G E N E R A L A S S E M B L Y

M i d d l e S c h o o l

W H O

B a c k g r o u n d G u i d e

W O R L D H E A L T H O R G A N I Z A T I O N

V I M U N C V I I

Esteemed delegates and sponsors of VIMUNC VII,

My name is Kavye Vij, and I am the Secretary General of VIMUNC VII.

After attending several conferences with Langley over the past year, the circuit

has set a standard that we can only hope to achieve. Every single sponsor and

staffer have been so kind to us over the past year, and we can only hope to return

that same commitment to kindness and service over the upcoming weekend in

March.

Every single year, every single conference, there is always one concern:

walking across the stage, receiving a material reward for a great performance.

Don’t worry, there will be plenty of awards to go around, but I want to stress that

VIMUNC will be a conduit for relationships and learning that the many can

share in; not the few. Throughout my six years of MUN (and six years of

VIMUNC to boot), I have come to many realizations, but none were as shocking

as the importance of relationships. Often, I find myself delving into the

intricacies of international policy, finding the perfect solutions and working to

ensure the resolution paper is sound from all attacks in the question and answer

period, and I don’t consider the importance of listening.

For this VIMUNC, my message to all sponsors and delegates is to listen.

Listen thoroughly and listen intently. So often, we are caught up in our own

affairs, neglecting the importance of those around us, we begin to lose sight of

the most important aspect of MUN in diplomacy. To me, the most powerful tool

any delegate can use is to stop and consider. Truly focus on those you work with,

and you will build relationships and friendships that last much longer than the

two-day conference. So, the next time you sit down across from an international

adversary, or a close ally, don’t consider them as another delegate. Consider

them a prospective friend, another person with whom to connect. Consider the

fact that, in four years, the awards you earn will likely be enhancing the compost

pile, or the gavels you earn will be hidden in some place you may never find

them. Consider that every person you truly make an impact on, every person you

listen to, will remember your helping hand, kind words, or simple silence.

Thank you for your commitment to VIMUNC VII, and best of luck in

committee.

WHO (World Health Organization)

TOPIC A: Cholera Outbreaks after Natural

Disasters

TOPIC B: Tropical Disasters in Latin America

TOPIC A: Cholera Outbreaks after Natural

Disasters

Background Information

Cholera is a very infectious disease that causes watery diarrhea which can lead to death

due to dehydration if untreated.

Cholera can be spread by lack of clean

water, poor hygiene, malnutrition and

consumption of contaminated foods

with the bacterium called Vibrio

cholerae. About 5 million people are

affected with cholera each year and

with over 100,000 deaths, including

adults and children. To those with weak immune systems, being infected with cholera can be

even more fatal than to others if untreated, however, thousands of people affected with

this disease don’t seek for help and suffer in silence due to lack of resources or ability to afford

treatment.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis can cause these

outbreaks because of the destruction left afterwards to the land and infrastructure. Because of

lack of well infrastructure, water filtration systems can get heavily impacting causing negative

effects to its community since the spread of cholera is mainly through contaminated waters.

Additionally, since these areas of poor infrastructure are mainly in developing areas, the

community has a much more difficult time of recovering and fixing the disaster that has occurred

leaving most helpless and suffering.

Current Situation

Between 1970 and 2011, African countries reported over 3 million suspected cholera

cases to the World Health Organization,

being 46% of all cases reported globally.

Excluding the Haitian epidemic, sub-

Saharan Africa accounted for 86 % of

reported cases and 99 % of deaths

worldwide in 2011. The number of

cholera cases is possibly much higher

than what is reported to the WHO due to the variation in modalities, completeness, and case

definition of national cholera data.

Because of climate change and natural disasters occurring more often, the destruction left

afterwards is much worse than it has been. Cholera is spreading at a more rapid pace and to

larger quantities within communities. In addition, since climate change ties in with the

occurrences of hurricanes and earthquakes, cholera outbreaks can only become much more

common. Personal hygiene is also a major factor that contributes to the outbreaks. Most

outbreaks occur in developing areas in which majority of people don’t have knowledge or ability

to execute good hygiene. Lacking good hygiene makes it easier for diseases to be spread from

person to person and for the disease to consume your body much faster and brutally.

Past UN Action

The World Health Organization was established by the United Nations in 1948, is an

agency concerned about international public health. There have been many cholera epidemics

around the world such as in Zimbabwe, Haiti, Sudan, Angola, Nigeria and many more, mainly in

African states. The World Health Organization has a well supply of oral rehydration salts, IV

fluids, and antibiotics in which is used whenever needed for treating people infected with

diseases. WHO works with the Ministry of Health to provide cholera vaccines to people who are

age one and older to the areas in which outbreaks occur. They also continue to closely monitor

the disease through a surveillance known as the Early Warning Alert and Response Network

(EWARN) that can detect and monitor outbreak trends. This makes sure they can spot the

disease early on rather than later when it is much worse and less treatable.

Possible Solutions

Since contaminated water is the main factor for the spread of cholera, the logical long-

term solution to eradicate the disease is the supply of safe water to all African populations. This

requires considerable human and financial resources and time. In the short and medium term,

vaccination may help to prevent and control the spread of cholera outbreaks. Regardless of the

intervention, further understanding of cholera biology and epidemiology is essential to identify

populations and areas at increased risk and therefore ensure the most efficient use of scarce

resources for the prevention and control of cholera.

Teaching communities on good personal hygiene is an important step forward to

preventing cholera outbreaks. Volunteers or missionaries could go to the areas in which the

disaster has recently occurred to educate mainly women and children on how to take care of their

bodies and provide resources that were lost to the disaster. It is also crucial to start getting people

worldwide to take action on climate change and promote awareness to these epidemics that most

people are not aware of. Educating the general public and governments about this deadly disease

could lead to donations and funds to provide and replaces the resources once there and to

contribute to the reconstruction of the community’s infrastructure.

Questions to Consider

• What is your country’s stance on this issue? Do they acknowledge its importance?

• What has your country done to solve this issue, if any?

• How can your country contribute to this issue?

• How does climate change contribute to these outbreaks?

TOPIC B: Tropical Disasters in Latin America

Background Information

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are

some of the most prevalent infectious diseases among the diverse population of this region. They

disproportionately affect the disenfranchised poor individuals, specific indigenous people, and

people of African decent, and because of this, they are largely forgotten as these outbreaks aren’t

occurring in the mainstream of any country within this region. The top diseases that affect this

region is disability, hookworm infection, other soil-transmitted helminth infections, and Chagas

disease. In the developing countries situated in this region, the most common form of illness is

these laid out neglected tropical diseases. The two ways these diseases spread is soil transmitted

helminth infections (STH), which include Chagas disease and dengue. The second way NTDs

are moved is through geographical endemicity, or a specific place with specific ethic people

living in it.

Aside from ethnic background, degree of poverty also plays a major role in the likelihood

of contracting these NTDs. Approximately 40% of the 556 million people living in the region lie

below the poverty line, and within this 47 million people live on less than $1 USD a day. The

diseases that get the most attention from the global community understandably are HIV/AIDS

and malaria. NTDs have obstructed the ability of this region to develop and progress into the

future and thus it is of the utmost importance that the global community works to put

preventative measures and assist with aid in this region.

Current Situation

In LAC, 200 million people are at high risk of contracting multiple NTDs. The diseases

play a vicious role in the poverty cycle plaguing LAC, since people already under the poverty line

are much more susceptible to the diseases and treatment is often not accessible, expensive, and

prone to scamming. The death of a

family or community member has

tremendous impacts on the stability

of a household, especially if the

deceased was the head of the house or

the primary caregiver. Of LAC's

estimated 213 million impoverished

people, approximately one-third live

in rural poverty as subsistence

farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, typically in communities of indigenous and African descent

where they face a high level of social exclusion and social inequity, including lack of access to

safe water and health care services. Additionally, LAC exhibits one of the worst poverty gaps

around the world, which is a major player within this issue.

Past UN Action

In the past, the United Nations has launched initiatives to eradicate NTDs from the

region however no efforts have been proven to make a difference in the issue. To understand the

impact of NTDs, United Nations social scientists have implemented a way to measure the extent

to which a disease harms an individual. Such a measure is called a DALY (disease burden), a

disability adjusted life year. One DALY, for example, represents the loss of one year of healthy

life due to disease or disability. The DALY statistic is used to capture “the gap between current

health status and an ideal health situation where the entire population lives to an advanced age,

free of disease and disability.” Historically, the problem the UN has faced is getting major world

powers to back their initiatives and support them through funding and intellectuals. A global

milestone that provided relief to these people was the World Health Organization’s endorsement

of a major NTD roadmap in 2012, which led to the eradication of a major NTD in sub-Saharan

Africa. Wider progress in this field however must be accomplished if the global community

wants to move closer towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Possible Solutions

Solutions to this problem must be comprehensive, detailed, and region-specific.

Treatment projects for NTDs require more financial support if the region wishes to become fully

developed. A solution could mirror domestic programs, such as the Inter-American Development

Bank (IDB), which joined the Pan American Health Organization and the SABIN Vaccine

Institute in a collaborative effort to launch numerous projects combating NTDs. In 2011, these

groups launched projects in Bolivia, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. In 2012, the IDB’s

initiative started supporting projects in Brazil, Guyana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Mexico.

These initiatives are a start, but far more needs to be done.

Questions to Consider

• What can countries outside of the region do to help? What does your country have to say

about it?

• What types of funding can best assist the eradication of this problem?

• Is there any new technology that could be used in this region?

• What role do poverty and ethnic background play in this issue?

• How does one deal with the cultural and linguistic barriers while simultaneously trying to

optimize the care given?

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

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“Eastern Mediterranean Region.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization,

www.emro.who.int/health-topics/cholera-outbreak/index.html.

“Haiti: Response to the Cholera Outbreak.” World Health Organization, World Health

Organization, 21 Mar. 2014, www.who.int/hac/crises/hti/highlights/october2010/en/.

Hotez, Peter J., et al. “The Neglected Tropical Diseases of Latin America and the Caribbean: A

Review of Disease Burden and Distribution and a Roadmap for Control and

Elimination.” PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 2, no. 9, 24 Sept. 2008, p. e300,

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Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

Jutla, Antarpreet, et al. “Natural Disasters and Cholera Outbreaks: Current Understanding and

Future Outlook.” Current Environmental Health Reports, U.S. National Library of

Medicine, Mar. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28130661.

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www.cia.gov/library/publications/international-relations/heroin-movement-

worldwide/latin-america.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

Mengel, Martin A, et al. “Cholera Outbreaks in Africa.” Current Topics in Microbiology and

Immunology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24827501.

“Neglected Tropical Diseases: Latin America and the Caribbean’s Silent Killer.” Coha.Org, 6

Aug. 2014, www.coha.org/tropical-diseases-latin-america-and-the-caribbeans-silent

killer/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

“Progress against Tropical Diseases Must Be Backed by Poverty Alleviation Efforts – UN

Health Agency.” UN News, 19 Apr. 2017, news.un.org/en/story/2017/04/555582

progress-against-tropical-diseases-must-be-backed-poverty-alleviation-efforts. Accessed

21 Jan. 2020.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jan. 2007,

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“World Health Organization.” World Health Organization, 28 May 2018,

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