Dear Members,

The UNWA Board is busily planning its calendar for the remainder of the year. We are trying to make the monthly meetings interesting and stimulating as well as informative. Share with us your thoughts and ideas on what you would like to see. Many thanks to Bui Thi Lan, FAO Representative, for the warm welcome received by UNWA at its January monthly meeting and the excellent presentation that followed.

I would like to share with you a few gems about an organization whose global impact begins here at the epicenter in Bangladesh. ICDDR,B has an interesting story to tell. It began as the SEATO Cholera Laboratory in 1960. It became an international organization in 1978, whose conceptual framework was guided in its development by an organizing committee headed in 1978-79 by Mr. William T. Mashler, Sr. Director of the Division of Global and Interregional Projects at UNDP, and endorsed by a list of participant governments and UN organizations and public foundations. Many of its original organizers remain key donors to this day.

This month marks the 25th Anniversary of the Pledging Conference that took place in Geneva in February 1979, where 10 governments, 4 UN Agencies and 4 foundations pledged support for what is today the ICDDR,B — Centre for Health and Population Research, endorsing its international status and its unique role in providing health solutions that address the most critical needs of developing countries.

Its global health contributions are significant. Oral Rehydration Solution, “ORS”, formulated at ICDDR,B was globally disseminated through the work of UNICEF and WHO with funds from USAID. It proved to be the most successful life saving intervention for the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases and has saved well over 40 million lives in the developing world, mostly young children.

The work of ICDDR,B in family planning in Matlab was crucial to Bangladesh’s achievement as a family planning success story in South Asia, hailed at the 1994 Cairo Conference. Breakthrough research in Vitamin A, zinc and ongoing work in vaccines as well as new interventions and strategies for infectious disease prevention and family planning, all continue to make ICDDR,B one of the most important health and population research institution, in the world. It is recognized both for its achievement and its capacity to address some of the most critical health problems facing the world’s most vulnerable populations by receiving the first Gates Foundation Award for Global Health in 2001.

As President of UNWA and as a senior staff of ICDDR,B, I am urging all UNWA members to celebrate with me on the 25th Anniversary of ICDDR,B as an international institution. On Friday, February 13, at the Sheraton Winter Garden, the ICDDR,B Black and White Ball will take place. This is a true fundraising event intended to bring together the best elements of Dhaka’s business and expatriate community. The ball is modeled on a Black and White ball society fundraising events in San Francisco. Wear your best black and white and have a great time! Tickets are available through Hannah Lemon at ICDDR,B telephone: 882-6163 or email hlemon@icddrb.org.

On Saturday, February 21, at 10.30 am, UNWA’s monthly meeting will take place on the rooftop pavilion of the ICDDR,B main building and hospital in Mohakhali. A presentation by Dr. David Sack, ICDDR,B Executive Director, and a tour of the hospital and facilities will follow the general business meeting and tea.

I am very proud to be affiliated with ICDDR,B. It continues to be one of the United Nations’ and the global community’s greatest resources in the areas of child survival, infectious disease and public health research and solutions. So please join me and contribute to ICDDR,B’s future by participating in both events. I look forward to seeing you.