[Ip-health] WHO Publications Policy Proposal threatens Technical Quality of Health Information

[Sarah Rimmington]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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ESSENTIAL ACTION BRIEFING NOTE: WHO PUBLICATIONS POLICY PROPOSAL
THREATENS TECHNICAL QUALITY OF INFORMATION PRODUCTS

For your convenience, the briefing note is also attached to this email

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently considering a major
overhaul of its publications policy. There are serious problems with
*some* of the proposed changes. If adopted, these changes may give
commercial or ideological interests leverage to subvert the WHO's
ability to issue evidence-based public health materials, contrary to the
constitutional mandate of the Organization. They would also undermine
the agency's flexibility, and interfere with regional and country
offices' ability to respond quickly to local circumstances.

**Recommendations for WHA and EB Delegates**
The proposed publications policy is on the agenda at the upcoming WHO
Executive Board (EB) Meeting, which commences on Monday May 26 (Item 6.2
under Management, Budget and Financial Matters). The issue is not
currently on the agenda of the World Health Assembly (WHA), which
commences Monday May 19.

***Essential Action recommends that WHO member countries ensure that the
proposed publications policy is *not approved* by the Executive Board
*until* the problematic sections are omitted.***

***Essential Action also recommends that member countries raise concerns
about the publications policy during the World Health Assembly, so that
all WHO member countries have the opportunity to debate this critical
issue.***

Key Areas of Concern:
=95 As reported in Secretariat descriptions, the proposed publications
policy would require that publications that discuss undefined
"controversial" topics to be subjected to special, centralized oversight
of the WHO Director-General=92s office, *in addition* to the technical
review process all publications must go through.
=95 No clarification is given as to what would be defined as
"controversial," or how such determinations would be made.
=95 The definition of =93publication=94 under the proposed policy is
extraordinarily broad.
=95 The proposed policy requires a master list of planned publications to
be prepared for executive approval at the beginning of every two-year
period.

A detailed analysis of problems with the proposed publications policy is
included in a May 15, 2008 letter to WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret
Chan from 35 global civil society organizations (including Third World
Network; Peoples=92 Health Movement India & Secretariat; Oxfam
International; Knowledge Ecology International, IBFAN International,
Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean; Health Action International;
European AIDS Treatment Group, Consumers' Association Penang, Malaysia,
the American Medical Students Association; and Essential Action). The
letter is available at:
http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/ip-health/2008-May/012668.html

*What are =93Controversial=94 health-related issues?*
An extra layer of review of WHO documents threatens to slow the WHO
publication process, impede efficiency with bureaucracy, undermine the
agency's flexibility, and interfere with country offices' ability to
respond quickly to local circumstances.

The policy is more troubling for focusing on "controversial" issues, an
undefined by potentially extremely broad term. In practice, the policy
is likely to chill WHO staff willingness to address controversial
issues, burden the Director General's Office with excessive reviewing
duties, and inappropriately give commercial and ideological interests an
opportunity to interfere in the WHO publication process.

To illustrate the danger of creating a special clearance process for
=93controversial=94 health-related issues in WHO publications, consider the
wide variety of important topics that are currently viewed as
controversial, or that were viewed as controversial in the recent past,
with respect to their impact on human health:

- Alcohol
- Diet and Nutrition
- Sugar consumption
- Tobacco
- Chemical exposure
- Climate change
- Reproductive Health issues (for example birth control, abortion and
sex education)
- Health interventions targeting sex workers
- Traditional Medicine
- Advertising/Marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other medical
products
- Price of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other medical products
- Rational use of Medicines

Indeed, the WHO is in the midst of adopting a work program on Public
Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) at the WHA. The work
program as currently drafted charges WHO with providing information and
technical assistance at the country level on topics such as patent
policy, use of TRIPS flexibilities to promote access to medicines,
adoption and implementation of national competition policies to prevent
or remedy anti-competitive practices related to the use of medicinal
patents, and use of measures to encourage medical technology innovation.
The WHO's ability to undertake this work effectively will be in doubt if
the new publication policy goes into effect because IP rights and health
are already a subject of controversy.

*WHO mandated to provide accurate, evidence-based health information*
The WHO has a constitutional duty to provide objective and reliable
information, counsel and assistance in the field of human health. Thus
it is appropriate for the WHO to propose changes to its publications
policy that would enhance the technical quality of its information
products. But the proposed policy changes threaten to do the opposite,
by subverting the WHO=92s ability to issue technically accurate,
evidence-based public health materials. This is even more troubling
given that the policy does not give a clear rationale as to why such
changes are needed.

***The proposed publications policy should be amended to exclude the
problematic sections, and should not be passed by the Executive Board
until such revisions are made. WHO publications must reflect the latest
scientific and medical research. Public health interests must supercede
all other interests at the leading international public health agency.***


For More Information Please Contact:
=95Sarah Rimmington, Attorney, Essential Action
(Tel) +41 (0)78 847 0562 (Geneva, week of May 29, 2008)
(email) srimmington@essentialinformation.org

=95Robert Weissman, Director, Essential Action
(tel) +1 (202) 387-8030 (Washington, DC)
(email) rob@essential.org

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Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/

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[ Publication policy briefing note FINAL.doc of type application/msword del=
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