As a consequence of the recent Ebola outbreak the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a comprehensive reform "to address all hazards flexibly, rapidly, and responsively", said Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, regional director of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, at a lecture she gave at the CEU School of Public Policy on March 4.
The talk was held in cooperation with CEU's Public Health Research Group as part of the School of Public Policy course "International Policy Practice", taught by SPP Visiting Professor Sara Svensson. Following a short introduction on the structure of the WHO Jakab continued with a comprehensive presentation of five issues. The first half of her talk focused on three current challenges for the WHO: the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, the above-mentioned reform, and the public health impact of migration. She went on to address the functioning of the organization, including aspects such as decision-making, performance, transparency, and accountability before turning to the issue of policy coordination and partnerships in Europe.
Jakab stressed that the Ebola outbreak demonstrated "a lot of weaknesses" and "the need to further strengthen the national health systems." It also led, however, to a process of transforming the organization's responses to emergencies and outbreaks. Based on several independent expert recommendations the director-general and regional directors have been working on a reform of WHO's emergency work since January 2015. To make this "New Program" work structural change within the organization is necessary, a change of internal culture, as well as political and financial support from its member states and partners. The program will create a single approach for all emergencies (outbreaks, humanitarian, and other) standardized across all levels and regions of the organization. Most importantly the program will establish "one line of accountability, one set of processes, and one set of benchmarks." By strengthening the operational character of the organization the reform has had a fundamental impact on the role of the WHO in (global) health emergencies. As of February 2016 all new health emergencies, such as the Zika virus, are managed based on key aspects of the new program.
Regarding the impact of migration on public health in Europe Jakab made it very clear that data shows that "there is no systematic and systemic association between migration and the importation of communicable diseases," contrary to what some politicians claim. Of the migrant population 95% are healthy individuals and the most frequent health problems among them are actually non-communicable diseases. Consequently, migrants "do not pose an additional health threat." The WHO is asking its member states to provide "the same access to health systems for migrants as for the resident population irrespective of their legal status." Jakab also pointed out that the WHO supports health screenings if they are "non-discriminative and in the interest of the migrants' health."
This was the second year that Jakab gave a guest lecture in the course "International Policy Practice," which provides students with insight into the functioning of international organizations, NGOs and private foundations. Other guest lecturers included practitioners from the United Nations, the World Bank, OSCE, and UNHCR.