On March 31, GSL Director Steven Hoffman was quoted in a long-form feature in Rolling Stone Magazine about the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in general and in times of crisis such as COVID-19.
In the article, Hoffman explained that the WHO is trying to achieve a difficult balancing act – on the one hand, being a world-class global health agency, and on the other managing the global politics that emerge from health issues. While in the past the WHO had to compete for resources against other global health actors, Hoffman elaborates in the piece, “it is now trying to be a steward of the system as a whole.”, with its director-general serving as a “global-health political megaphone about what governments need to do and the type of investments they need to make.”
Later in the article, Hoffman showed skepticism about the WHO’s praise of China’s draconian measures to try to curb the spread of COVID-19, since it could/has violated human rights in the process. He showed himself hopeful that events like COVID-19 might be a wake-up call for the international community to better fund public health.
To read the article, that features contributions from a number of impressive public health experts, click here.
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