Context: The US President Donald Trump has passed an executive order to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Relevance of the topic:
Prelims: Organisation based question on WHO and the UN.
Mains: Detailed question on role of WHO and impact of US pull out on working or organisation.
Reasons for the US withdrawal from WHO
- Inefficiency allegations: Trump criticises WHO as ineffective agency. E.g., WHO failed to control CoVID-19 pandemic.
- Discriminatory in nature: US claims that WHO is discriminatory in nature of its operations, as it focuses more on the developing nations, by extracting funds from the first world nations.
- Bias allegations: Trump alleges the WHO to be biased against the interests of the US as it has failed to convey the true picture of CoVID-19 spread to US authorities for timely action.
- Chinese influence: Trump alleges the present Director General of WHO is under the influence of China, and China is using public relations and backdoor funding channels to compromise the integrity of the organisation.
- Additional burden on exchequers: US funds about 15% of annual funds to WHO making it the largest fund giver. This puts an additional burden on the US economy compromising its nationalistic agendas.
Impact of US withdrawal on WHO
- Funding constraints: The US contributed about 15% of the WHO annual funding, withdrawal of US will limit the funding of the agency.
- Compromised operations: The logistical and funding challenges will have a cascading impact on operations of WHO leaving its initiatives like free vaccine distribution in a limbo.
- Degrading reputation: US enjoys a great soft power and diplomatic strength across the world. US withdrawal from WHO may degrade the reputation of WHO across the globe.
- Domino action: With the US withdrawal other nations may withdraw in the same fashion from the WHO, either to please the US or to reduce the funding burden on them
- Susceptibility to future pandemic: WHO hosts various programs like ‘One Health’ and participates in ‘GAVI vaccine alliance’, withdrawal of US may reduce the power of WHO to handle future pandemic making world vulnerable to future pandemic.
Impacts on India
- Restraining developmental work: WHO leads various health initiatives in India like WASH, hampered operations of WHO will negatively impact these initiatives in India.
- Diplomatic burden: US can use its power to persuade India to leave WHO to legitimise its action of withdrawal from the agency.
- Hampering global vision: India has contributed to WHO in the form of generic medicines and affordable vaccines. US withdrawal will limit the capacity of India to actualise the dream of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.’
- Funding burden: With the US withdrawal, funding obligations for nations like India may increase to sustain the WHO operations. This will put an additional burden on the Indian economy hampering other welfare targets of the government.
Way Forward
- Diplomatic engagements: Nations like India, Germany and France that enjoy cordial relations with the US should engage in finding a middle ground of addressing the US concerns and maintaining operations of WHO.
- E.g., Advocating to reform the institutional structure of WHO, making it more democratic in nature by enhancing all members' partnership.
- Parallel deals: India can explore a parallel cooperation with the US to gain funds and logistical help for sustaining the already running WHO initiatives.
- Long-term investment: India can invest in healthcare, sanitation and vaccine Research and Development to reduce the dependency on WHO initiatives.
About World Health Organisation:
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
- It was established on April 7, 1948, which is now celebrated annually as World Health Day.
- Members: 192 member states (excluding the US)
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Organisational structure of WHO:
- Director General: The chief executive officer, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day functioning of WHO.
- World Health Assembly: The decision making body of WHO, comprising all the members, meets annually for setting agendas for the year.
- Executive board: Composed of 34 technically qualified members elected by the WHA for three-year terms.
- Programs and initiatives:
- Vaccine and Immunisation: Partnered with organisations like Gavi and UNICEF for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
- Coordinating for global health security as it manages the International Health Regulations (IHR) framework.
- Maternal health and child welfare: Manages the International Health Regulations (IHR) framework.
- Famous reports and publications: World Health Report, World Malaria Report, Global Tuberculosis Report, World Mental Health Report, Global Nutrition Report, World Health Statistics, International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Noncommunicable Diseases Progress Monitor, Global Vaccine Action Plan Monitoring Reports, and the State of the World’s Nursing Report.
Conclusion: The US decision to pull out from WHO will possibly give a shock to the operations and reputation of WHO. But, deep diplomatic engagement, exploring private funding and alternate institutional mechanisms can help India and the world to maintain the pace of WHO initiatives.