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Committee holds short inquiry on the World Health Organisation

13 July 2020

The International Relations and Defence Committee will this week take evidence on the role of the World Health Organisation in co-ordinating global health responses, and its funding and governance.

Witnesses

Friday 17 July at 10.00am via Zoom

  • Dr Brian McCloskey CBE, Senior Consulting Fellow, Global Health Programme, Chatham House
  • Professor Sophie Harman, Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary, University of London

At 11.00am via Zoom

  • Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair, Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh
  • Professor David Heymann CBE, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Distinguished Fellow, Global Health Programme, Chatham House
  • OB Sisay OBE, Senior COVID-19 Adviser, Tony Blair Institute

Possible questions

  • Is the way the World Health Organisation is structured, and the powers at its  disposal, adequate  to  deliver its  mandate, including coordinating the response  to the  current COVID-19 pandemic? 
  • Does the WHO have the right priorities?
  • What were the key lessons learned by the WHO from the SARS, Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks, and were they effectively implemented?
  • Is the current WHO funding model sustainable?
  • How effectively are the current Director-General and the WHO as a whole managing to operate in the context of geopolitical pressures?
  • What will be the impact of the US's suspension of its contributions, and its planned departure from the WHO?
  • How significant a role does the UK play in the WHO?

Further information

Image: WHO / Antoine Tardy