WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SHOULD WE SEE IT IN A NEW LIGHT? (original) (raw)
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WHO’s role in the global health system
Research and development Pharmaceuticals Access to medicines Intellectual property WHO reform Consultative Expert Working Group on R&D (CEWG) R&D treaty Neglected diseases Antibiotics a b s t r a c t Recent global debates on the research and development (R&D) of health technologies, such as drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, can be seen as a microcosm of discussions on the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the global health system more broadly. The global R&D system has come under heightened scrutiny with the publication of a 2012 report by the WHO Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development (CEWG), which made a number of recommendations to more equitably meet global health needs. The CEWG report followed a decade-long process of debate at the WHO on the weaknesses of the global R&D system, which include problems of affordability, limited research where market returns are small or uncertain (such as the 'neglected diseases' that predominantly affect the world's poorest), inefficient overlap of research efforts, and overuse of medicines such as antibiotics. The CEWG report called on WHO Member States to develop a global framework to improve monitoring, coordination and financing of R&D efforts through the establishment of a Global Health R&D Observatory and the negotiation of a binding treaty on R&D. While the treaty option has been put on the back-burner for several years, Member States nevertheless agreed at the 2013 World Health Assembly (WHA) on concrete steps towards a global framework. Progress at the 2013 WHA reaffirmed the central role of WHO as a convener, and the WHA's decision to create the Observatory within the WHO Secretariat underscored the organization's role as a source of strategic knowledge in the global health system. However, despite WHO's constitutional mandate as
Structure and Functions of the World Health Organization.
IOSR Journal OF Humanities and Social Science., 2017
" WHO Constitution states that 'Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity'. WHO, the parent organisation being ECOSOC is a major spoke in the wheel of United Nations common family system. It has been also in the past and in the present actively and symbiotically involved in improving international public health as well as intervening in humanitarian crises on the issues of health and well-being. Its complementary role with other important international and national actors like ICRC, UNCERF, UNDAC, EM-DAT and NDMA in West Asia, Africa, Latin America, South and South East Asia cannot be understated in contemporary times " .
The Global Health We Need, the WHO We Deserve
Global Health Center Working Paper no. 24 , 2020
WHO remains little known to the general public, although it carries out important missions to protect people’s lives, such as public health surveillance, technical assistance to governments, consensus building and knowledge sharing, international advocacy for universal access to health, and international coordination of responses to global health threats. It plays an even more crucial role for countries with fragile health systems and weak research capacity. This paper proposes six recommendations for reforming global health governance. What does WHO need? Greater authority in emergency situations, increased financial autonomy, internal reorganization to improve efficiency and restore the authority of the Director-General, enhanced inclusion of scientific communities, greater involvement of non-state organizations, and close connection of global health with biodiversity and climate issues.
The World Health Organization and the transition from “international” to “global” public health
Journal Information, 2006
The term “global health” is rapidly replacing the older terminology of “international health.” We describe the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in both international and global health and in the transition from one to the other. We suggest that the term “global health” emerged as part of larger political and historical processes, in which WHO found its dominant role challenged and began to reposition itself within a shifting set of power alliances.Between 1948 and 1998, WHO moved from being the unquestioned leader of international health to being an organization in crisis, facing budget shortfalls and diminished status, especially given the growing influence of new and powerful players. We argue that WHO began to refashion itself as the coordinator, strategic planner, and leader of global health initiatives as a strategy of survival in response to this transformed international political context.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
2008
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations (UN) agency responsible for setting global norms and standards for health. WHO's main functions, as outlined under its eleventh General Programme of Work 2006-2015, are to: provide leadership on matters critical to health and engage in partnerships where joint action is needed; shape the research agenda; set norms and standards and promote and monitor their implementation; and articulate ethical and evidence-based policy options. WHO also provides technical support designed to build sustainable institutional capacity and monitors the health situation and trends. The World Health Assembly is WHO's supreme governing body. It comprises 194 member states and meets every year. WHO's executive board of 34 members usually meets twice a year-in January to prepare for and advise the World Health Assembly, and in May, immediately after the assembly's meeting, to handle more administrative matters.
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2010
In January 2010 the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) called for an “informal consultation on the future of financing for WHO” and in her opening remarks expressed the need to make the WHO fit for purpose given the unique health challenges of the 21st century.Margaret Chan referred to the constitutional role that WHO has to “act as the directing and co-ordinating authority on international health work” and stated clearly that global health leadership today and for the future must be earned through strategic and selective engagement. She said, “WHO can no longer aim to direct and coordinate all of the activities and policies in multiple sectors that influence public health today.” This is a clear challenge that she has put to the global health community in recognition that WHO’s role must be clarified in the face of major change.