For True Reform, WHO Must Address Relationship With Regional Entities, Budget Size, Flexibility

Washington Post: Why proposed WHO reforms aren’t enough to deal with the next epidemic
Jeremy Youde, associate professor of political science and department head at the University of Minnesota Duluth

“…These reforms [approved this week by the World Health Assembly] may change how WHO operates, but they are not the sorts of reforms that will fundamentally alter its operations or address its most striking shortcomings: WHO’s relationship with regional health organizations, and the size and flexibility of its budget. … The World Health Organization finds itself at a crossroads. It failed in its biggest test of marshaling an international response to an infectious disease outbreak, and it acknowledges the need to change. The international community also recognizes the need for WHO to exist and its unique role. To make sure that WHO is ready and able to address future challenges, this year’s World Health Assembly must begin a much more far-reaching process of reform” (5/26).

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