A Global Health Opportunity with Effective Leadership
SCOTT C. RATZAN
The recent nomination of a new World Health Organization leader, Dr.
Jung-Wook Lee, suggests an opportunity to advance a new health leadership.
The world has changed since the birth of the WHO, but the ideals remain
the same:
In the preamble of the WHO remains a goal to improve health: ‘‘Informed
opinion and active cooperation on the part of the public are of the
utmost importance in the improvement of health of the people.’’
Yet, the world is a different place than it was a half century ago:
World population now exceeds six billion people, infectious disease
has a new scourge with HIV/AIDS claiming millions of lives, and non-communicable
diseases, including the ‘‘communicated disease’’
of tobacco abuse, lead the way with millions of other deaths.
All of this is a backdrop for WHO leadership in the 21st Century with
192 member states, challenging budgets, proliferation/fractionalization
of activities, and a globalized, politicized membership.
The recent 2002 World health report: Reducing risks, promoting healthy
life reaffirms that major risk factors can be measured and addressed
by the joint efforts of governments and individuals, The World Health
Organization quantifies more than 25 preventable risks to health and
assesses cost-effective measures to reduce them. The practical strategies
and risk prevention policies highlighted for member countries are merely
written dictums if they are not addressed with sound leadership.
Weight issues (underweight and obesity), unsafe sex, high blood pressure,
tobacco consumption, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, iron deficiency,
indoor smoke from solid fuels, and high blood cholesterol levels require
upstream thinking concomitant with local leadership that views these
phenomena by addressing their socioeconomic roots, most of which emphasize
economic and educational disparity. Many credible studies have supported
the WHO report that illustrates regional and sub-regional statistical
evidence of how poverty affects disease patterns between and within
countries.
The new approach for health leadership is not currently available within
the walls of WHO, Geneva, or even its member state organizations. Health
is such a fundamental and foundational human right that all levels of
society bear responsibility and interest—from the individual to
community, regional, national and intergovernmental public and private
bodies. Further, the concept of health is not universal; there are many
cultural, moral and ethical variations.
Health is viewed as central to human development. This is clear in
the way in which health targets dominate the UN’s Millennium Development
Goals. But WHO is not the only leader in health. Others possess more
resources and ideas to advance health. These include the alphabet soup
of USAID, DFID, IMF, WTO, UN, UNAIDS, CDC as well as the World Bank,
Global Fund, and Gates Foundation, among others. A challenge for any
new leader is to help set an agenda with consensus, synergy and support
rather than to foster political stake holds and the NIH (not invented
here) syndrome.
If Marshall McLuhan’s 20th Century vision of a global village
is realizable today with the electronic opportunity for instantaneous
communication with a new connectivity, leadership along with intergovernmental
cooperation is crucial.
Opportunities to advance activities through intergovernmental communication
include other sectors beyond health, including a negotiated approach
for increased attention to the development of public-private partnerships
and quality standards. Many of the major advances of last century were
based on partnerships leading to scientific innovation—vaccines,
antibiotics and novel treatments. With innovative partnerships, it is
even more promising that the next generation will reach Benjamin Franklin’s
ideal of humans living to an ‘‘indefinite age.’’
The new WHO should work to foster benefits to health. Health promotion,
disease prevention, health literacy, quality service delivery, supportive
policy environments, and other areas that help develop a health-competent
society can serve as cornerstones with economic development and sustainable
institutions.
Ultimately, the new WHO leader will have to profess a 21st Century
vision. One that embraces the scientific, communication, and health
progress, strives for global health equity and health security, and
balances cultural, economic, and social phenomena. To succeed, the newest
health leader should earn respect, develop a leadership agenda, and
negotiate amongst the multiplicity of constituencies. We should all
give him the chance and profess a new agenda to enhance our common currency
of health. All of us are responsible to do everything to maximize the
WHO’s value.
__________
Scott C. Ratzan MD is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health
Communication: International Perspectives.
