Thread by @UntergrundmannG

Been thinking of the @WHO issue. And I realize that it's ridiculous and unthinking to say - "Junk it, because it screwed up".

Okay? But are we sure we've learnt something from this? It coordinates health related efforts across a bunch of countries, a lot many of whom are ...
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... not on speaking terms with each other (at the best of times), if not actively warring against and trying to subvert each other's political establishments apart from trying to out-compete with each other in influencing OTHER countries.

Sure, it screwed up. :)
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What else did you expect? When it becomes an important battleground for geopolitics and influence. When healthcare becomes an industry, and we start thinking bottomlines, you would expect Big Pharma - which spans countries (and doesn't have any interest other than its own) ... +

... to set up lobbies and try and influence the WHO. And its guidance. And then we have a bunch of world "leaders" who're happy to outsource their thinking and their responsibilities to an "authority" which it never was and should never have become.

So, then it becomes ... +

... pretty obvious that the leadership of WHO and its staff try and "manage" these competing interests, than stick to their core task and responsibility.

Should not surprise anyone that communications become IFFY and unclear with time. And nothing works as it should.
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The WHO muddles along and nobody notices a thing until a real crisis comes along. And it is THEN - that this whole messy situation actually breaks down.

The WHO still tries to "manage" all these interests and powers and influences and lobbies, while trying to do what it is ... +

... supposed to.

You think, things could be better - than what and how they really panned out for #Covid19? Or that they'd have been any different?

So, the point I make here is that it is naive to think of the WHO as a useless entity. There is the need of a coordinator +

as there is the need of a source of information and guidance, for all countries as last resort.

If you think that everyone going local and "looking out for themselves and their interests" is going to pan out, take a look around just your own neighbourhood. Or maybe attend +

just the RWA meetings of your housing complex. :)

I like to think of these things like hair. Hair grows. And you have to periodically keep cutting it back short. To prevent it from falling over your face when you're driving and you end up crashing your car or killing someone.
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The WHO's job is to coordinate health efforts across countries, vaccination programs, health aid in war-torn and disaster-struck zones AND manage pandemic resistance efforts.

It's mostly technical. And would, usually, be boring AF. And would have no power. Or authority.
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Like the 'trouble-shooting' dept in the software engg section of your IT company. It has no influence and nobody really cares, till there's some massive bug which threatens system-wide outages.

If we can return to cutting WHO down to THIS size, I think it'd work.

Fin.

Cc: @NachoOliveras @_benoux_ @bmiloy