Research On The World Health Organization’s Governance Of Global Public Health Emergencies

As a specialized agency under the United Nations that responds to global health issues,the World Health Organization has been the central mechanism of global health governance since its establishment in 1948,playing an irreplaceable role in the field of global health governance.Global health governance consists of two parts: The first is to shape and advocate for international norms related to public health;The second is to coordinate with countries to jointly solve crises during global public health emergencies.In terms of the latter,global public health emergencies are becoming more frequent,and their impact and devastation are gradually expanding.Accordingly,the governance of public health emergencies has increasingly become an unshirkable responsibility of WHO.However,scholars at home and abroad generally believe that WHO has not performed as well as it should in responding to global public health emergencies.Especially after the outbreak of COVID-19,WHO has been widely questioned by the international community.This paper is concerned with the question: What is the role of WHO in global public health emergencies based on its authority? What are the factors that contribute to WHO’s ineffectiveness in the governance of public health emergencies?WHO has three types of authority in global public health emergency governance,namely,delegated authority,expert authority,and capacity-based authority.Accordingly,WHO primarily plays roles in providing advice and technical guidance,and taking effective action.In addition,an analysis of the observable results of actual actions based on WHO’s action objectives in the context of WHO’s response to the COVID-19 reveals that WHO’s effectiveness in the governance of global public health emergencies is influenced by institutional arrangements,issue characteristics,financial resources,and the characteristics of member states’ networks.Therefore,improving WHO’s governance effectiveness can be carried out through the paths of improving relevant institutional arrangements,enhancing scientific awareness,and strengthening health cooperation with emerging powers to better address public health challenges.