Reforming the World Health Organization

Devi Sridhar, DPhil; Lawrence O. Gostin, JD

Author Affiliations: Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, Oxford, England (Dr Sridhar); and O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC (Mr Gostin).

1. Corresponding Author: Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001 (gostin@law.georgetown.edu).

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KEYWORDS: 
• budgets, 
• health policy, 
• organization and administration, 
• organizational culture, 
• private sector, 
• public health administration, 
• united nations, 
• world health, 
• world health organization.

In December 2010, Jack Chow,^1​ the former World Health Organization (WHO) assistant director-general, asked, “Is the WHO becoming irrelevant?” A month later, the WHO's executive board considered the agency's future within global health governance. After a year-long consultation with member states on its financing, Director-General Margaret Chan called the WHO overextended and unable to respond with speed and agility to today's global health challenges.^2/.../