WHO Reforms:

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Important International Institutions.

Context:

While speaking to the heads of countries at the second global COVID-19 conference in the third year of the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the much-discussed matter of revamping the World Health Organization.

• India’s calls for WHO reforms, especially after the body’s initial handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, have been backed by countries around the world.

Need for WHO Reforms:

The growth and scope of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has prompted requests for increased international public health collaboration, both at the regional and global levels; especially reforming the WHO.

WHO is not immune to global power-play. Powerful countries such as the US and China influence decision making.

Funding issues: Only a quarter of its budget comes from contributions from UN member-states, and the real money to power its work is from voluntary funding by countries and organisations.

WHO’s institutional arrangements must be able to strongly push global cooperation in public health and support developing countries in real-time.

Neither WHO nor any multilateral organisation is involved in drugs research.

Reforms suggested:

• Executive Board (EB) should be made a standing body with the elected countries having Geneva-based permanent representatives on it.
• The EB should meet when required and direct action by WHO.
• The EB also needs to go beyond only geographic representation and ensure that major stakeholders such as the largest economies and those with the largest populations are always on it.
• WHO must be involved in rolling out new drugs and drug research in developed countries.
• WHO, along with others such as the World Trade Organization, must find ways to make affordable access to such key drugs in critical times possible.
• Increased mandatory funding by member states.

India’s nine-point plan for reforms of the World Health Organization (WHO) include:

1. Changes in mechanisms to monitor health emergencies that can cross borders.
2. Giving the head of the UN body greater power to declare an international public health emergency.
3. Changes and improvements in the body’s funding and governance.
4. Transparency in use of funds.
5. A greater role for the world body in ensuring fair, affordable and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
6. WHO’s regular budget should also be increased so that core activities “are financed from it, without putting an overwhelming financial burden on developing countries”.
7. Since WHO has little flexibility in using these funds, voluntary contributions should be “unearmarked to ensure that the WHO has necessary flexibility for its usage in areas where they are required the most.
8. WHO must maintain its technical focus but broaden its expertise to include more input from political scientists, urban designers, lawyers, logisticians, or information technology specialists.

Insta Curious:

How is WHO funded? Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. WHO governance.
2. Types of contributions in WHO.
3. Largest contributors.
4. Significance of World Health Day.

Mains Link:

Discuss the role of WHO in promoting public health and environmental health across the globe.

Q.5) Which of the following make up funding for the WHO?

1. Assessed contributions.
2. Voluntary contributions.
3. Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Contributions.
4. All of the above. 

Sources: the Hindu.