The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history
The World Health Organisation (WHO) was inaugurated in 1948 to bring the world together to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for all. Establishing health governance under the United Nations (UN), WHO was seen as the preeminent leader in public health, promoting a healthier world follo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/4/e012344.full |
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| author | Lawrence O Gostin Roojin Habibi Benjamin Mason Meier Helen Clark K Srinath Reddy Jemilah Mahmood Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa Björn Kümmel Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho Attiya Waris Miriam K Were |
| author_facet | Lawrence O Gostin Roojin Habibi Benjamin Mason Meier Helen Clark K Srinath Reddy Jemilah Mahmood Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa Björn Kümmel Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho Attiya Waris Miriam K Were |
| author_sort | Lawrence O Gostin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The World Health Organisation (WHO) was inaugurated in 1948 to bring the world together to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for all. Establishing health governance under the United Nations (UN), WHO was seen as the preeminent leader in public health, promoting a healthier world following the destruction of World War II and ensuring global solidarity to prevent disease and promote health. Its constitutional function would be ‘to act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work’. Yet today, as the world commemorates WHO’s 75th anniversary, it faces a historic global health crisis, with governments presenting challenges to its institutional legitimacy and authority amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WHO governance in the coming years will define the future of the Organisation and, crucially, the health and well-being of billions of people across the globe. At this pivotal moment, WHO must learn critical lessons from its past and make fundamental reforms to become the Organisation it was meant to be. We propose reforms in WHO financing, governance, norms, human rights and equity that will lay a foundation for the next generation of global governance for health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-42a97113fd004303ba1778c5dc6a69e5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-42a97113fd004303ba1778c5dc6a69e52025-02-01T09:25:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082023-04-018410.1136/bmjgh-2023-012344The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in historyLawrence O Gostin0Roojin Habibi1Benjamin Mason Meier2Helen Clark3K Srinath Reddy4Jemilah Mahmood5Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa6Björn Kümmel7Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho8Attiya Waris9Miriam K Were10O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, USAGlobal Strategy Lab, York University, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaO’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USApatronPublic Health Foundation, New Delhi, IndiaSunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, MalaysiaFaculty of Law, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South AfricaGerman Federal Ministry of Health, Bonn, GermanyRBM Partnership to End Malaria, Geneva, SwitzerlandFaculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, KenyaChampions for an AIDS-Free Generation, Nairobi, KenyaThe World Health Organisation (WHO) was inaugurated in 1948 to bring the world together to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for all. Establishing health governance under the United Nations (UN), WHO was seen as the preeminent leader in public health, promoting a healthier world following the destruction of World War II and ensuring global solidarity to prevent disease and promote health. Its constitutional function would be ‘to act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work’. Yet today, as the world commemorates WHO’s 75th anniversary, it faces a historic global health crisis, with governments presenting challenges to its institutional legitimacy and authority amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WHO governance in the coming years will define the future of the Organisation and, crucially, the health and well-being of billions of people across the globe. At this pivotal moment, WHO must learn critical lessons from its past and make fundamental reforms to become the Organisation it was meant to be. We propose reforms in WHO financing, governance, norms, human rights and equity that will lay a foundation for the next generation of global governance for health.https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/4/e012344.full |
| spellingShingle | Lawrence O Gostin Roojin Habibi Benjamin Mason Meier Helen Clark K Srinath Reddy Jemilah Mahmood Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa Björn Kümmel Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho Attiya Waris Miriam K Were The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history BMJ Global Health |
| title | The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history |
| title_full | The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history |
| title_fullStr | The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history |
| title_full_unstemmed | The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history |
| title_short | The WHO’s 75th anniversary: WHO at a pivotal moment in history |
| title_sort | who s 75th anniversary who at a pivotal moment in history |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/4/e012344.full |
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