World Health Organization

Immediately after the close of the Executive Board's session held from October 25 to November 11, 1948, representatives of seventeen European countries met at a conference at Geneva and outlined the ways in which the World Health Organization could assist in the health rehabilitation of the war-devastated countries in Europe. The following decisions were made: 1) to establish a Bureau of Medical Supplies to advise governments on procurement of essential drugs and to provide supplies in an emergency; 2) to carry out a large-scale research program based on the results of the International Tuberculosis Campaign; 3) to stimulate penicillin production; 4) to set up a special temporary office to deal with the specific problems of the war-devastated European countries; 5) to prepare the integration of the Pan American Sanitary Organization with WHO as a regional body for the Western Hemisphere; 6) to apply new procedures in the field of mental health; 7) to grant $600,000 for fellowships and medical literature; 8) to appropriate $800,000 to assist countries which had requested aid; and 9) to allocate $200,000 to regional organizations of WHO.