EM/HBI/PBD/~-E November 1986 SUEMARY REPORT OF THE SECOND MEETING OF
THE WHO EMRO COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS
Alexandria, 1-2 November 1986
VORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
R W I O N A L OFFICE FOR THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 1986
The issue of this document does not constitute formal publication.
The manuscript has only been modified to the extent necessary for proper comprehension. The views expressed, however, do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the World Health Organization.
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
. ...
Agenda item 1 Introductory address 1
...
.
Agenda item 2 Approval of the agenda 1
Agenda item 3
.
Publications. . . ...
(Working papers 4 4a 4b 13) 1
Discussion
... ...
2Recommendation 1
.
Timely publication ; 3 Agenda item 4.
Documentation (including reports) (Working papers 6. 13)...
3Discussion
...
3Agenda item 5
.
Language services (Working paper 7)...
5Discussion
...
5Agenda item 6
.
Regional Arabic Programme (Working paper 8 )...
6Discussion
...
7Recommendation 2
.
WHO criteria for translation of...
publications into the Arabic language 8 Recommendation 3 . EMRO criteria for translation of...
publications into national languages 8. ...
Recommendation 4 Work of the Language Services Unit 8... .
Recommendation 5 Regional Arabic Programme 9 Recommendetion 6.
Division of labour in translation OF....
WHO publications into the Arabic language 11 Agenda item 7.
Joint publication (Working paper 11)...
11Discussion
...
12selling publications
...
13Distribution
...
14Adaptation
...
14Agenda item 8
.
Implementation of WHO'S General Publications Policy and the GPC/PDWG Study Recommendations in EHRO (Working paper 9)...
14Recommendation 7
.
Action deriving from the recommendations ofthe GPC/PDWG Global Publications Policy Study 15
Agenda item 9
.
Financial situation and resources(Working paper 10)
...
15D I S C U S S ~ O ~
...
15collected recommendations
...
16ANNEX I AGENDA
...
19ANNEX I1 PROGFUWE
...
20ANNEX 111 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
...
21ANNEX IV JOINT PUBLICATION
...
23ANNEX V GPC/PDWG GLOBAL PUBLICATIONS POLICY STUDY
...
27SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SECOND MEETING OF
THE WHO EMRO COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS*
Agenda item 1. Introductory address
1. The Chairman, Dr A. Khogali, opened the meeting by welcoming all the participants. He expressed the regrets of the Regional Director, Dr Hussein A. Gezairy, who had been prevented from attending and introduced the new members of the Committee. A period of silence was observed in memory of Professor M.A. Suleiman. The Chairman pointed out that the Meeting had been timed to precede the PAHO/WHO Committee on Policy and Coordination of Publications so that the views of the BMRO Committee could be included in the EMRO report to that meeting.
2. He reported on the implementation of the recommendations of the First Meeting of the Committee. The recommendation regarding the terms of reference and composition of the Commit tee and its standing sub- commit tee, the Proposals Review Commit tee had been implemented, with the except ion of nominating a WHO Representative. The various administrative recommendations had also been put into effect. The recommendation that a tw-person
investigatory tcam bc sent to identiEy nceds Eor and uses o E publications in Member States of the Region remained in the planning stage, while the visit to eMRO by a representative of Distribution and Sales at Headquarters had been delayed until quest ions regarding revolving funds, and division of work between the various units of the newly-established Health and Biomedical Information Programme at EMRO had been resolved, and a draft sales-and-distribution plan of action had been prepared.
Agenda item 2. Approval of the Agenda
3 . The Agenda was agreed as amended (see Annex I).
Agenda item 3. Publications
(Working papers 4, 4a, 4b, 13)
4. In the presentation, the Rapporteur reported on the activities of the Proposals Review Commit tee
,
and on the current status of individual yublicativns pr~pvsals and publications being processed. The difPicultles encountered with finding reliable external contractual services in Alexandria were noted.5. In the context of promoting the use of national languages, a contract to translate the Manual of Radiographic Interpretation for General Practitioners into Persian has been agreed. Furthermore, the first of a series of publications involving the spiritual dimension in advocacy for health, a booklet entitled "Water and Sanitation in Islam", had been prepared with a scholar from Al--Azhar
.
* The Agenda, Programme and List of Participants are attached as Annexes 1-111 respectively.
6. It was stated that implementation of the idea of a two-person team that was to investigate Member States' needs for publications and their impact and availability had been deferred to 1987.
7. Experiments were being carried out in collaboration with IAEA, Vienna, on up-to-date techniques for transferring publications texts prepared on WANG on to photocomposition equipment (Compugraphic) available with printers in Alexandria.
Discussion
8. The question was raised as to the purpose of a regional publications programme. Dr Cooper, Director, HBI/HQ, explained the philosophy behind the regional publications programmes. He pointed out that PAHO had long established itself as a publisher, even before WHO; most other regions had now started producing publications (the exception was AFRO, which concentrated on documents). Manuscripts were considered suitable for regional publication when the subject matter particularly concerned one region.
Sometimes topics were applicable to more than one region. It was important, the chairman pointed out, not to duplicate publications.
9. It was noted that there was close cooperation between the Global Publications Programme at Headquarters and the Regional Publications Programme at EMRO. The latter was able to deal with the particular needs of the (EM) Region in a more appropriate manner, knowing which topics were of particular relevance to the Region, while methods of presenting material could be adapted to Regional conditions and receptiveness. Some types of publication had most impact if translated into local languages; the inclusion oE items and illustrations of Regional interest also provided for greater impact and effectiveness. Ideally, there should be national publications programmes to consider national needs; however, for many countries of the Region, too many practical problems militated against this. It was important also to take into account the needs of collaborative technical programmes and the publications support they needed.
