Ashraf Engineer
March 29, 2025
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Hello and welcome to All Indians Matter. I am Ashraf Engineer.
The day he took oath as President, Donald Trump issued an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, better known as WHO. This is widely expected to impact the world’s readiness for infectious diseases.
The way global public health threats are playing out, with COVID-19 offering a preview of what could come, the need of the hour is for nations to collaborate. No country can fight such threats on its own, even if it’s the US. The WHO is the United Nations’ specialised health agency, an inter-governmental body that collaborates with member states. It provides leadership on global health matters, shapes health research, sets standards, offers evidence-based policy options, provides technical support and monitors health trends. The world needs an effective WHO to keep it safe from the diseases it is dealing with and those to come.
In India, the WHO plays a crucial role in public healthcare, as we shall see in this episode. It is a critical piece of India’s overall healthcare mosaic and without it public health services would be even less effective than they are now.
SIGNATURE TUNE
Founded in 1948, the WHO has more than 190 member countries and, among the public health programmes it is responsible for, is vaccines. Recall how critical this was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year, its scientists work with health officials around the world to determine which influenza and COVID strains to include in updated versions of vaccines. As a member, the US had access to these samples, which helped it develop vaccines in time for the annual flu season. WHO was also instrumental in eradicating smallpox and is working to eliminate polio.
People like Trump ask what WHO has done for the world. The answer is: a lot.
It has worked in landscapes as diverse as battlefields and laboratories. It works on health frontlines in more than 150 locations and has achieved several health milestones.
So, being part of such an international network is critical when a new threat like COVID-19 emerges. The outbreaks are usually report first to the WHO, which then analyses samples and lays down guidelines on tackling the threat.
To countries that are too poor to formulate health norms on their own, the WHO provides guidance on a number of fronts, from breastfeeding to diabetes.
The WHO has been particularly active in conflict zones, such as during the Israeli genocide in Gaza and in Ukraine. It delivers vaccines and medical supplies that save countless lives. It also evacuates the injured and provides lifesaving equipment in conflict or disaster areas.
It has done all of this in the face of grave danger, with more than 1,200 attacks in 2023 alone on its workers, patients, hospitals, clinics and ambulances in 19 countries. More than 700 died and 1,200 were injured in these attacks.
The WHO has been instrumental in achieving several milestones over the decades. In 2024 alone, its members Brazil, Chad, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and Vietnam eliminated a range of tropical diseases, including leprosy and trachoma. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis were eliminated in Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Among the government agencies it worked closely with was the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Dozens of CDC researchers were assigned to the WHO and the withdrawal would mean a halt to the exchange of information on emerging threats. For example, CDC officials have in the past worked in India as WHO representatives on tuberculosis control, for instance. This is because the WHO is a non-political organisation and so its workers can travel unhindered within India, meet with officials and roll out health programmes.
Another example of how it enables inter-country collaboration was the eradication of smallpox. It required the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union to work together during the Cold War, which they did through the WHO, and the disease was eradicated.
Coming to India, it became part of the organisation on January 12, 1948. The first session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia was held on October 4 to 5, 1948, in the office of the Indian minister of health and inaugurated by then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
In recent times, the ‘WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019-2023: A Time of Transition’ was jointly developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the WHO India office. It provided a roadmap for WHO to work with the government towards achieving its health goals.
The India roadmap is among the first to fully align itself with the WHO 13th General Programme of Work and its ‘triple billion’ targets, Sustainable Development Goals and the WHO South-East Asia Region’s eight Flagship Priorities.
The roadmap builds on key strategic initiatives such as India’s National Health Policy (2017), Ayushman Bharat and the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme. The strategy also addresses the control of antimicrobial resistance, air pollution and mental illnesses.
All of this is expected to positively impact India’s health sector and improve access to quality healthcare, especially among underserved populations.
Other than the roadmap, the WHO supports the government’s efforts by:
- Strengthening healthcare infrastructure and systems
- Providing expertise and technical support for disease control and elimination
- Enhancing public health programmes through evidence-based policies and practices
- Supporting India in achieving its health-related Sustainable Development Goals
To get more granular, the WHO provides technical expertise in fields such as disease control, health system strengthening and public health policy. It also builds capacity of health professionals and institutions. It assists in the development and implementation of health policies and plans. The WHO also supports India in establishing disease surveillance systems as well as promoting research in health to inform policy.
One of the widest areas of action involve programmes for health promotion and disease prevention, including non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases and environmental health initiatives.
With its sustained focus, the WHO and India have achieved significant milestones together:
- Polio eradication. India was declared polio-free in 2014, achieved through extensive immunisation campaigns supported by WHO.
- Similarly, it was instrumental in supporting India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program, developing strategies for TB control and elimination.
- WHO provided support during the COVID-19 pandemic, including technical guidance, surveillance and capacity building for healthcare workers.
- It has also assisted in the development and dissemination of various public health guidelines and standards.
This approach is seen across various countries. It’s almost as if the WHO is an air traffic controller for public health across the world.
Of course, it has its flaws. It has often been criticised for its bureaucracy and inefficiencies. These are problems that can be resolved. Withdrawing from it doesn’t help; it hobbles the world’s capacity to deal with health threats.
The world is facing heightened health challenges, and not just from infectious diseases but urbanisation and climate change too. This means global collaboration on health is more important than ever. It’s the WHO that makes such collaboration possible. If the WHO weakens, we all get a little less safe.
Thank you all for listening. Please visit allindiansmatter.in for more columns and audio podcasts. You can follow me on Twitter at @AshrafEngineer and @AllIndiansCount. Search for the All Indians Matter page on Facebook. On Instagram, the handle is @AllIndiansMatter. Email me at editor@allindiansmatter.in. Catch you again soon.
