A Global Champion for Health—WHO’s Next?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924837/

SHA: f2f9088055600d4160e36db5cb6ea000916390a3

Authors: nan
Date: 2016-06-28
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002059
License: cc-by

Abstract: In this month’s editorial, the PLOS Medicine Editors propose ideal qualities for the World Health Organization's next Director General, for whom the selection process is now underway.

Text: response to the Ebola outbreak [1] . Reformation of WHO to ready it to lead responses to future health emergencies is one area of active debate.

Chan will step down from WHO on June 30, 2017 after more than a decade in the post. The process for choosing WHO's next leader has begun, promising to be protracted and rigorous as befits the importance of the role. Factoring in the many influential stakeholders in the process of appointing Chan's successor, however, transparency of the selection process may be one area unlikely to attract plaudits. Although too soon to speculate about the identity of WHO's next Director-General, it is worth reflecting on what qualities an incoming leader should bring to WHO and how that person might need to conceive changes in the structure and behavior of the organization against a landscape of important and evolving threats to the health of the fastgrowing global population.

Instead of electing a new Director-General, Lorenz Von Seidlein of Mahidol University, Thailand, argued that "the problems. . .are now so deeply ingrained that replacing the WHO with new, more appropriate organizations is the logical solution. . .at a fraction of current cost, free of cumbersome, archaic obligations and entitlements and [with] an ability to respond to new problems." This viewpoint is indicative of the strength of feeling that WHO's deficiencies have come to evoke in some of those committed to the cause of improving the health of people in low-income and middle-income countries. But this perception acknowledges that an accountable global body will always be needed to promote, set standards in, and evaluate progress toward better health for people in all countries. The next Director-General will need to heed critics of the organization and craft a process of streamlining and restructuring to produce a new WHO that is demonstrably effective in leading responses to threats to health, and efficient in doing so. As Gostin commented to PLOS Medicine, "WHO urgently needs a bold reform agenda to fix long-standing problems recognized by every independent group that has evaluated the Organization." Political machinations and the enemy within, bureaucracy, are likely to impede reform. For example, WHO's regional and country offices are seen by some as unaccountable, yet the agency of the future will need to be connected and responsive to the resources and needs of all constituent countries. As Gostin also noted, "[WHO] has failed to include civil society in its governance, unlike. . .newer organizations."

WHO's next Director-General should be a proven leader and advocate, perhaps from a lowincome or middle-income country. The new recruit will be greeted by a full in-tray, and featuring prominently are likely to be the constraints imposed by WHO's current funding mechanisms. A substantial proportion of WHO's existing budget is earmarked for specific projects, leaving the organization with little financial flexibility to respond to unanticipated demands. However, any improved funding mechanism is likely to follow, and be dependent on, organizational reform. According to Kruk, "WHO is both essential and hamstrung. . .the election of the Director-General should be a moment for member countries and other funders to reflect on whether they want an implementation agency for their favored health agenda, or an independent institution with the intelligence, agility, and operational capacity to tackle the coming global health challenges." Above all, the incoming leader of WHO will need to be open-minded and creative. More than one of the experts we contacted emphasized the fluid nature of the threats to human health to which WHO should shape the world's response. WHO must be able to lead responses in some areas of global health, but, in other areas, working together with more nimble and focused organizations will be pragmatic. Large-scale infectious disease outbreaks are continuing, and noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, dementia, and mental illnesses, are growing in prevalence and increasing demand for treatment and care. The resources and ingenuity of researchers and clinicians will need to be harnessed, and interventions adapted to new settings, with much greater dynamism. The secular issues of population ageing, conflict, climate change, migration, and others will produce health problems that only an organization with a global reach, responsible to all, can hope to meet. We look forward to welcoming a new leader for WHO with the energy and vision to remold the organization to meet the health needs of the world's people and societies for the 21st century.

Question: Why might an organization like the WHO be necessary?
Answer: to promote, set standards in, and evaluate progress toward better health for people in all countries