UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES
W O R L D H E A L T H O R G A N 1 Z A T I O N
FOURTH ïvORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
ORGANISATION jMONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ
A4/45
11 May 1951
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH'
CENTRAL TECHNICAL SERVICES! HEALTH STATISTICS A. GENERAL STATEMENT CF THE PROGRAME FOR 1952.
B. GENERAL PROGRAMME OF WORK COVERING A SPECIFIC PERIOD.
(Provisional Agenda Items 5.3 and 5.4)
Paper Submitted by the United Kingdom Delegation.
1. The General Statement of the Programme for 1952 purports to set out the
objectives in the sphere of Health Statistics.^- A point which is not brought out in this statement - although, no doubt, it is implied in this and other documents of the Organization - is the importance of statistics to the Organization itself in formulating its policy, in guiding its operations and in appraising results.
Health programmes should be founded upon, and guided by, good statistics, wherever they are available or can be made available. This use of statistics was the
subject cf г paper submitted by the United Kingdom Delegation to the Second World Health Assembly.2
2. The 1952 programme for Health Statistics states that "the first objective of the Organization is to help national health administrations to improve their
statistics". In the view of the United Kingdom Delegation, another very important aim should also be given express mention, vizs- that the Organization at
Headquarters should continue the gradual building up of a body of sound statistical and other information by which the policy of the Organization, including the
Regions, can be guided and progress measured. (This does not mean that the Regions
1 Off.Reс? World Hlth.0rg. 31, pp.53 and 54
2 Off.Rec. World Hlth.Org. 21, p. 367
A4/45 , • page 2
should necessarily be dependent solely upon Headquarters for the collection and.
analysis of statistics relating to their areas.)
3. Like the General Statement of the Programme for 1952, the General Programme 3
of Yiork Covering a Specific Period does not expressly mention as a function of Health Statistics the assisting of the Organization itself to frame policy, guide operations and evaluate results.
4. The general objective (which, it is submitted, should be expressly recognized) is that Statistics, as an integral part of the Central Technical Services at
Geneva, should be so developed as to be able effectively to assist the Advisory Services there and the Regions and that, in turn, those Services and the Regions should draw to the full upon the increasing pool of statistical information so acquired within the Central Technical Services. In this way the programmes formulated or sponsored by the Organization and the assessment of results will be increasingly guided by objective data.
5. The United Kingdom Delegation therefore submits the following draft Resolution:
The Fourth World Health Assembly
RESOLVES that in future general statements on the programme of the Organization should recognise, without prejudice'to other
objectives, that a main aim of the Organization should bet
(1) gradually to build up in the Central Technical Services a body of sound statistical information and advice by which the policy of the Organization, including the Regions, can be guided and its operations and their results measured, and
(2) to encourage the various branches and Regions of the Organization to make the fullest use of the statistical data and facilities so made available in the Central Technical Services,
3 Off.Rec. World Hlth.0rg. 32, Annex 10
