WHO modifies its structure to combat non-communicable diseases and antimicrobial resistance
13 marzo 2019

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced March 6 a series of changes to the institution with an eye to tackling global public health challenges. Among the cited challenges were Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and antimicrobial resistance. The key part of the WHO’s restructuring concerns the creation of new areas within the organization, which is already in effect.

The most relevant changes are:

  • Updating the WHO organizational chart through the creation of new offices and the renewal of job positions. The organization thus hopes to align the work of headquarters with regional and national agencies. For example, the post of Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases is created, headed by Ren Minghui, former WHO Director-General for AIDS and Tropical Diseases. In addition, the current Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health, Svetlana Axelrod, was appointed as head of WHO’s Global Coordinating Mechanism for the prevention and control of NCDs. Finally, the representative of the Infection Prevention and Control area of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, Hanan Balkhy, is the new Assistant Director-General for antimicrobial resistance.
  • Create a Data, Analysis and Delivery Division to improve data collection, storage and analysis to drive change in national public policies. The office also tracks progress on the “three billion goals” and identifies obstacles and solutions.
  • Create a Department of Digital Health to support innovation in digital health in WHO member countries.

Through these reforms, Dr. Ghebreyesus hopes to contribute to the fulfillment of the “three billion” goals for 2024, which are: one billion more people with Universal Health Coverage (UHC), one billion more people better protected against health emergencies and one billion more people with a better quality of life.

The public official said the measures seek to “completely change the DNA of the organization” to achieve a measurable impact on the lives of the world’s population. “The world has changed and we must adapt to it,” Dr. Ghebreyesus said. He stated that the changes had been agreed with the directors of the regional agencies, including Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

 

Noticias Relacionadas
wefeqwf