What the incoming head of WHO's emergencies program sees in its future

The World Health Organization’s emergencies program was created to help provide rapid response to countries in the case of outbreaks and health emergencies. It was established in the aftermath of the West African Ebola outbreak, where the agency was heavily criticized for being slow in responding to the crisis. But almost a decade since its creation, says the man who will be leading the program starting June 16, the program also needs to evolve. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who will be replacing Dr. Mike Ryan, said there’s now an increasing number of national public health agencies with the responsibility to lead work on emergencies. As countries lead on the front lines, WHO could retreat into a capacity-building role, providing training and equipment. “I think the future of our program is to be less seen as the foot soldiers, but to let the countries lead more, do more themselves,” he said on May 22, during a Devex event on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly. “We want to see less of our blue jackets in front.” He’s not just talking about direct support to these institutions. The U.N. health agency can also link them up with other health institutions in Africa and beyond. But recent donor funding cuts will no doubt have an impact on the program. “Our work in emergencies is so important. … It’s like going to a city and asking how much of your fire service or your ambulance service you think you need to cut. No leader makes those decisions without a lot of trepidation,” Ihekweazu said. But “the reality is, when you lose suddenly 20% of your resources as an organization altogether, there will be an impact. So we will definitely lose some of our colleagues, sadly,” he said. WHO has recently announced a slimmed-down senior management. Decisions about which of the directors and staff will stay and who will go are expected to follow in the coming weeks and months.