10. The view was expressed that there was delay in publishing at Regional level owing to the necessity to clear proposals at HQ. There was concern that this procedure was not uniformly applied to clearances by other regions.
Dr Cooper stated that all regions went through the same procedure, and that the GPC had itself considered the matter of delay and had recommended a
one-month time limit for replies. It was pointed out that the formal nature of publications required clearance.
11. The Chairman expressea the vlew that, whlle any aelays at Heaaquarters must be overcome, the matter of delays at Regional level must also be looked at. The Seventh Report on the world Health Situation was a case in point.
EMRO was experiencing particular difficulty in getting this printed.
Dr Cooper stated that HQ would now be in a position to help if necessary. It was stated that the problems locally were several, having to do in particular with communication and the unavailability of good quality draughting. The committee agreed that delaying factors in publications production should be studied (recommendation 1).
Recommends t i o n 1 . TIMELY PUBLICATION
12. A s t u d y should be made o f t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s p r o c e s s In EMXU t o determine
what can b e done t o s h o r t e n t h e time between submission o f a proposal and p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e f i n a l manuscript, and t h a t between submission o f t h i s manuscript and t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f t h e p u b l i c a t i o n . The s t u d y should s e e k t o d e f i n e t h e c o n s t r a i n t s p e c u l i a r t o EMRO and t o s u g g e s t s o l u t i o n s . I t should a d d r e s s t h e q u e s t i o n o f r a t i o n a l and more e f f e c t i v e u s e of r e s o u r c e s , b o t h human and f i n a n c i a l , t h e advantages and d i s a d v a n t a g e s o f using e x t e r n a l s e r v i c e s and t h e mechanism o f exchanging i n f o r m t i o n about p u b l i c a t i o n s between t h e Regional O f f i c e and Headquarters.
13. The question of the use and impact of publications at country level was raised. Did HQ have any means of assessing the usefulness of publications through its health service evaluations? Dr Cooper stated that while some technical programmes had ways of 'judging activities which included publlcatlons, there was no organized means of assesslng thelr Impact in general. He emphasized that HQ was interested in the EMRO proposal for a two-person fact-finding team. The view was also expressed that feedback could be obtained from the Joint WO/Government Programme Review Missions and meetings with senior health officials of Member States.
14. The Chairman underlined the importance of implementing the travelling- team proposal as soon as possible. since it was likely to be the most effective means of obtaining a first, detailed feedback.
Agenda item 4. Documentation (including reports) (Working papers 6. 13)
15. In the presentation, the classes of reports were described and the type of processing that was allocated to each was specified. The responsibility that HBI had for follow-up, not only for documents being processed but also in circulation, was highlighted, and the urgent need for the computerized follow-up system now being designed for the HBI Production Control office was alluded to.
16. Procedures for handling executive summaries of STCs' reports were described in detail, emphasizing that the Regional Director's covering letter, executive summary, complete set of recommendations and plan of action comprised the "action documentw for the government. These items were edited by HBI staff. The report itself remained unedited and was, wherever possible, transmitted with the executive summary. treating it as a working document for use at the implementation level.
17. Work on Regional Committee documentation and Regional Director's addresses and messages was commented on, and the statistical data were introduced.
D i s c u s s i o n
18. The editing of documentation was discussed. Dr Cooper pointed out that the approach at HQ differed from that of EMRO. With the exception of documentation for the governing bodies, and a few units which had editing staff, documents were not edited. Steps taken to conserve resources and speed
up issuing documentation were therefore now in line with HQ policy. However, it should be remembered that conditions in the Region were different, since EMRO employed many consultants whose mother tongue was not English. It was probable also that documentation received at HQ was in better initial condition.
19. The system of debriefing STCs and editing the executive summary, recommendations and plan of action was discussed in depth. Concern was expressed by Directors regarding technical editing. The Chairman pointed out that Regional Advisers and Programme Directors should discuss the report with the STC thoroughly during the debriefing, clarifying at this stage any technical details and changes as necessary. The report should then be considered as final - no editing was to be undertaken after the consultant had left. Similarly, it was important for the executive summary, recommendations and plan of action to be edited by editorial staff and then approved by both the STC and Regional Adviser during debriefing. The Chairman reminded the meeting that the consultant should already have discussed the report with the WR and the government officials at country level before
leaving at the end of the assignment.
.
.20. In view of their importance, the Chairman then summed up the procedures to be followed. During debriefing the consultant discusses, in addition to the executive summary, the report itself with the adviser and the programme director, and the adviser clears with the consultant any amendments that are
to be introduced. for example because it is contrary to WIIO policy or
contrary to decisions that have been agreed with the government previously, or suggestions for WHO support appear to be binding on the Organization. The adviser and the consultant must have agreed any changes in the report before the executive summary is finalized. So there can be no question of duplication of effort, all revision has to be done during the debriefing:
this is the reason why it had been agreed that a consultant might be kept at EMRO for two or three days, i.e. until the all changes were final.
