Topic 2: The Dual Burden of Disease
The World Health Organization (often abbreviated to WHO) is an international organization dedicated to coordinating public health efforts throughout the world. The World Health Organization has been in existence for more than sixty years, and was established in April 1948 along with a number of other United Nations agencies. The WHO is a subsidiary of the United Nations Development Group, and is currently headed by Doctor Margaret Chan. The WHO is dedicated to “the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.” The primary responsibility of the WHO is the coordination of international disease control and epidemic prevention. The World Health Organization keeps track of potentially dangerous viral and bacterial outbreaks, and encourages immunization efforts throughout the world. The most notable triumph of the WHO is commonly considered to be the eradication of smallpox, which is an extremely infectious and lethal disease that now only exists in laboratory settings. The WHO has also pushed polio to the brink of elimination, while continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza, and malaria. The WHO both coordinates relief efforts when necessary and provides guidelines for private charitable groups operating in endangered areas. In addition to field work and strategy, the WHO is responsible for a considerable body of academic research aimed at improving public health throughout the world. The WHO publishes the World Health Survey and the WHO Quality of Life Instrument, and the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. The World Health Organization is one of the most universal organizations on the planet, claiming two more members than the United Nations General Assembly at 193. The WHO maintains six large regional, mostly autonomous offices, in addition to the central headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Health Organization is governed by the World Health Assembly, which appoints 34 executive board members to three year terms.
The World Health Organization at Harvard Model Congress Asia will imitate an annual meeting of the World Health Assembly. Delegates assigned to HMCA’s World Health Organization are expected to be familiar both with the mission and history of the WHO and the most salient controversies confronting the agency. In the real world WHO, each of the 34 executive board members are medically certified health experts. Although a comprehensive base of medical knowledge is unnecessary, a basic understanding of the diseases confronting the developing world will be helpful to effective discussion during the simulation. In addition to discussing any crises that arise and the briefings prepared by the committee chairs, delegates working in HMCA’s WHO can expect to deliver testimony to a number of other committees throughout the simulation. By presenting position statements and resolutions to various domestic and international committees, WHO delegates will gain a fuller understanding of how the WHO operates within the framework of the United Nations and the international community.
