The World Health Organization should establish a single, unified WHO Center for Health Emergency Preparedness and Response — but not with Director-General Margaret Chan at the helm.
In its final report, launched Tuesday, July 7, the panel tasked to review WHO’s early response to the Ebola crisis asked the leadership of the U.N. health agency to establish an independent board to oversee the center, which it deemed needed “new organizational structures and procedures.”
The center needs to be headed by a different individual who must have “full operational authority” in emergencies. The post, the panel argued, should be “advertised immediately” — based on the phrasing, the panel seems to suggest that a competitive application process is needed to find the head of the new center, instead of going through an appointments system.
Read more stories on the World Health Organization:
► Help row, not steer: Lessons from the Ebola crisis response
► To accommodate reforms, Chan proposes 5 percent increase in WHO contributions
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