21. The Chairman reiterated the steps to be followed at the Regional Office:
b "The STC comes for debriefing with his report and his executive summary (he will have embarked on preparing the latter also before coming if he
was properly briefed before going on mission);
b "The Regional Adviser concerned is supposed now to discuss with the
consultant all technical matters and correct any misinterpretations and
misunderstandings with regard to WHO policy, offers of support and so on, so that when the consultant finally leaves he knows what the content of his report is going to be;
b "The executive summary, the full recommendations and plan of action are finalized in consultation with the editor;
b "Before the executive summary is circulated with the report, the Regional Adviser and the Programme Director confirm the adjustments previously agreed with the consultant, also in the light of the final version of the executive summary, because we can't have contradictory statements between the executive summary and the report."
After circulation, a covering letter, the executive summary, recommendations and plan of action are translated as necessary. The agreed adjustments to the report are made in the unit, and these are to be despatched as soon as possible, preferably around two weeks after debriefing.
22. There had never been any question of there being two stages of technical review or technical editing. There is only one stage because changes have to be discussed with the consultant, who has to have explained to him why the changes, if any, are necessary.
23. In response to queries regarding the absence of lists showing technical units what reports had been produced, it was pointed out that these had been discontinued in 1980. With the computerization of reports logging via the IBM PC, it was hoped that, from February 1987, it would be possible to produce quarterly bibliographical lists of reports for each unit as applicable. It would be necessary to input those reports that had been missing from any system of listing between 1980 and end 1985.
24. The issuing of report numbers was discussed. In accordance with international practice, report numbers were only given to reports issued formally. However, since 1984, reports have been given a sequence number which serves as an identifier, and could be used for producing internal lists.
Agenda item 5. Language services (Working paper 7)
25. In the presentation, the background of the use of the Arabic language in the Regional Office and in WHO as a whole was described. It was pointed out that the bulk of regular Arabic language services had from 1979 to 1984 been undertaken by the 'Regional Arabic Programmew.
26. Following the establishment of the Health and Biomedical Information Programme (HBI), there had been a reappraisal of the Language Services Unit, especially with regard to work previously undertaken by RAP. Regular language services were now being absorbed within the regular budget allocation of the Regional Office, and detailed plans had been drawn up to enable a 'minimumn staff structure to be established in the Unit without creating new posts. It was clear that to do this without seriously curtailing other Regional Office activities required that there be the utmost economy in the use of Arabic language services, restricting use to mandatory translation activities, e.g.
communications with Member States. and documentation for the ~ e g i o n a l
Committee, and such other work as would have a maximum impact in support of primary health care activities in Member States.
Discussion
27. Concern was expressed at the delays in translation of correspondence, defined as letters, executive summaries and similar communications, into
Arabic. The Chdir~udn agreed thdt t h i s w d s d priority area and that there should be optimal use of resources in the daily running of the office. The problems of delay were to be studied.
28. Arabic-speaking advisers were encouraged, whenever possible, to write a summary in English containing the gist of correspondence in Arabic. Where this was not possible, such a summary would be prepared by Language Services.
Translation in-full of incoming correspondence should remain an exception.
Agenda item 6. Regional Arabic Programme (Working paper 8)
29. In the presentation about the Regional Arabic Programme, it was pointed out that, in resolution WHA28.34 of 25 May 1975, the World Health Assembly
decided to include the Arabic language among the working languages of WHO. B
The Arab Member States offered to meet collectively the cost of implementing this Resolution during the first three years. Translation of the official documents was divided between WHO Central Office and EMRO.
30. A list of WHO technical publications was submitted by the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health, for translation into and publication in Arabic, and this was considered a Consultative Group Meeting on Arabic Translation. The Group recommended the translation of 21 documents on a priority basis and added five others (one of which was not a WHO document, i.e. Communicable Diseases in Man, APHA) to this list.
Furthermore, the Executive Bureau of the Arab Ministers of Health, during their Ninth Session held in Cairo in March 1977, had requested WHO to prepare two medical dictionaries using Unified Arabic terminology, the first being English/Arabic/French. the second French/Arabic/English. A Special Working commit tee on Arabic Medical Terminology was formed to undertake the preparation of the former, while the other was being prepared using computer techniques.
31. The Regional Arabic Programme w a s Eounded in 1979, financed by a trust
fund of about US$450 000, which constituted the remaining balance of contributions made by Arab Member States to provide for the cost of initially implementing resolution WHA28.34.
32. Agreement was reached with WHO Headquarters, Geneva, that EMRO was to translate and publish, on a selective basis, the WHO Chronicle, World Health, the Public Health Papers, the non-serial publications and offset publications, while WHO Headquarters was to translate the World Health FOrUm, the Bulletin, the Technical Report Series and other official WHO documents.
33. It was noted that the Programme had depended on the services of external translators; the revision, typing and other concomitant services had mainly Been undertaken by staff taken on under the trust fund of the Regional Arabic Programme.
34. In addition to staffing difficulties, the Programme had faced printing problems, but an improvement had been noted. It was suggested that delays in . the production of Arabic publications would continue as long as printing was
undertaken by b u d l a s over which the Proqramme had no control.
35. The objective of the newly organized Regional Arabic Programme was to improve the availability of Arabic language health and health-related literature, with special emphasis being given to the translation of guidelines and training manuals which were of practical value and served the interests of a large number of health workers, and on the basis of selectivity in favour of relevance and actual needs. The new criteria for the Programme operations were presented for discussion.
36. The Committee was then informed that the Council of Arab Ministers of Health, in its session held in Casablanca in March 1986, had decided to pledge the sum of US$500 000 to the Programme, and had urged Arab Member
States to contribute. The Council had also decided to contribute the sum of US$10 000, under the Arab Fund for Health Development, on an annual basis.
37. The ~ ~ $ 1 0 000 for 1986 had been received. However, considering the current global economic down--turn, there was reason to believe that the pledge might not materialize in full in the near future.
