H5N1 ‘Bird Flu’ virus, governments around the world had been preparing for another influenza pandemic. Since late 2003 and the re-emergence and the global spread of the The WHO’s Handling of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic The chapter then concludes by examining the reforms currently being implemented to strengthen the WHO’s global health security credentials and what these signify for the future. In so doing, attention is given to the various structural, cultural and political factors that influenced these events, such as the WHO secretariat’s aversion to offending member states and the division of the organisation into autonomous regional offices. More specifically, the chapter proceeds by interrogating what mistakes occurred throughout these two health crises, why they happened, the consequences arising from them and whether the organisation has learnt from these mistakes. This chapter examines these two events through the lens of this volume. These notably include the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak. The IO has found itself in this current predicament again though due to a number of perceived misguided actions and judgements, or ‘mistakes’, in its management of recent health emergencies. Indeed, a perception has increasingly emerged that something has ‘gone wrong’ with the organisation, to the extent that reforming the WHO has become a common refrain. Even so, the fact that the IO’s member states, non-government organisations (NGOs)Ĭivil society organisations (CSOs), are once again questioning the intrinsic value of the WHO is nevertheless alarming. This is not the first time the WHO has faced such questions or, indeed, extensive criticism. Many of these corrective measures were ‘in progress’ at the time of writing. The organisation’s secretariat, and specifically its director-general, has in turn responded to these proposals by outlining various steps to redress the problems that have been identified.
Multiple reports have been produced and recommendations have been posed on how the WHO should be reformed.
Over the past ten years, several independent external reviews, as well as a number of internal commissions, have examined the IO’s activities. As the World Health Organization (WHO) moves into its eighth decade of existence, the intergovernmental organisation (IO) is once again confronted with questions about its continued relevance and performance.
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