Global Health Governance at the Crossroads: An Introduction to the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA74)

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold and tensions rise over limited availability of vaccines, now more than ever the World Health Organization (WHO) finds itself at the centre of fast-moving discussions on the future of global health governance. High-level panels are considering ways to strengthen global pandemic preparedness and response, and more broadly global health security, with a particular emphasis on WHO and other multilateral institutions. On May 20, the Global Health Centre and the United Nations Foundation will host the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) Open Briefing for delegates and non-state actors. After a short introduction on the key issues at stake at the 74th WHA, the agenda will examine the global health landscape a year since the arrival of Covid-19, and delve into the outcomes and implications of the reports of the IHR Review Committee, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, and the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee, and the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. PROGRAMME KEYNOTE ADDRESS Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO WHA MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES Gian Luca Burci, Adjunct Professor, International Law, The Graduate Institute FIRESIDE CHAT Gro Harlem Brundtland, Co-Chair, Global Pandemic Preparedness Monitoring Board Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Co-Chair, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness & Response Moderator: Carmen Paun, Health Care Reporter, POLITICO PANEL DISCUSSION Julio Frenk, President, University of Miami Joy Phumaphi, Co-Chair, UN Secretary General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Women, Children and Adolescent Health Armando De Negri Filho, Member, Independent Experts on the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development CLOSING REMARKS Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health Strategy, United Nations Foundation