Global Functions at the World Health Organization

Abstract:     
The World Health Organization (WHO) has always functioned in a worldwide context, but accelerating globalisation has changed dramatically the context in which WHO works, offering both opportunities and challenges for health and its distribution. But globalisation has also hastened the spread of infectious diseases. WHO's work and functions are defined by its constitution and can be categorised as global, national, and intranational. Global functions exceed the reach of individual nations and include standard-setting, global initiatives, professional management, financial resource transfer, and scientific research capacity. Global health functions can also be understood as actions to promote public health goods for the benefit of all. These goods include global advocacy for health, bio-ethical and human rights instruments, disease surveillance, and application of standards. Examples range from WHO's promotion of ethics and human rights through international legal instruments to WHO leadership in developing the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This article argues that these areas of work and others urgently need strengthening, and WHO must reassert its role in integrating, coordinating, and advancing the worldwide agenda on health.

Keywords: World Health Organization, globalization, human rights, health

JEL Classifications: H87, I18, I31

Accepted Paper Series