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1992.03.26 :  Robert Israel Appointed to NCHS

Contact: Sandra Smith  (301) 436-7551
March 26, 1992

        Robert A. Israel has been appointed associate director
for international statistics at the National Center for Health
Statistics, a new position.  Israel has been at NCHS for more
than 25 years.  
        In announcing the appointment, CDC Director William
Roper, M.D., said, "Dramatic developments have increased the
opportunities for the international exchange of health data.  We
know more of the health problems which face many nations and are
aware of the greater contribution of data in working together to
find solutions."  
        "The recent international developments create an exciting
opportunity but a formidable challenge for NCHS in the years
ahead," said Dr. Manning Feinleib, NCHS director.  "This new
position and Israel's international experience and leadership
will allow NCHS to expand collaborative research, work with new
international partners, and apply data to new and varied health
programs and problems," he said.
        Currently NCHS has ongoing statistical projects in more
than 20 countries, and others are in the planning or
developmental stages.   Newly independent nations have applied
for technical assistance to establish or improve vital and health
statistics programs.  

        NCHS sponsors the International Collaborative Effort in
Infant Mortality, to exchange knowledge, methodology, and data to
better understand and prevent infant mortality.  Another
international collaborative effort focuses on aging.  
        Israel, who had served 17 years as NCHS deputy director,
brings more than 20 years of international experience to his new
position.  In 1975 he was named head of the World Health
Organization Collaborating Center for Classification of Diseases
for North America.  In that capacity, he directed international
efforts to promote standardization of diagnostic coding to
improve comparability of international statistics and
epidemiological research.
        Israel's international statistical activities have
encompassed surveys and statistical projects in Brazil, France,
Japan and many other countries.  He has served as technical
adviser to strengthen statistical systems in Egypt, improve vital
statistics in Peru, and enhance health statistics in the People's
Republic of China.  He has served as a member of the WHO Expert
Advisory Panel on Health Statistics since 1984 and served as the
U.S. representative to numerous technical panels, committees and
advisory groups over the past two decades.
        The National Center for Health Statistics, the federal
government's principal vital and health statistics agency, is a
part of the Centers for Disease Control, one of the eight Public
Health Service agencies within HHS.

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