The Second Most Difficult Job in the World

This article addresses the ecology and functioning of the World Health Organization in a time of crisis, zooming in on the pressures on both the organization and its leadership generated by the circumstance that the organization cannot avoid allocating costs and benefits when taking decisions. The article argues that the covid-19 crisis illustrates how international organizations generally and the who in particular are subjected to conflicting demands, and how this impacts on the role of decision-makers. The latter, it transpires, need to display considerable practical wisdom.

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Infodemic amid the COVID-19 pandemic

First Monday ◽

10.5210/fm.v25i12.10811 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shekhar Shukla

Keyword(s):

World Health Organization ◽

Decision Makers ◽

World Health ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization ◽

Equivalence Mapping

The unfortunate arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has also brought along with it a tsunami of information that can be both authentic and important as well as non-reliable and misguiding. The World Health Organization (WHO) coins this outburst of information in this era of pandemic as an infodemic. It becomes essential for societies to consume and act on trusted information in these times of uncertainty and grief. In this article, we describe and assess the role of blockchain technology and its features to establish an environment of a trusted information ecosystem. We present an equivalence mapping of these important parameters to curb an infodemic with blockchain technology features and applications. This equivalence mapping provides a directional sense to stakeholders, decision-makers, policy-makers and investors to gauge and synthesize the potential of blockchain technology for tackling an infodemic.

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Treatment Options in COVID-19: The Role of Bioavailable Antiviral Ribonucleoside Analog on NHC in vitro

Journal of Regenerative Biology and Medicine ◽

10.37191/mapsci-2582-385x-2(1)-024 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lara Bittmann

Keyword(s):

World Health Organization ◽

Clinical Picture ◽

Treatment Options ◽

World Health ◽

Wuhan City ◽

The World ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization

On December 31, 2019, WHO was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause by Chinese authorities on January 7, 2020 and was provisionally named "2019-nCoV". This new Coronavirus causes a clinical picture which has received now the name COVID-19. The virus has spread subsequently worldwide and was explained on the 11th of March, 2020 by the World Health Organization to the pandemic.

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The Reaction to the Ebola Epidemic within the United Nations Framework: What Next for the World Health Organization?

Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online ◽

10.1163/18757413-00180014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 405-424

Author(s):

Pia Acconci

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Security Council ◽

International Health ◽

World Health ◽

Director General ◽

The World ◽

The United Nations ◽

Health Organization

The World Health Organization (who) was established in 1946 as a specialized agency of the United Nations (un). Since its establishment, the who has managed outbreaks of infectious diseases from a regulatory, as well as an operational perspective. The adoption of the International Health Regulations (ihrs) has been an important achievement from the former perspective. When the Ebola epidemic intensified in 2014, the who Director General issued temporary recommendations under the ihrs in order to reduce the spread of the disease and minimize cross-border barriers to international trade. The un Secretary General and then the Security Council and the General Assembly have also taken action against the Ebola epidemic. In particular, the Security Council adopted a resolution under Chapter vii of the un Charter, and thus connected the maintenance of the international peace and security to the health and social emergency. After dealing with the role of the who as a guide and coordinator of the reaction to epidemics, this article shows how the action by the Security Council against the Ebola epidemic impacts on the who ‘authority’ for the protection of health.

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