720 



bo required in the Region in the next fi\e or ten years, and there was 

 an extraordinaiy emphasis that such medical teachei"S know how to 

 teach as well as to possess an aderpiate knowledge of the subject 

 matter. 



There was a discussion on how to reduce the present pressure on 

 hospital beds by means of preventive measures, less si^ecialized hos- 

 pitals, and the removal of disabled patients for rehabilitation and 

 ambulatory care elsewhere. The medical schools in the region had 

 increased to 46 with six more planned to start next year. WHO had 

 supplied teachers, consultants, fellowships and means for exchange 

 visits of medical faculty members within the Eegion. 



The 1972 budget for tlie Eastern Mediterranean Region, including 

 UNDP and Funds-in-Trust, was approximately $12,000,000. The Regu- 

 lar budget showed a 9 percent increase over the 1971 figure. (This 

 regular budget increase was about the same as that for WHO as a 

 whole, and is ah example of one of the primary sources of WHO budg- 

 etary increases over the years — the regional requirements.) 



Some Difficulties in Achieving and Sustaining Internationa]. Coopera- 

 tion In Health Through WHO 



In the Introduction to tliis study, the statement was made that inter- 

 national cooperation in public health Avas not easily achieved nor is it 

 easily sustained. This statement refers to the World Health Organiza- 

 tion, but it applies to any of WHO'S predecessor organizations involv- 

 ing more than two gOA^ernments. The birth of such multinational 

 organizations as the Office of International Hygiene, the Health 

 Organization of the League of Nations, and the World Health 

 Organization was difficult despite the evident need for such 

 international health treaties. It is t-empting at first to ascribe blame 

 for such difficulties to the natural political orientation of go^'ernments 

 ■per se. Indeed, there is no doubt that scientists, engineers, and 

 physicians have less friction at international congresses and that 

 public health workers get work done more expeditiously when they 

 do not have to worry about the position of their governments or when 

 long-term national commitments on behalf of their governments are not 

 involved. But when either pei-sonal or governmental interests are at 

 stake in i)ermanent international agreements, professional medical 

 people are often as politiail as their professional diplomatic counter- 

 parts are expected to be. 



For example, there is every reason to believe that the inordinate 

 two-year delay of the United States in ratifying the constitution of 

 WHO was motivated by lx>th medical-political and national-political 

 considerations. According to Allen ^°' and Goodman ^°^ there were 

 fears that WHO would become involved in such questions as health 

 insurance and socialized medicine. 



Agreements concerning the Pan American Health Organization 

 (PAHO) and the World Health Organization were delayed even 

 longer. It was not until 1950 that an agreement between PAHO and 

 the Organization of American States (OAS) authorized the former 

 to act as a regional organization of the World Health Organization 

 in the Western Hemisphere. In this c^ipacity, PAHO w^as to remain 



"" C. E. Allen, "World Health and World Politics," International Organization (Vol. 4, 

 19r,0),page27. 



1'^'* Goodman, "International Health Organizations." op. cit.. page 20. 