38. The Committee was reminded that translations into non-working languages of the Regional Office in support of EMRO collaborative activities with Member States were being undertaken, on an ad hoc basis with external contractors. The Joint HMD/HBl Programme on the Use of National Languages in Health Personnel Education is a user of such services. Furthermore, EMRO collaborative programmes requiring material for use at the peripheral and district levels oE primary health care may approach HBI for such assistance also.
Discussion
39. It was pointed out that, although the emphasis in the Region was on the Arabic language, the major proportion of the population in the Region were not Arabic-speaking. Therefore, the Language Services Unit should not only concentrate on translation into Arabic, but should support development by the use of all local languages, particularly in paramedical teaching. It was agreed that use of national languages was important and the idea was supported. Health teaching/learning materials were already being produced in various local languages through the Joint HMD/HBI Programme mentioned above.
40. Nevertheless, the Committee was reminded that a majority of the Member States of the Region were Arabic-speaking and that the impetus Eor large-scale translation had come from them through the Council oE Arab Ministers of Health, together with funds for setting up the Regional Arabic Programme.
41. Regular budget funds are used to translate into and prepare teaching/learning materials in national languages whereas these services were provided through funds-in-trust for Arabic.
42. The issue of selectivity, and the need for it, was discussed at length both in view of diminishing resources and in order to more clearly define the
target audience- D r Conper explajned that W H O had originally been requested
by the council of Arab Ministers of Health to translate all WHO publications into Arabic - this had proved an impossible task, given current resources.
The chairman then announced that a telex had been received from Dr Al-Awadi, the Council's present Chairman, saying that it had agreed on the need £or selectivity and that criteria should be set up by WHO to establish how selection should be made.
43. Comparisons were made between translations undertaken by USSR and China into Russian and Chinese, respectively, and the case for Arabic. Arabic publications were used by many different countries, not all in the same Region of WHO. The Regional Arabic Programme, receiving contributions to a trust fund, could act as a focal point for such translations. It was to be hoped that HQ could provide funding to the Programme on a basis similar to that used for Russian and Chinese. This had been agreed to in principle by Dr Partow, ADG. A second working group was convened, comprising Dr Cooper,
Recomndation 2 . WHG' C R I T E R I A FOR TRANSLrATION OF PUBLICATIONS INTO THE ARABIC LANGUAGE
44. Publications f o r translation should be considered i n the l i g h t o f one or more o f the following c r i t e r i a :
2 . The publication i s technically sound and meets high standards o f quality and relevance;
2 . The intended readers can only make e f f e c t i v e use o f the publication when i t i s translated i n t o the national language;
3 . The publication promotes the concepts o f primary health care, such as comuni t y participation, intersectoral cooperation, use o f appropriate technology or making optimal use o f resources;
4 . The publication deals with one or more o f the eight elements o f primary health care and i s o f practical value for and suitable for use by primary health care workers;
5 . The publication i s intended t o be used as teaching/learning material appropriate t o the training o f the various categories o f health personnel engaged i n primary health care;
6 . The publication addresses and stimulates decision-makers and leaders i n heal th development a t various l e v e l s ;
7 . The publication i s intended t o serve a large number o f readers or i s directed towards the general pub1 i c .
Recommendation 3 . EMRO C R I T E R I A FOR TRANSLATION OF PUBLICATIONS IMP0
NATIONAL LANGUAGES
4 5 . The c r i t e r i a f o r translation o f publications i nto national languages shall be, mutatis mutandis, similar t o those f o r translation i n t o the Arabic language.
Reconrmendation 4 . WORK OF THE LANGUAGE SERVICES U N I T
4 6 . Translation o f documents and comunications undertaken by the Language Services Unit as part o f the day-to-day work o f the Regional O f f i c e using the working languages o f the Region and charged t o the regular budget shall include those items specified i n world Health Assembly resolution WHA28.34 as they apply t o the Regional O f f i c e .
Recommendation 5 . REGIONAL ARABIC PROGRAMME
Programme o b j e c t i v e
47. To improve t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Arabic language h e a l t h and health-related l i t e r a t u r e t h a t supports the goal o f Health f o r All by t h e Year 2000.
C r i t e r i a f o r work undertaken
48. Work may be undertaken on t e x t s relevant t o h e a l t h and health-related f i e l d s , corresponding t o one o f t h e s i t u a t i o n s below:
1 . Translation o f publications and technical documxnts d e r i v i ng from BMRO a c t i v i t i e s ;
2 . Translation o f publications and technical documents a s agreed with the counczl o f Arab ivlnlscers o f neaicn;
3 . Translation o f publications and technical documents as agreed with individual Member S t a t e s :
4 . Translation o f publications and technical documents a s agreed with WHO Headquarters o r a regional o f f i c e o f WHO;
5 . Translation o f publications and technical documents a s agreed with an i n t e r n a t i o n a l , intergovernmental o r appropriate non-governmental organization;
6 . Development o f a u n i f i e d Arabic h e a l t h terminology: and
7 . Cooperation i n the p r i n t i n g , publishing, s a l e s and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f any o f t h e above manuscripts.
The c r i t e r i a applicable t o s e l e c t i o n of manuscripts f o r t r a n s l a t i o n i n lJHO
s h a l l be applied i n s e l e c t i n g work undertaken by t h e Regional Arabic Frogranme.
Mr Al-Hakim, Dr Khayat and Dr Khogali, to agree upon the conditions for receiving such funding from HQ under the regular budget.
