After last week's interlude for the International Women's Day, I revert to the 1962 WHO Anti-Malaria Campaign with materials issued mainly from the Middle East and North African region. It was a period when I worked in the UNICEF Beirut Area Office and, therefore, personally experienced the joint efforts of UNICEF and WHO at combatting the disease which was rife in many countries . My personal angle in this was that I had contracted malaria myself at age 6 while we were living in Iran, the result of which was fortunately that I recovered from the disease without major adverse effects, while many other children died. Many of the countries had UNICEF projects focussed on malaria which at that time accounted for over half the overall country programme funds.
This First Day Cover (FDC) from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was isssued on 15 April 1962. It has the two stamp set with the official WHO logo for the Campaign. The two post marks show that the cover was mailed from Amman. The cachet shows the map of Jordan with the face of the young King Hussein in the right corner. The WHO logo is also shown in the map with the inscription ,"Jordan Fights Malaria". I was personally responsible for Jordan within the BAO, so that this brings back many vivid memories of our work in that domain.
Another two stamp set issued from the United Arab Republic in 1962 for the WHO Campaign was overprinted with "Palestine" as these were issued for the Gaza Strip then under Egyptian control. The Arabic inscription at the bottom reads, " The World Unites to Eradicate Malaria".
Here we have the two stamp set issued by the Syrian Arab Republic in 1962 for the WHO Campaign. They are air mail stamps and show a standard WHO logo . The Arabic inscription, however, is slightly different as it reads, " The World Combats Malaria".
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined other Arab countires in issuing this two stamp set for the WHO Campaign.They show also the standard WHO logo with the dates 1962 and 1382 H. at the bottom.. The Arabic inscription reads, "The Countries of the World Unite to Eradicate Malaria".
From Libya we also have another two stamp set issued in 1962 for the WHO Campaign. Here the design uses the WHO logo but with some minor changes , including the palm tree stuck in the middle of the logo.
The same design as that for Palestine above was issued by the United Arab Republic (Egypt) in 1962 for the WHO Campaign.The stamps are of different colors from those issued for Gaza, but the design is exactly similar.
It would appear that Iraq did not follow the other Arab countries by issuing three and not two stamps for the WHO Campaign.This set of stamps were also issued in 1962 and their design folllows the standard WHO logo. The Arabic inscription is also slightly different as it reads," The United World to Defeat Malaria". Surprisingly, I found that these stamps were printed in Berlin, Germany.
Here we have a FDC from Israel issued in Jerusalem on 30 April 1962 with one stamp for the WHO Campaign. The design does not include the WHO logo but shows a graph pointing downwards and a mosquito. Like many Israeli stamps this one has a tag showing a world map and the WHO logo with the inscription in French reading, "Le Monde Uni Contre le Malaria". The cachet reproduces the stamp's design but adds the WHO logo.
The Republic of Lebanon issued this two stamp set for the WHO Campaign.The design of the first stamp shows the WHO logo over a human hand coming out of a swamp with reeds, while the second stamp is the standard WHO logo. The inscription on both stamps reads," Campagne Internationale Anti-Paludique" a small variation of the standard WHO text.
This two stamp set from the Sudan was issued for the WHO Campaign.Their design is another variation from the other Arab countries as they show the WHO logo over the body of a human (presumably sick with malaria) while the two borders of the stamps show two humans holding hands, to demonstrate a united effort. Again, the Arabic inscription on the stamps is slightly varied as it reads, " The World Cooperates to Fight Malaria".
From the Republic of Tunisia we have this FDC issued in Tunis on 7 April 1962 for the WHO Campaign. The set consists of three stamps, and here is the difference with other Arab countries,in that they have each a different design. the first shows two hands choking what looks like a mosquito; the second is a very stylized version of the WHO logo with a horse a human taking the place of the staff in the Ascelpius as well as two mosquitos, the smalller one being the WHO logo for the campaign; the third stamp is a person opening up curtains to show a mosquito caught in a net. There is a very small WHO logo in the upper left hand corner of the stamp.
A different envelope from Iran has a set of three stamps issued for the WHO Campaign. Each stamp has a different design; the first has a small WHO logo and a hand spraying insecticide on to a mosquito; the second shows an arrow with the WHO logo going through a mosquito ; and the third shows a world map from which a beam is thrown on the WHO logo. The cover is post marked 20 June 1962 and was issued from Teheran.It was sent from the Department of Environmental Health in the Ministry of Health of Iran. The royal insignia is above the letterhead.
My final item is this stamp issued by the Emirate of Sharjah, one of the six Sheikhdoms that formed the United Arab Emirates when it became independent on 2 December 1971. The Dependencies are Dhiba, Khor Fakkan and Kalba.The design shows a slightly different interpretation of the WHO logo with an arrow pointing at a mosquito. The oval in the top right shows the face of the Emir of Sharjah, Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan al Qasimi. The inscription is "Anti Malaria Campaign" without reference to WHO or the UN.
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