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The United Nations General Assembly is underway in New York, and ahead of the upcoming public launch of our model to replace the WHO, Action on World Health has asked Member States to do two things next week.
We all know the existing system is not working. The WHO sits at the centre of an increasingly complex international health system, while its own role stretches across health, social, economic, environmental, regulatory and behavioural issues.
It is heavily dependent on voluntary, often earmarked funding, while political and geopolitical pressures raise serious questions about its independence. COVID-19 showed just how important scientific independence, transparency and accountability are, yet the General Assembly is now pushing ahead with the WHO’s agenda by convening a high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on Friday, 25 September.
We have shared an advanced summary of our proposals with Member States attending the General Assembly and given separate briefings to interested Parties who wish to explore a better alternative to organising international health cooperation. In it, we have called on Member States to do TWO things:
1. Commission an Independent Review of Existing International Health Governance
Support a General Assembly resolution establishing an independent review of the effectiveness, accountability, transparency, financing and scientific independence of the WHO and wider international health architecture, including the lessons from COVID-19 and whether further structural reform is required.
2. Initiate Formal Member-State Consideration of our plans to replace the WHO
Support a General Assembly resolution inviting all Member States to submit their views on the proposals to the Secretary-General by 15 March 2027, providing an evidence base for consideration of whether the proposal should proceed to formal intergovernmental examination.
For now, our message to governments at the United Nations is simple: the problems with global health deserve proper scrutiny, and alternatives needs to be heard.