49. The responsibility for making selections now devolved on WHO. In this respect Em0 should take the initiative, specifying which WHO publications should receive priority in translation, publication and distribution.
50. The Chairman expressed the need for principles to be laid down for the select ion process. It was pointed out that many publicat ions addressed health professionals. Since most senior technical personnel and health professionals preferred to read and could understand the original, was it really meaningful and good use of resources to translate such texts? Mid-level and low-level health personnel and the public in general did not receive sufficient
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 10
attention. Priority should be given to teaching/learning materials and to publications aimed at decision-makers and the public. It was necessary also
to establish (a) what was the level of demand for a publi.cation; and
(b) whether the target audience would be unable to make use of the information unless it was in Arabic.
51. The criteria determined by a working group comprising Mr Al-Hakim, Dr Cooper, Dr Khayat and Dr Omer governing translation of publications into Arabic were discussed and agreed (recommendation 2). Approval for translation of publications would follow the usual EMRO procedures, requiring submittal to the Proposals Review Committee. It was also agreed that similar criteria would apply to translations into other languages (recommendation 3 ) .
52. Subsequently, the need to clarify the criteria of the programme was discussed to take into account the publishing, as well as the translating, process. The criteria would enable comparison with the objectives of the HBI programme and would define the basis for allocating work between the different HBI units. Criteria far Language services and the Regional Arabic Programme were then agreed.
53. Discussion then centred on applying the new criteria to actual selection of material presently being translated. It was agreed that production of the translated version of the WHO Chronicle should also cease. It was suggested that any outstanding articles of Regional interest could be extracted and the translation published, for example, in the Health services Journal.
Dlscusslon rnen focused on the WHO TeChnlCal Report Series. The purpose was said to be two-fold, (a) to spread information from WHO in Arabic, and (b) to promote the use of Arabic in the health field, thus developing terminology.
Nevertheless, given the lack of resources, the latter was a matter secondary to that of spreading knowledge where it was most needed. (It was noted in passing that the publications in the series were the least expensive to produce in Arabic.) It was agreed, however, that the series was no longer to be translated on a regular basis but only on the basis of proven need.
54. It was agreed that information about current publications in the Technical Reports Series should be published, with abstracts, in a suitable WHO journal, For example in the EMR Epidemiological Bulletin for publicat ions of interest to its readership. There was now a six-monthly catalogue of WHO publications which could serve as a source of suitable brief information of this type. If this generated demand for an Arabic version of one or other bvvk, t r a r ~ s l a t l v n could be arranged on an ad-noc Dasls.
55. In considering the division of work between WHO HQ, EMRO and the Arab Centre for Medical Literature, Kuwait, Chinese experience with the Bulletin was noted.
56. It was called to mind that the First Meeting of the Committee had emphasized that the style of Arabic used in translations should be appropriate to the type of publication and the target audience.
57. It was also agreed that international bibliographical standards should be adhered to, in particular with respect to recording the bibliographical data of- the original publication on the verso of the title page of the translation.
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 11
Recommendation 6. DIVISION OF LABOUR IN TRANSLATION OF WHO PUBLICATION.5 INTO THE ARABIC LANGUAGE
58. Regular translation into the Arabic language of WHO publi cations shall be based on the WHO Criteria for Translation of Publications Into the Arabic Language and shall be divided between Headquarters, the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean's RegionaZ Arabic Programme, and the Arab Centre for Medical Literature, Kuwait, as follows:
1. MHQ Headquarters: world Health Forum in coto;
2. EMRO: fa) Selected articles from "World Health" to make 4 Arabic language issues per year;
(b) Selected Non-serial Pub1 ications;
(c) Selected Pub1 ic Health Papers.
3. ACML: fa) Articles from the "Bulletin" selected by EM-RO to make 2 Arabic language issues per year;
fbl Selected Offset Publications.
59. Production of translations of the WHO Chronicle shall cease forthwith, and the WHO Technical Report series shall no longer be translated on a regular basis but only in response to a defined need.
Agenda item 7. Joint publication (Working paper 11)
60. Dr cooper presented the working paper on joint publication.* He outlined the various types of cooperation that could be envisaged. He also enumerated ttle reasons for joint publlcatlon.
61. Joint publication had been recommended by the General Programme Committee (GPC) in particular "when a publication is needed in only one language when the 'subject is not one on which publication by WHO itself is particularly indicated, or where a specialized mode of distribution is required" [Study reconlnendat ion 21, Annex IVI
.
WHO should itself publish international standards, fnr instance. In addition. the study had recommended that guidelines be drawn up to establish procedures for joint publication; in all cases, final control over content had to remain with WHO. The GPC had also recommended that "it should be mandatory for technical programmes to seek the advice of the publications programme before arranging for publication outside WHO" [Study recommendatiorl 231. It was commented that this was an important recommendation, and that there would be times whenHBI/EMRO would want to consult HBI/HQ concerning such a request in gMRO.
* Reproduced as Annex IV.
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 12
6 2 . Dr Cooper went on to remind the meeting that, although there were many
advantages for WHO in undertaking a joint publishing venture, there were also
pitfalls. Joint publication was a complex and time. consurninq p r o c e d ~ ~ r e ,
requiring very careful drawing-up of contracts and decisions regarding pricing, distribution, royalties and the numbers of copies to be printed free-of-charge. Publishers tended to have standard contracts for joint publishing which were not always suited to WHO'S needs and which the publishers were reluctant to modify.
Discussion
63. It was noted that EMRO is already taking advantage of HQ and E U H O ' s
experience in dealing with publishers and in drawing up contracts.
