Time To Rethink WHO Mission, Funding

The Economist: World Health Organization: Heal thyself
Editorial Board

“…The WHO has faced wide criticism for its role in allowing Ebola, which has now killed over 6,300 people, to rage out of control in West Africa. Some of it is unfair. … But the world’s ‘directing and coordinating’ health authority did little of either during the crisis. … The WHO’s failure to lead the response to the Ebola crisis should be used as a spur to rethink what the WHO is for, and how it is financed and run. Instead of doing the job of governments, it should focus on the things they cannot manage alone, such as helping poor countries set up health systems, disseminating the best medical research and policies, and combating global epidemics. … And if the world wants an outfit capable of dealing with emergencies such as Ebola, it needs to pay for it…” (12/13).

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