The WHO Is Not The Global Health Government States Think It Is

Abstract

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization was put in the center of the discussion surrounding the global response. States criticized the organization for its slow and insufficient response and leniency towards the Chinese government. This paper argues that the World Health Organization was unjustly criticized and delegitimized for three reasons: (1) unwillingness of member states to cooperate and the WHO’s lack of authority to ensure compliance; (2) misunderstanding – by states as well as the WHO itself – of the WHO’s founding mission and its current role as an international organization; (3) the lacking capacity of states and national healthcare systems to face a pandemic due to the privatization of health related industries. It suggests that more authority be given to the organization to ensure accurate and independent decision-making.