64. The main problems experienced by EM% were securing (a) quality printing and binding, and (b) efficient distribution. Ideally, a publisher should be found who could cover both these aspects.
6 5 . The question of EMRO publishing jointly with a private publisher was
considered. It was suggested that the most suitable publications would be those which did not involve specialized material of a mandatory nature.
66. A publisher would not be willing to undertake joint publication with WHO unless he could be sure of the demand in advance. WHO benefited Erom the experience of an established publisher by its gaining access to facilities not reaally available otnerwlse, wnile the puDllsher shared the prestige of W O l s name. WHO would be able to guarantee the publisher a minimum sale but must also take care to negotiate a percentage return so that it would benefit Erom any wide circulation and sales that might be achieved. However, bearing in mind that publishers had to make profit, it was necessary to determine whether the suggested manuscript was commercially viable, a task which was beyond WHO'S capability. Market surveys were essential tools for determining viability and publishers' advice and judgement must be taken. (Indeed, it was pointed out, a commercial publisher might help WHO by advising on how to make such assessments.)
67. Mr Tayyeb stated that, in choosing a publisher, WHO had to take into consideration his experience and field of expertise, perhaps also his
"philosophy"; a publisher was sometimes willing to take on a risky venture if he thought it might bring a worthwhile return, or which might be covered by
the returns on anoLher p u b l l c a t l o r ~ .
68. It was impossible for WHO to build up the expertise necessary for it to operate efficiently in each individual country. It should operate through national distributors. Mr Tayyeb pointed out that, in the Region, no distributor was large enough to cope with the Region as a whole. It was certainly possible for WHO to make use of the distribution networks of a number of joint publishers. In this case the v8rious publishers would require sole agency rights for their respective areas.
69. WHO would always have to undertake a certain amount of free distribution. How would this affect joint publishing? ~f WHO "buys" those copies from the publisher, he need not be much affected. If delivery of free copies is agreed in the contract and there is a large free distribution in the publisher's area, this factor might be very unfavourably looked upon.
WHBI/PBD/~-E page 13
70. It was pointed out that HQ operated a variable pricing system, offering the same publication at a price varying with the state of national development, any currency restrictions in force, etc. This also had to be taken into account in joint publishing.
71. The ratio of free to sold copies was an interesting statistic: it was 1:l for English, 2.5:l for French and 80:l for Arabic. While this could be improved in Arabic simply by cutting down the number of copies given away free, the ratio did not tell all; the absolute number of copies sold of Arabic publications was small.
72. It was established that an investigation was needed to discover possible joint publishers and that a publisher's help should be enlisted for determining marketability and to advise on distribution.
73. It was suggested that WHO should encourage self-reliance in this, as in other areas. Countries should be encouraged to publish locally, perhaps through the private sector. A set oE Eilms .could be sent to the printer. It
was pointed out that in many countries, the problem was not one of printing, but of binding. It was felt that joint publication with governments should be encouraged; the idea of a publications revolving fund was also mentioned.
SELLING PUBLICATIONS
74. It was stated that WHO had to adopt a more commercial outlook, including reducing its mandatory and other free distribution, and changing its outlook with a view to actively promoting sales of its publications, recovering costs so that the publications programmes can remain "alive". The current level of
"visibility" of WHO publications in the Region was extremely low and could only be improved by a change in attitude.
75. WHO had indeed begun to take a more business-like view of sales and had begun to look at commercial means of promoting sales. It was employing staff with specialized experience to promote English publications, and there had been a 12% increase in sales. The expertise being built up might be of use to m o when it Is conslderlng dlstrlbutlon and sales in January 1987.
76. The question of charge-back to Member States for reprinting Drug Information Sheets following requests for large numbers of copies was discussed at length. It was noted that there was no publications budget by means of which HBI would cover reprinting costs; at the same time, not all countries could afford to pay for large numbers of copies, especially if they had not been budgeted for in advance. It was suggested that, with a new printing, only roll-on costs need be charged.
77. It was important to distinguish the type of publications and the size of the re-roll required. In the case of Drug Information Sheets very large numbers were required for community health workers.
78. It was felt that, since the countries of the Region were so diverse in their resources, an appropriate approach would be to charge according to a country's ability to pay. For example, countries that have the means to finance reprints should do so, while countries with insufficient resources should be charged from their country allocations.
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 14 DISTRIBUTION
79. The meeting then went on to discuss distribution of publications at . country level. The question of how to identify and reach the right audience was paramount. This required cooperation at the planning stage between HBI and the technical unit, the latter carefully establishing its target audience, and staff involved in sales and distribution. It was also important that publications should reach their intended audience and not, as was often the case, the wrong person or no person at all; free publications were sent to ministries of health and it was clear that very few copies were reaching the desired audience through this channel. Targeted distribution using the CONTACT mailing list should be used, and an effort should be made to implement this.
AOAPTAT Iffl
80. The question was raised of adaptation in joint publication. HQ favoured adaptation of texts in Member States to suit local conditions, although it had little experience of this. Regional offices were closer to countries and were better placed to encourage them to adapt material. Adaptation at country level wbuld tend to ensure relevance and cultural acceptability, though an element of control would need to be retained by WHO. This could be the basis of a joint publishing venture with a ministry or the private sector. However, WHO had to retain copyright.
81. It was suggested that the two-person assessment team might consider the question of adaptation, looking at the needs of countries from within.
Whether adaptation at regional rather than national level was necessary depended on individual publications.
