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George Oswald suggests that NGOs such as HAI pool resources
and place a jointly funded candidate within WHO, similar to the
secondment of a MSD employee in WHO's tobacco free initiative. I
am afraid that that is a bridge too far. The issue is not to have
somebody "inside". As a public interests NGO, HAI would like
to cooperate with WHO on the basis of a clear understanding of our
interests, roles and responsibilities. WHO's independence from
commercial interests is a prerequisite for that. Potential conflict
of interests problems are pretty much endemic in much of WHO's work.
Even if individual members of staff are scrupulous in avoiding
problems, the organisation itself remains very exposed.
WHO works in a number of areas which have a profound influence on
the development and character of drug markets. From the recent
developments in WHO our conclusion is that at senior level there is
no clear understanding of the nature and depth of the risk of
conflict of interest. In order to change this, we are talking
about a change in culture and thinking in WHO. That culture
does not change by putting NGO people in the organization for
balance. What we need is a comprehensive and transparent policy and
an external audit of that policy. It is a new world. But is the "new"
WHO ready for that world?
Bas van der Heide, Coordinator HAI-Europe
Health Action International Europe, Jacob van Lennepkade 334 T
1053 NJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Tel. +31-(0)20.6833684 Fax +31-(0)20.6855002
http://www.haiweb.org
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