1624 



Medical Colleges, and the American Medical Association. During 

 hearings on the bill in February 1966, there was excellent dialog 

 among the members of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 

 Commerce and the expert witnesses. WHO and PAHO were mentioned 

 repeatedly during the hearings, as was the fact that international 

 health problems require a different kind of instruction from that 

 available in the typical American medical school. It was pointed out 

 that there were only three medical schools in the United States with 

 associated schools of public health. In spite of these endorsements 

 and the acknowledged need to correct a defect in American medical 

 education, the legislation was not passed, failing to get out of the 

 Rules Committee. This inaction may be attributable to the low 

 priority attached to the measure, inasmuch as no opposition was 

 recorded. No subsequent legislation has been introduced specifically 

 for the training of international health specialists. However, because 

 of demand, several new schools or departments of public health have 

 been established in American medical schools, without specific Federal 

 legislation. 



Status of the Issue 



WHO has accompUshed much in spite of lackluster moral support 

 and indifferent understanding on the part of the United States as its 

 major financial contributor. That it has done so must be attributed 

 in large degree not only to the inherently constructive nature of health 

 services — ^^although this character may have insured WHO's survival, 

 it does not account for its signal success — but rather to the sustained 

 diplomatic skill and perseverance of its leadership. 



Able leadership has been evident in WHO from the beginning. 

 Whereas the drafters of the WHO constitution gave it powers over 

 functions which governments normally reserve to themselves, the 

 authority of WHO has never been fully exercised by its administra- 

 tors. Prudent men have used both commonsense and caution in apply- 

 ing the constitutional provisions. As a result, WHO has- been able to 

 function effectively even in the presence of unresolved political 

 problems. It has refused to deal with some problems because they 

 were predominantly political, but worked out solutions to others— 

 where necessary to organizational progress — by avoiding legalistic 

 debates and pursuing a pragmatic and realistic coursfi,. Thu s- U-S . 

 insistence upon reservations as conditions of acceptance of the WHO 

 constitution was ignored as an obstacle, even though there was no 

 provision in the WHO constitution for reservations: the Assembly 

 accepted the United States with f uH rights and refused to permit such 

 conditions on membership to become an issu« for the future. Then, in 

 1949 and 1.950, when nine Communist member countries withdrew 

 over alleged failure of WHO to execute agreed progpamsy the break 

 was viewed as temporary. Withdrawing members were asked to re- 

 consider, and by preparing the way for a settlement of assessments 

 in arrears, WHO brought about their return after a few yeaxs. 