82. One reason for adaptation was, all too often, that a publication was awash with WHO jargon, and this had to be edited out and adapted to suit a normal reader.
Agenda item 8. Implementation of W ' s General Publications Policy and the GPC/PDW Study Recommendations in EMRO
(Working paper 9)
83. The background to the GPC/PDYC Study o n Publications Policy was given.
and the GPC views on definition of target audiences and the catastrophically poor penetration of WHO'S publication were noted.
8 4 . The recommendat ions of the Genet-a1 Publlcat ions CommiL Lee were then examined in detail and action suggested for EHRO. Several amendments were made, and the final recommendations appear as Annex V to this report. HBI was
-
requested to drawn up a Plan of Actiw for implementing these and other .
recommendations of the EMRO Committee.
~/HBI/PBD/I-E page 15
Reconrmendation 7. ACTION DERIVING FROM THE REGOMMENDATIONS OF THE GPC/PLWG
GLOBAL PUBLICATIONS POLICY S!rUDY
8 5 . The d e t a i l e d reconmendations of t h e Comni ttee i n r e s p e c t o f t h o s e o f t h e GPC/PDWG Global P u b l i c a t i o n s P o l i c y Study are presented i n Annex V . HBI should u s e t h e s e and t h e o t h e r recommendations o f t h e Coamri ttee a t i t s f i r s t and second meetings t o prepare a plan o f work f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n b y t h e Proposals Review C o m i t tee. A f i n a l d r a f t should then b e transmi t t e d f o r d e c i s i o n t o t h e Regional Programme C o m i t tee.
Agenda itern 9. Financial situation and resources (Working paper 10)
86. Mr Piel, Director, Support Programme' (EMRO) described the financial situation of HBI. It was pointed out that any proposed activities and plan of action would have to take place within current budgetary resources. Since
there was an absolute freeze on new posts, there was no possibility of
obtaining new ones in HBI unless they were appropriated from other programmes. It was noted that while Language Services Unit staff were funded from regular budget, Regional Arabic Programme staff were funded from both
regular budget and funds-in-trust. The effect of budgetary cut-backs because
of the need to implement a contingency plan for an expected contribution short-fall was discussed.
87. Dr Cooper subsequently detailed the effects of the budgetary cuts on HBI/HQ. All programmes at Headquarters had been asked to cut expenditures by 5% for the 1986-1987 biennium and to make contingency plans for a 10%
reduction in the 1988-1989 biennium. Much of HBI's 5% cut had been accounted for by suspending publication of the WHO Chronicle for the next three years.
If the 10% cut had to be implemented, the Offset Publications series and the Public Health Papers would also have to be discontinued; the WHO Bulletin
would be reduced by 160 pages in 1988 and a further 220 pages in 1989-
Non-serial publications would be reduced by four, from 30 to 26, and the technical report series (resulting from a reduction in meetings) by four also.
68. A number of editing and translating posts had been abolished in 1977.
since then work had had to be contracted out. The 10% reduction would severely affect this, making it necessary to limit editing and translation to what could be done in-house.
D i s c u s s i o n
89. Several suggestions were put forward on ways of mobilizing external resources. It was suggested that a Regional revolving fund might be set up.
fed by the sale of commercially viable publications. It was pointed out, however, that at present only HQ was able to operate a revolving fund and that money generated regionally was invested globally. It was suggested that an attempt might need to be made to change this ruling. Alternatively BMRO might be able to have a sub-account within the global revolving fund. It was
noted that any money generated by sales based on publications deriving from ,
.
work paid for from the trust fund could be returned to the fund and recycled
EM/HBI/PBD/ 1-E page 16
without difficulty. Mr Tayyeb warned participants not to be too optimistic about the revenue that would be generated through sales.
90. It was proposed that programmes use country allocations to purchase .
publications related to cooperative programmes. Examples of where this had been done were cited from Division of Health Manpower Development. This would be a valuable way of promoting and generating income for WHO publications ,
within the regular budget. Furthermore, such purchases were often of greater value to Member States than some items requested as supplies or equipment.
This idea also formed part of the recommendations of the GPC.
91. It was suggested that extrabudgetary resources be sought from charitable institutions in Member States, which regularly donate money to academic, cultural and humanitarian purposes. Naturally, due recognition would be given to them as sponsors. Also a number of universities might be happy to print or co-publish books that were needed but might not be commercially viable.
Riyadh University in Saudi Arabia was cited as an example that entered into such ventures.
92. It was agreed that consideration had to be given to financial resources and funding possibilities when developing the plan of action for HBI ( s e e
recommendation 7).
Closing
93. For lack oE time. Agenda item 10. the introduction to the HE1 Production
Control System, had to be deferred.
94. The Chairman thanked the members of the Committee for their work and indicated that their recommendations and the Summary report would be transmitted to the Regional Director for approval.
Collected recommendations
Recommendation 1. TIMELY PUBLICATION para. 12
A s t u d y s h o u l d be made o f t h e p u b l i ~ a t i o n s p r o c e s s i n EMRO t o determine
what can be done t o shorten the time between submission o f a proposal and presentation o f the final manuscript, and that between submission o f t h i s manuscript and the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f the publication. The study should seek t o d e f i n e the constraints peculiar to KMRO and t o suggest solutlons. I t should address the question o f rational and more e f f e c t i v e use o f resources, both human and financial, the advantages and disadvantages o f using external services and the mechanism o f exchanging information about pub1 ications between the Regional O f f i c e and Headquarters.
