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3 United Nations News: Report on the United Nations and Its Related Agencies 1 (1948)

handle is hein.unl/unnews0003 and id is 1 raw text is: U 1 ed Niations News REPORT ON THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS RELATED AGENCIES Tablished Monthly by the WOODROW WILSON FOUNDATION, 45 EAST 65TH STREET, NEW YORK 21, N. Y. in cooperation with THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE Vol. III, No. 1 JANUARY, 1948 $3.00 per year SPECIALIZED AGENCIES AT WORK D URING the autumn months while the attention of the world has been focussed on the political disagree- ments in the U.N.'s General Assembly, and on the break- down of negotiations in the Council of Foreign Ministers outside of the U.N., the less spectacular specialized agen- cies have gone on about their business-each doing what it could in the special field which is its province. These specialized agencies are autonomous organiza- tions, each with a constitution and a budget of its own. Each holds its own policy-making conferences, has its own headquarters and its own paid staff or Secretariat. Though each has a different list of members, all of the specialized agencies have one point in common - they are inter-governmental as distinct from private organiza- tions. In other words, governments are their members. The U.N. Charter contemplates that each of the spe- cialized agencies will, sooner or later be loosely affiliated with the U.N. Last year's General Assembly ratified agreements with four specialized agencies. This year's Assembly ratified five more such agreements. In general these agreements provide for various forms of liaison but not for U.N. control over the policies of the agencies. The U.S.S.R. is a member of the Universal Postal Union and the International Telecommunications Union both of which antedate the U.N. A Soviet representative has attended every meeting of WHO. The U.S.S.R., however, is not a member of any of the other new special- ized agencies. World Health Organization The decisive steps taken by the World Health Organ- ization (WHO) in fighting the serious cholera epidemic which broke out in Egypt during the past autumn con- stitute a remarkable demonstration of how nations can cooperate against a common danger. The epidemic was first reported on September 22. By October 13, a commit- tee of WHO quarantine experts had met to give advice on quarantine measures. By October 25, WHO had as- sembled seven tons of vitally needed anti-cholera vaccine and other medical supplies and had sent them by air from La Guardia Field, New York. By November 19, three out of every four people in Egypt had received anti-cholera vaccinations and within another week the spread of the disease was virtually halted. This is the first time in medical history that an epidemic which spread at a rate of more than 1,000 new cases a day has been checked in so short a time. When the disease broke out, WHO found that the world supplies of anti-cholera vaccine fell short of Egypt's needs. Immediately it negotiated with American drug manufacturers to increase production as an emergency measure. From eleven governments, especially from China, it collected existing stocks of vaccine and arranged for their shipment to Egypt. To combat the dehydration caused by cholera it also shipped large quantities of blood plasma and other supplies. As a result, the fatality rate was about 48 per cent as compared to the fatality rate of 85 per cent in the last serious cholera epidemic of 1902. Less spectacular but nonetheless necessary are WHO's long-term projects. It has awarded fellowships to 193 physicians, nurses and public health specialists from 9 countries. One of its expert committees has been drafting a revised list of internationally recognized diseases and causes of death. There is need for such a list so that health or death certificates will contain uniform termi- Reproduction by Permission of Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Buffalo, NY Use Of 4y part of the contents of the UNITED NATIONS NEWS, with or qithout credit, is invited.

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