Pharmaceutical Companies Take Control Over World Health Organisation

By Rudie van Meurs
Vrij Nederland 21 Oct. 1989

The following is an extract of the dutch publication.

Women out and industry in. Since the Japanese Hiroshi Nakajima became top-ranking manager of the World Health organisation last year changes have been dramatic over there. Pharmaceutical industries are taking over rapidly. The headquarters in Geneva are quietly changing into a sycophantic bureaucracy, where officials (Nakajima only wants men) dare talk only in a whisper and anonymously.

... it goes hardly noticed that somewhere it is jokingly mentioned that Nakajima is a 'phallocrat'. Once he expressed an unfavourable opinion about women who wear jeans instead of dresses. ... But Nakajima's antipathy does not stop there. Generally he does not like women in important positions within the WHO. Meanwhile he has removed five from their managerial functions: Ingmar Brüggeman, Sumedha Khanna, Claire Chollat-Traquet, Ann kern and Angèle Petros-Barvazian. They were either replaced somewhere else in the world or put under a male boss.

For the first time in history a Japanese heads the World Health Organisation. Some officials to whom I speak ("Don't quote me, for God's sake") call this "cynical". The United Nations, including corresponding organisations, were founded to avoid that Germany and Japan would ever play an important role in world politics. The Dane Ernst Lauridsen, until shortly one of the leading directors within the WHO, says: "West Germany consciously plays a modest role in the system of the United nations. The Germans paid their price for their attempt to dominate the world. However, the Japanese have an entirely different approach to influence and power. They very obviously want to dominate an organisation that is aimed at preventing them of repeating the same gruesome mistakes from the past."

..Very often positions are divided after exhausting interventions of specially appointed ambassadors operating in these surroundings. They are especially after D2 and UG functions for people that can be placed with difficulty in the home countries or for tucking away shunted off politicians. In practise people are never fired in Geneva. At the very most their contracts expire.

..In general the 'agencies' of the United nations are facing criticism because of a failing policy. There are complaints about incompetention, nepotism and autocratic behaviour. This is mainly due to the structure of the organisation. A director-general of a UN agency has more or less unlimited power. He is chosen for five years and rules during that period a 'super ministry' with a legislative meeting of its own - the 'executive board'. But elusive for the secretary general of the United Nations and independent of any government whatsoever.

..Ten years ago Mahler directed his energy towards the so called Essential Drugs Program - an action to transport only the basic drugs to the poorest countries. ... It soon proved that the world needs only a list of about 350 different drugs to fight all diseases that can be fought. Introducing such a list would leave about three quarters of the pharmaceutical industry, which has very interest in keeping the myth alive that more sorts of drugs automatically mean more health, without means of support.

..Therefore the pharmaceutical industry reacted furiously on Mahler's attempts to let the world population choose more sensibly. And with the aid of governments of the US, West Germany and Japan - the countries with the most powerful drugs manufacturers - they drew a net round him that finally made it impossible for him to work successfully... resulting in Mahler leaving. His position was taken by Nakajima who, before he started working at the WHO ten years ago, was research director of Hoffmann-La Roche, ranking fifth on the list of largest pharmaceutical industries in the world.

...

[The Essential Drugs Program] got thanks to Lauridsen financial support from the Netherlands, which became the leading financier of the program with a donation of 20 million guilders. Denmark donated fifteen million, Finland six million. The countries with the largest pharmaceutical industries donated nothing. ... Developing countries reacted enthusiastically for now they could buy the essential drugs thanks to the considerable savings - the industry got in a bitter mood. Lauridsen: "The pharmaceutical industry saw its sales and income fall drastically. we not only restricted the number of drugs to over two hundred and fifty, we also propagated restriction of use. It happened precisely in those years that the industrialised countries were flooded with new drugs which the industry thought it could market in the developing countries. There they act much more agressively than on the home markets. But the action of the WHO resulted in things turning out differently. The sales of the industry were thwarted, regulated. ... The industry accused us of influencing their market. Manufacturers started intimidating us. Suddenly everywhere letters and documents were circulating which said that we were agents of Moscow. ... According to the industry the WHO was busy undermining the industrial life in the West and it was our intention to deprive the world of further possibilities to develop drugs. ... The pharmaceutical industry knew we were right. As a consequence of our plan to restrict the supply of drugs, they would for the first time have to compete over the price. That would finally have led to cheaper products."

In 1988 [Mahler] decided to no longer stand for re-election. On the list of candidates Nakajima was second. First was a Brazilian who was also supported by Mahler. To the surprise of all concerned Nakajima was unexpectedly chosen - with US support. Three days after his taking up the position a reorganisation of the drugs program was started. ... Immediately after Nakajima became director-general the US decided to pay their donation 100 % again. The pharmaceutical industry says through its spokesman Jean-Francois Gaullis: "The Third World is a market for all industries. Coca-Cola is there, the drugs industry should also be able to move about freely. Nakajima understands our point of view." *