Recomendation 2 . WHO CRITERIA FOR TRANSLATION OF
PUBLICATIONS INTO THE ARABIC LANGUAGE
para -44
Publications for translation should be considered In the l i g h t o f one or more o f the following c r i t e r i a :
1. The publication .is technically sound and meets high standards o f quality and relevance;
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 17
2. The intended readers can only make e f f e c t i ve use o f the publication when i t i s translated i n t o the nati onal language:
3 . The publication promotes the concepts o f primary health care, such as comuni t y participation, intersectoral coopera t i o n , use o f approprf a t e technology or making optimal use o f resources;
4 . The publication deals w i t h one or more o f the e i g h t elements of primary health care and i s o f practical value for and suf table for use b y
primary health care workers;
5 . The publication i s intended t o be used as teaching/learning material appropriate t o the training o f the various categories o f health personnel engaged i n primary health care:
6 . The publication addresses and stimulates decision-makers and leaders i n heal t h development a t various l e v e l s ;
7 . The publication i s intended t o serve a large number o f readers or i s directed towards the general public.
Recommendation 3 . EMZO CRITERIA FOR TRANSLATION OF
PUBLICATIONS INTO NATIONAL LANGUAGES
para -45
Tho c r i t e r i a for t r a n s l a t i o n o f p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t o n a t i o n a l lrrnyuayes
shall b e , mutatis mutandis, similar t o those f o r translation i n t o the Arabic 1 anguage
.
Recommendation 4 . WORK OF THE LANGUAGE SERVICES U N I T para -46
Translation o f documents and communications undertaken b y the Language Services u n i t as part of the day-to-day work o f the Regional Office using the working languages o f the Region and charged t o the regular budget shall include those items specified i n World Health Assembly resolution WHA28.34 as t h e y apply t o the Reg1 onal O f f i c e .
Recommendation 5 . REGIONAL ARABIC P R O C ~ para .47
Progrannae objective
To improve the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Arabic language health and health-related I f terature that supports the goal o f Health for A l l b y the Year 2000.
C r i C e r i a f o r mrk under tuken
Work may be undertaken on t e x t s relevant t o health and health-related f i e l d s , corresponding t o one o f the situations below:
1. Translation o f publications and technical documents deriving from EKRO
a c t i v i t i e s ;
2. Translation of publications and technical documents as agreed with the Council of Arab Ministers o f Health;
3 . Translation o f publications and technical documents as agreed with individual Member S t a t e s ;
EM/HBI/PBD/~-E page 18
4 . Translation o f publications and techni cal documents as agreed w i t h IJHO
Headquarters or a regional o f f i c e o f WHO;
5 . Translation o f publications and technical documents as agreed with an international
,
intergovernmental or appropriate non-governmental organization;6 . Development o f a unified Arabic health terminology; and
7 . Cooperation i n the printing, publishing, sales and distribution o f any o f the above manuscripts.
The c r i t e r i a applicable t o selection o f manuscripts for translation i n WHO
shall be applied i n selecting work undertaken by the Regional Arabic Programme.
Recommendation 6 . DIVISION OF LABUUK I N TRANSLATION OF WHO PUBLICATIONS INTO THE ARABIC LANGUAGE
p a r a . 58
R e g u l a r t r a n s l a t i o n i n t o the A r a b i c language of WHO p u b l i c a t i o n s shall
be based on the WHO Criteria for Translation o f Publications i n t o the Arabic Language and shall be d l v i ded be tween Headquarters
,
the Regional O f f f ce for the Eastern Mediterranean's Regional Arabic Progranane, and the Arab Centre for Medical Literature, K w a l r , as follows:1. WHO Headquarters : World Heal th Forum i n t o to ;
2 . EMRO: ( a ) Selected a r t i c l e s from "World Healthw t o make 4 Arabic language issues per year;
(bl Selected Non-serial Publications;
f c ) Selected Public Health Papers.
3 . ACML: f a ) Articles from the "Bulletinw selected b y ENRO t o make 2 Arablc language issues per year;
tbl Selected O f f s e t Pub1 ications
.
Production o f translations o f the WHO Chronicle shall cease forthwith
,
and the WHO Technical Report s e r i e s shall no longer be translated on a r e g u l a r b a s i s b u t o n l y i n r e s p o n s e t o a desined need.
Recommsndation 7 . ACTION DERIVING FROM THE RECOMMENDATIONS para -85 OF THE GPC/PDWG GLQBAL PUBLICATIONS POLICY STUDY
The detailed recommendations o f the C0nnn.i t t e e i n respect o f those o f the - GPC/PDWG Global Publications Policy Study are presented i n Annex V . HBI should use these and the other r e c o m n d a t i o n s o f the Committee a t i t s f i r s t and second meetings t o prepare a plan o f work f o r consideration b y the Proposals Review Coinmi t t e e
.
A f i n a l d r a f t should then be transmi t t e d for decision t o the Regional Programne C o m i t t e e .~ / H B I / P B D / ~ - B page 19 ANNEX I
AGENDA
1. Introductory address
2. Approval of the Agenda Doc/ 1
3. Publicat ions
4. Documentation (including reports)
5. Language Services DOC/7
6. The Regional Arabic Programme DOC/8
7. Joint publication DOC/11
8. Implementation of WHO'S General Publications Policy
and the GPC Study recommendations In EMRO Wc/9 9. Financial situation and resources =/lo 10. Demonstration of HE1 Production Control System and
advanced use of WANG m / 1 2
11. Other business Other documents
Programme (see Annex 11)
List of participants (see Annex 111) Not issued
Final report
