Journal of Humanitarian Medicine - vol. VIII - n. 3 -July/September 2008

Introduction

On 7 April 2008, exactly 60 years to the day after the World Health Organization was offìcially launched, the International Association for Humanitarian Medicine Brock Chisholm (IAHM) had the privilege of organizing the WHO Anniversary Celebratory Conference that took place under the Honorary Presidency of Dr Halfdan Mahler, Director-General Emeritus, with the presence of the incumbent Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, as honoured guest. As the Association’s name implies, IAHM is inspired by - and upholds - the vision and legacy of the first Director-General, Dr Brock Chisholm, and it is appropriate that this celebration was held at WHO Headquarters.

In a brief introduction Dr William Gunn, President of IAHM, outlined the beginnings of WHO, highlighting the premordial role of its earliest mentor, Dr Brock Chisholm in the Dawn of World Health; Dr Jo Asvall*, a Regent of IAHM, spoke of WHO at 60, Health and More; Professor Michel Vallotton* of Geneva University sketched the perspective Towards Universal Health Ethics, while Helena Nygren-Krug of WHO stressed the fundamentals of Health and Human Rights. The presentations are briefly given below.

On this special occasion the Association’s Anniversary Medal and the IAHM book, Concepts and Practice of Humanitarian Medicine, were ceremonially presented to WHO, graciously received by Dr Chan.

The Dawn of World Health

S.W.A. Gunn

President, International Association for Humanitarian Medicine Brock Chisholm

It is a privilege for the International Association for Humanitarian Medicine to welcome its overseas members and the many friends of the World Health Organization to this special Commemorative Meeting on World Health Day - special, because we are celebrating the 60th Anniversary of WHO and, by the same token, honouring the legacy of the first Director-General of the Organization, Dr Brock Chisholm, the inspiring force behind our Association, which rightly bears his name.

On thìs historic occasion it is fitting to briefly recall the beginnings of WHO which, from the start, are inseparably linked with the vision and action of Dr Brock Chisholm. So also, in a much more modest way, are the beginnings and vision of the International Association for Humanitarian Medicine.

The WHO story begins, in a very embryonic way, not in 1948, whose 60th edition we are celebrating today, but three years earlier, at the immediate end of World War II. In 1945, full of hope and ideals, governments came together in San Francisco to establish a new world order, the United Nations. From the outset it was felt that health was essential in post-war reconstruction, and health was entered as Article 55 of the UN Charter. Accordingly, the Economic and Social Council convened a Technical Preparataory Committee (TPC) to draft proposals for an international conference to discuss the formation of a health institution that was to be more universal and more effective than the preceding League of Nations’ Health Organization.

Dr G. Brock Chisholm, the delegate of Canada, was one of the 16 members of the TPC, which laid the foundations and was to become the seed of the future WHO. As family physician and psychiatrist Dr Chisholm was keenly interested in human relations and was special lecturer in social sciences at the University of Toronto when the Second World War broke out. He had suffered the savagery of the First World War, being twice decorated for bravery, and joined again in 1940 as a volunteer, rapidly rising in ranks, becoming director of army personnel selection in 1941 and, in 1942, Director-General of Medical Services, with the rank of Major-General. From high military service he was called to higher civilian service in 1944 as Deputy Minister of National Health, a post he held till 1946, when his international career began.

At the United Nations, besides being Rapporteur of the key TPC, he was elected Chairman of its important Drafting Committee. In a surprisingly record time of only 19 days the Committee prepared a draft, setting forth the ideals, mechanisms, structure and virtually the constitution of a world-wide organization. Dr Chisholm’s personality, energy, experience, and idealism shine in the minutes of those earliest meetings, and it is no exaggeration that the very name of WHO is due to him, as indeed is his enlightened interpretation of “Health”. The preamble of the Constitution of WHO states: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

The objective of the Organization is laid down: it shall be “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health” (Article 1). In the name of the TPC Dr Chisholm presented the report to the United Nations Assembly. An International Health Conference was called which met in New York in June and July 1946, delegations from all the then 51 Member States of the UN attending; and an Interim Commission (IC) was established to ensure continuity until the Constitution was ratified.

As Rapporteur it fell again on Dr Chisholm to present the report of the TPC to the IC. With minor modifications all the proposals were accepted. Canada was one of the 18 countries chosen to make up the Interim Commission. Her choice was obvious. Thus constituted, the IC set to work immediately, and Dr Chisholm was elected its Executive Secretary as of the first session. Originally housed at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the Commission undertook much health work that could not await the formal inauguration of the Organization and, for all intents and purposes, it became the international health body. Those gestational years were of utmost importance, as planning, improvisation, field services, trial and error proved most beneficial when the first World Health Assembly was convened in 1948, the required number of ratifications having been obtained on April 7, since then designated as World Health Day.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) determines the policies of the Organization and is its ultimate authority. As Executive Secretary of the IC it again became Dr Chisholm’s task to present the report of the Commission to the WHA. Policies, programmes, mechanisms and objectives were debated at length, and Dr Chisholm was chosen to guide the World Health Organization as its first Director-General. He held the helm of the Organization until 1953, and his services, achievements and tremendous legacy can best be summarized in the words of his successor, Dr Marcolino Candau, who had this to say on taking up the torch: “The name Chisholm means far more than just that of the first Director-General of WHO. It is a name that has become identified during the years with the basic ideals of the Organization: infinite respect for the dignity of man, wherever and under whatever conditions he lives; clear and serene vision of the forces which will decide his fate; and unbroken determination to devote every day’s energy towards the creation of a peaceful world community in which material, spiritual and cultural progress achieved by each nation will benefit all.”

That, in fact, epitomizes the mission of WHO, which has since grown to the mature age of 60, firmly anchoring the initial ideals, expanding the field of action, establishing the doctrine of Health for All, and protecting the inalienable human right of everyone to health. With these ideals, and with Mrs Grace Chisholm’s foresight, in 1984 we founded the Brock Chisholm Memorial Trust, now named the International Association for Humanitarian Medicine Brock Chisholm, which today pays homage to the Organization at this significant milepost, and feels privileged to present the Association’s Medal to the seventh Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan.