Twenty-three countries will be represented at the world conference of the OSE Union, Jewish health organization, which opens this week at UNESCO House here, it was reported at a press conference today by Abel Shaban, president of the World OSE Union.
Mr. Shaban said the institutions of the World OSE Union are currently giving aid to 70, 000 children and 13,000 adults. Their staffs consist of about 800 doctors, nurses, social workers and administrative personnel. The budget of these institutions, totaling $1,500,000, will have to be increased in certain parts of the world, he stated. The OSE, he said, provides free medical care and is active in fighting tuberculosis, trachoma and infant mortality.
Asked to explain the overlapping of work in the field of Jewish health, in view of the fact that the OSE conference comes on the heels of the JDC medical conference on Jewish health problems which has just concluded here, Mr. Shaban said that the OSE conference was announced before anything was known of a JDC conference. ‘The OSE later objected to the JDC which* however, made no effort to postpone or cancel its medical parley. Whereupon, the OSE did not participate in the JDC conference, ” he stated.
Mr. Shaban revealed that for the last seven days discussions have been going on in Paris between representatives of the OSE and JDC. “We are preparing a memorandum, at JDC invitation, on consolidation of activities,” he stated. “We hope to see such a plan worked out.” He added that medical work among Jews has been the specialty of the OSE for 42 years. “We hope to see the JDC close its medical department some day and the work given over to us,” he declared, adding that the JDC has always been a relief organization financing the work of other organizations.
Mr. Shaban explained that the JDC conference was only medical in its nature. “The OSE conference, ” he said, “being both medical and organizational, could not be postponed because of urgent organizational problems which we have to solve. ” He pointed out that the OSE is a consultative organization to United Nations bodies. Greetings to the OSE conference have been received from President Coty of France, Israel President Itzhak Ben Zvi and Prof, Albert Einstein who is OSE’s honorary president for life.
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