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1 1 (August 2, 2017)

handle is hein.crs/govccyp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~~k\ %~cnc)'n~S$W~flas riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ Updated August 2, 2017 World Health Organization (WHO): Background and Issues B acgro nd Established in 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) is a policy making body that directs and coordinates health efforts within the United Nations system. The WHO also establishes norms and guidelines, monitors global health trends, and provides technical support to member states. Perceptions about WHO capacity, particularly around preventing and controlling the spread of disease, are mixed. Examples of WHO accomplishments in disease control include global immunization campaigns that have eradicated smallpox and significantly reduced the presence of wild polio in the world. On the other hand, some criticized WHO's handling of the HiN1 Influenza Epidemic and the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. On July 1, 2017, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus became the first African to be elected the Director-General of WHO. His five-year term includes a mandate to improve effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. In addition, Dr. Tedros has set four goals: ensure universal access to health care; respond quickly and effectively to health emergencies; secure the health, dignity, and rights of women, children, and adolescents; and decrease the health impacts of climate and environmental change. The leadership transition happens amid questions regarding the WHO's capacity to meet its priorities and raise revenues to support those efforts. Some observers believe that the WHO should strengthen partnerships with the private sector and other nongovernmental donors to increase financial support for the organization. Other groups are concerned about how increased funding from non-state actors might influence WHO policy recommendations. This In Focus discusses selected issues currently facing WHO, including reform and funding issues of ongoing interest to Congress. The WHO has made progress in its reform agenda. In 2016, the organization adopted a framework to regulate engagements with non-state actors and launched an online repository that provides information about such engagements (see Transparency). In addition, the WHO created a portal with data about access to health services and health equity globally and in each member state. The organization also adopted a two-pronged strategy to bolster revenue streams through increased engagement with non-state actors and member states, particularly middle- income countries. In June 2017, the new Director-General toured the United States and visited key funders, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank. In May 2017, the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) approved a 3% increase in assessed contributions for the 2018 2019 budget. The WHA adopted a $554 million budget for the Health Emergencies Program-a new initiative designed to improve global health and humanitarian response capacity. While some progress has been made in improving operational capacity and instituting reforms, some work remains, as discussed below. WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and relies on six regional offices to implement WHO policy within countries. Each regional office is led by a regionally elected director. Regional directors have a high degree of autonomy over the administration of resources. Some critics think that this structure has hindered accountability, fostered wasteful redundancies, slowed policy implementation and reform, and resulted in inconsistent program quality. Others argue that WHO needs strong regional and country offices because budgetary and operational capacities vary across countries and regional directors best understand how to carry out WHO policy under each unique circumstance. WHO Structure The World Health Assembly (WHA) is made of 194 member states that meet each May to set WHO policies and priorities. The WHA also appoints the Director-General (DG), reviews and approves the budget, and considers reports of the Executive Board. The Executive Board is an advisory body composed of health experts from 34 member states. Board members serve three-year terms, with annual meetings in January and May to develop the agenda and draft resolutions for the forthcoming WHA. The Secretariat is the organization's technical and administrative staff composed of the DG, six Regional Directors, and more than 7,000 people who implement WHO policy and programs worldwide. The Director-General leads the Secretariat over five-year terms after being nominated by the Board and appointed by the WHA. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first DG from Africa, assumed his role on July I, 2017. The rise and spread of infectious disease has reinvigorated calls for a quicker and more agile WHO. For instance, groups criticized the WHO consensus-building process and internal procedures for its slow response during the Ebola outbreak. Amid the crisis, the WHO deliberated for more than four months before declaring the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the International Health Regulations (IHR)-an international agreement aimed at strengthening global capacity during public health events with potential international impact. CRS In Focus IF10022, The Global Health Security Agenda and International Health Regulations. The Ebola crisis exposed the frailty of country health systems and showed that the world is generally unprepared to control infectious disease outbreaks in low-resource p\w -- , gnom goo mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LULANJILiN,

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