health

A year on, WHO still struggling to manage pandemic response

15 Comments
By MARIA CHENG and JAMEY KEATEN

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15 Comments
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China will tell him what to say.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

You can't trust WHO ever again as long as china is a member. That's just how it is now.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

"It advised people against wearing masks for months and asserted that COVID-19 wasn’t widely spread in the air. It also declined to publicly call out countries — particularly China — for mistakes that senior WHO officials grumbled about privately."

Some folks on this forum used to contend that if you criticize WHO you can only be a right wing partisan. This balanced article is a tight slap on their face.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The problem is not WHO. The problems are two particular members - China and Russia. China always denying everything, Russia being always in an opposition and trying to stir issues.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The WHO is run by inexperienced and incompetent people. Tedros should resign together with his team (Aylward, van Kerkhove, Ryan, etc..) . They have all failed to save millions of human lives. People around the world have lost faith in this organisation. The investigation team sent to Wuhan was a BIG JOKE. What evidence do you hope to find a year later? Absurd!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Notice how those who critize the WHO for their China response can never explain how the WHO should have served the best interests of the health of the world (you know, their mandate) by taking a political stance against China, resulting in their not being able to participate in 1/5 the world's population?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

"The WHO is run by inexperienced and incompetent people. Tedros should resign together with his team (Aylward, van Kerkhove, Ryan, etc..) "

Completely agree.

The fish rots at the head. Tedros, who is not even a doctor and was allegedly involved in Cholera outbreak coverups in Ethiopia, has China to thank for making him win the elections for WHO top job. He would repay that by publicly praising China at the start of the pandemic even as top officials at WHO thought otherwise.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/27/who-health-china-coronavirus-tedros/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/10/25/another-week-another-scandal-at-the-united-nations/

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/02/china-coronavirus-who-health-soft-power/

WHO has lost all credibility and will not regain it until the top officials claim responsibility and resign. But China will not allow it since it will go against the stated goal of 'rejuvenation of the Chinese nation'.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

WHO has lost all credibility and will not regain it until the top officials claim responsibility and resign.

So what should they do different, and if the results of those actions result in them being kicked out of China, and not having access to 1/5 the population of the planet, how do you see them fulfilling their mandate of keeping the whole world healthy?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Of course, this is a most difficult virus. w.h.o is not God.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"So what should they do different"

Start by resigning and let more capable people - who don't owe a dime to China and actually know a bit about infectious diseases - take over.

the results of those actions result in them being kicked out of China, and not having access to 1/5 the population of the planet, how do you see them fulfilling their mandate of keeping the whole world healthy?"

Hypothetical question. As if their current actions have contributed a lot to keeping the whole world healthy. WHO leadership has blood on their hands, and even if we ignore their obsequious behavior towards China, they could have done a lot to prevent things from going out of control.

Mentioned in the article itself -

"The agency made some costly missteps along the way: It advised people against wearing masks for months and asserted that COVID-19 wasn’t widely spread in the air."

"Greenhalgh said she was less interested in asking WHO to atone for past errors than revising its policies going forward. In October, she wrote to the head of a key WHO committee on infection control, raising concerns about the lack of expertise among some members. She never received a response."

"If WHO’s recommendations are not strong enough, we could see the pandemic go on much longer"

0 ( +2 / -2 )

WHO= Weak Head Organization!! SOLD ans Bought out by China!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Robert CikkiMar. 12  04:59 pm JST

The problem is not WHO. The problems are two particular members - China and Russia. China always denying everything, Russia being always in an opposition and trying to stir issues.

It would've helped a heck of a lot if America was 'GREAT' a year ago but nooooooooo............

We had this Russian Sputnik Caligula excuse of a POTUS who denied and lied about CoVid. He stirred up a lot of civil unrest, disturbances and crap too. Now 500000 Americans have died from te virus, more than any other nation.

Rejoining the WHO is the best and most sensible thing the Biden administration is doing, at least for starters. That's making America GREAT again, at least Joe ain't avoiding it.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Start by resigning and let more capable people - who don't owe a dime to China and actually know a bit about infectious diseases - take over.

Who are these people? I'm suspecting you just threw the word out there, without having any clue whatsoever if there are even people out there able to do the job. Oh, I'm sure you'll come back with some logic like "of course there are", to which I'll reply "you don't even know the positions you speak of that need to be replaced, much less whether there are replacements out there, and the proper circumstances to lure them from their existing jobs over to the new one".

Hypothetical question. As if their current actions have contributed a lot to keeping the whole world healthy. WHO leadership has blood on their hands, and even if we ignore their obsequious behavior towards China, they could have done a lot to prevent things from going out of control.

Again, you criticize without telling what they could have done different. Useless people condemn without a solution. Wise people criticize constructively.

WHO has lost all credibility and will not regain it until the top officials claim responsibility and resign. But China will not allow it since it will go against the stated goal of 'rejuvenation of the Chinese nation'.

Only amongst the morons who listened to Trump, who criticized the WTO in an attempt to divert attention from his complete and utter failure at addressing the pandemic.

Sorry, the WHO has operated to the best of their ability with the mandate they have, which does NOT allow them to be punitive, and requires them to be politically ginger, as they operate under the good will of the nations who host them.

But hey, don't let my truth get in the way of some good-ol extremist right-wing ideological rhetoric.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

"Who are these people?"

So you expect people to believe that there is no one better than Tedros (who is not even a qualified doctor) to run a global health organization with all the resources at its disposal?

"you criticize without telling what they could have done different."

No I mentioned what WHO could have done differently. This article mentions what WHO could have done differently. Hyper partisan trolls skip over anything that does not reinforce their preconceived arguments.

"the WHO has operated to the best of their ability with the mandate they have"

This article says otherwise. Oh sure, both the writers of this article must be right wing ideologues who spew whatever Trump or his followers ask them to.

"don't let my truth"

That part is correct. It is your (made up) truth.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So you expect people to believe that there is no one better than Tedros (who is not even a qualified doctor) to run a global health organization with all the resources at its disposal?

Innuendo does not an argument make. Your 'so you don't think...' does not equate to a logical argument. You need to show me why I shouldn't think that.

I already told you this would happen:

I'm sure you'll come back with some logic like "of course there are", to which I'll reply "you don't even know the positions you speak of that need to be replaced, much less whether there are replacements out there, and the proper circumstances to lure them from their existing jobs over to the new one".

So far we're at you saying 'of course there are'. Let me know if I really need to go through my turn, or if I've already covered it to your understanding above.

No I mentioned what WHO could have done differently. This article mentions what WHO could have done differently.

No you didn't. you threw out a bit of rhetoric, without any kind of specific suggestions about how the WHO would have fulfilled their mandate to be the WORLD health organization by getting themselves kicked out of China for taking a political stance.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

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