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On 7 May 2007, the Board of Health Metrics Network (HMN, the global partnership improving health through better information quality and use) selected Mr. Richard Manning, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as its new Chair.
Mr Manning, who currently chairs the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, was voted unanimously by the Board to take on the two-year role, in parallel with his OECD duties. He will take over from current HMN Chair Dr Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Senior Advisor on Health Economics at the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, who has successfully guided the HMN Board during its start-up phase since 2005.
"I am very honoured to have been asked to take the post of Chair of the Health Metrics Network," said Mr. Manning. "I am extremely conscious of the importance of good evidence as a basis for policy and of being able to demonstrate results from actions which address the health challenges faced by developing countries."
HMN assists low- and low-to-middle-income countries to reform their national systems that gather information on the health of their people. With better information, governments are better able to meet their citizens’ health needs by implementing required health programmes and interventions.
HMN's partners include developing countries, multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, other global health partnerships and technical experts. Its Geneva-based Secretariat is hosted by the World Health Organization.
The HMN Board has also appointed four new members:
- Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance and Foreign Minister, Nigeria, and Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program, the Brookings Institution.
- Dr. Julio Frenk, former Minister of Health, Mexico, and Sr. Fellow of the Gates Foundation.
- Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director of Google.org and TED prize winner;
- Dr. Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, the Lancet.
Mr. Manning, who is also co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Partnership in Statistics for the Twenty-First Century (PARIS21), believes greater interaction is needed between strong and innovative partnerships such as HMN and the broader statistical systems in developing countries.
"Health Metrics Network is a prime example of the way in which well-targeted funding from foundations can galvanize international efforts to tackle key bottlenecks in the understanding of what works and what is happening on the ground," he said. "I am excited to be part of this endeavor."
HMN Executive Secretary Dr. Sally Stansfield said the expertise and leadership provided by the new HMN Board Chair and members would strengthen the Network as a whole.
"The choice of Mr. Manning to lead the Board demonstrates HMN's commitment to anchoring health information in the broader context of national statistical systems,” Dr. Stansfield said. “We are now poised to align work in countries, showing that better information will mean better decisions and better outcomes for health."
For further information, contact Paul Garwood on +41-797760454 or HMN's Secretariat headquarters on +41-(0)22-791-5494.
Website of HMN: www.who.int/healthmetrics/en/
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