WHO loses without world health group? The U.S. does
(Mar. 10, 2025) — With the news of the United States withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), I wanted to take a moment to consider the implications.
WHO was founded on April 7, 1948 (World Health Day), after formation of the United Nations (UN). It was comprised of elements of earlier international agencies, including the League of Nations and the Paris-based Office International d’Hygiène Publique. It was designated a specialized agency of the UN intended to focus on world health issues.
The mandate of the organization is to work toward “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.” Day to day, that work includes preventing malaria, curbing the rise of obesity, and tracking the effects of global issues such climate change and genetically modified foods on public health.
Certainly, the highest profile work of the organization revolves around global communicable threats but WHO has greater reach. It also focuses on cancer, diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases.
WHO articulates standards for international health, gathers global health data and provides a forum for policy discussions. WHO can provide aid and expertise of a technical nature but has no binding authority on member states. It publishes the World Health Report, which provides review and analysis of global health topics.
WHO’s undeniable successes include work on the eradication of smallpox, the near eradication of polio and the development of a vaccine to combat Ebola. Its attention is currently focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, heart disease and cancer.
Proactively, it is concerned with global promotion of a healthy diet, food security, and the reduction of work-related injury and illness. WHO is also engaged in addressing substance abuse on a global scale. Advocacy for universal health coverage and coordination of global emergency response are other top priorities.
For the past several years, WHO has been drafting a “pandemic agreement” to ensure a level of global preparedness and response capabilities to avoid the mistakes made in the handling of the COVID crisis.
The U.S withdrawal will dramatically impact WHO’s funding and access to technical experts. This will make it more difficult for it to function and continue to improve as an organization.
As Americans, we would do well to remember that WHO tracks seasonal influenza and provides annual recommendations for the flu vaccine. It further serves as a “first alert system” to provide early warning of new outbreaks of infectious disease anywhere in the world.
Opting to walk away over working in international collaboration for a better WHO will force the United States to either do without or recreate these functions to ensure the health and safety of Americans. A challenging proposition to say the least.
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Nathalie Montijo
Nathalie Raven Archangel-Montijo holds a rather interesting array of degrees and certifications, including master’s in nursing and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). She has post-master certification as an adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP) and a license to practice acupuncture in California (L.Ac). To round all that out, she is certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) and as an advanced certified Hospice and palliative care nurse (ACHPN).
She also performs in the outlaw country band, Nineteen Hand Horse.