of the SDG 2 indicators.

In particular, in accordance with targets 2.1 and 2.2, FAO member States committed to “end hunger by 2030 and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round” and “by 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and seniors.”

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, annual flagship report, jointly prepared by FAO, WHO and several other UN agencies, assesses progress towards these indicators.

I would especially like to note our joint work to promote the One Health approach both on the world scene and in the Russian Federation for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. FAO and WHO are working with many partners with the aim of systemic health promotion, in particular through a quadripartite alliance that also includes the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

One Health is high on the global agenda, highlighting the need for multilateral solutions to today’s complex, interconnected issues that affect everyone. Diseases caused by drug-resistant microbes, for example, can affect anyone, anywhere, putting health, agrifood systems and ecosystems at risk globally. Combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is our shared responsibility, which is why it is important to join forces to prevent antimicrobial resistance.

As part of the annual World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which takes place from 18 to 24 November, WHO, FAO, WOAH and UNEP offices in Russia are holding a traditional round table of key participants in the implementation of the National Strategy of the Russian Federation for Preventing the Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance, namely of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosselkhoznadzor, as well as Russian specialized scientific and educational institutions and private companies.

In the Russian Federation, the topic of AMR is designated as one of the priority areas in the “Foundations of Russia’s State Policy on Ensuring Chemical and Biological Safety to 2025”. Russia actively participates in international cooperation in combating AMR, also it is a participant in multilateral events and a co-author of the outcome documents, in particular, the High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on AMR in 2016.

In December 2022, the Federal Budgetary Institution of Science “Central Research Institute of Epidemiology” of Rospotrebnadzor (FBIS CRI of Epidemiology) was awarded the status of an FAO Reference Centre for AMR.

The successful collaboration between CRI of Epidemiology and FAO began in 2017 with the launch of a major regional FAO project with the support of the Russian Federation to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance in food and agriculture in the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan.

Within the framework of FAO’s longstanding partnership with WHO on global food safety, FAO is addressing food safety throughout the food supply chain, and WHO is working with the public health sector to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.

The Codex Alimentarius Food Standards Commission, established jointly by FAO and WHO 60 years ago, is the most important international body in this field. Since 1963, the Code has developed hundreds of internationally recognized standards, guidelines and codes of practice. For example, the Codex Alimentarius has developed more than 5 000 standards for maximum residue limits in food and more than 3 000 quality standards for pesticides. Assessments by scientific advisory bodies – the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues and the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Specifications – help set international standards that countries follow in their pesticide risk assessment and mitigation process.

Combating malnutrition in all its forms is one of the greatest challenges for all countries. Today, almost every third human around the world suffers from at least one form of malnutrition. These forms are undernourishment, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, overweight or obesity, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) associated with unhealthy diets. In November 2014, at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), jointly organized by FAO and WHO, Member States and the global community committed themselves to eradicating malnutrition in all its forms.

Already in April 2016, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution 70/259, approved the outcomes of INC2 and proclaimed 2016-2025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. In that resolution, the General Assembly also called on FAO and WHO “to play a leading role in the implementation of the Decade. The aim of the Decade is to create a well-defined and time-bound work scheme to deliver on the commitments made at ICN2 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, within existing structures and available resources.”

Dear colleagues!

May this anniversary open a new chapter in your work, serve as an occasion for evaluating and analyzing what has been done, and outline prospects for the future. We sincerely wish you and all WHO staff new successes and achievements, further potential development, implementation of plans, happiness, joy and prosperity!

I would like to end my speech with the words of Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian and Soviet poet, paraphrased on today's solemn occasion: