World Health Organization (Lucas Stimach)
Fact-Checked Source:
World Health Organization, "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic"
The World Health Organization has the responsibility to uphold and care for all the citizens around the world. Since 2019, the World Health Organization continually updates their information on their website about how to prevent the spread, quarantine properly, and stay healthy through these dreadful times. WHO Website Link
Looking Deeper: Five Facts Checked
To best understand the responsibility and actions of the World Health Organization, I have done research to confirm five facts that this source presents about the global pandemic.
Fact (1) found in "Myth-busters"
Regularly washing your bare hands offers more protection against catching the COVID-19 than wearing gloves.I wanted to examine this particular claim because many people that I know use gloves when heading to the grocery store, but with research it turns out that Cleveland Clinic confirms this.
Fact (2) found in "Myth-busters"
This fact seemed important to research because the President of the United States stated in a press conference that in the hotter temperatures of April and May the coronavirus would be unable to survive in the climate, however, this is not the case. It can travel in any climate, but it has shown to spread less effectively in humid climates. This was confirmed by a study done at MIT.The coronavirus can be transmitted in areas with hot and humid climates.
Fact (3) found in "Updated WHO recommendations for international traffic in relation to COVID-19 outbreak"
Countries should continue to enhance awareness through effective risk communication concerning COVID-19 to the general public, health professionals, and policy makers, and to avoid actions that promote stigma or discrimination.
This fact matters because there have been several instances where news organizations and individuals have promoted discriminatory stigmas against certain races and cultures. The World Health Organization does not support or condone these acts. On their webpage, they go further in depth with their fair-minded stance.
Fact (4) found in "WHO Director-General’s Special Envoys on COVID-19 Preparedness and Response"
This fact on the World Health Organization's webpage helps to clarify their global effort in their attempt to combat the spread of the virus. I have heard speculation from family members that WHO treats certain countries special and are covering up some of their lies, however, there has been no evidence supporting that speculation. The World Health Organization has shown only fairness and equal opportunity for all countries.On the 21st of February 2020, the Director-General appointed six Special Envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world. The main functions of the Special Envoys on COVID-19 are to:
- Amplify the messages of the Director-General;
- Disseminate WHO guidance on COVID-19 readiness and response;
- Partake in high-level advocacy and political engagement;
- Provide strategic advice on preparedness, readiness and response to COVID-19 outbreaks;
- Engage with regional bodies and national governments;
- Report regularly to the Director-General on their work and the situation in countries.
Fact (5) found in "Myth-busters"
To date, there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). However, those infected with the virus should receive appropriate care to relieve and treat symptoms, and those with severe illness should receive optimized supportive care. Some specific treatments are under investigation, and will be tested through clinical trials. WHO is helping to accelerate research and development efforts with a range or partners.
With the influx of fake news, many organizations have shown to promote the use of unverified drugs if individuals are struggling with the coronavirus. The World Health Organization repeatedly clarifies that they do not condone or support these actions and have accelerated their research to better understand the effects of these unproven supplements.
Analytical Essay
What Will WHO Do?: The World Heath Organization's Perspective on COVID-19
With close to three million people in over 213 countries reporting confirmed COVID-19 cases, the entire world feels the negative effects of the disease. In this tough period of time, the World Health Organization’s duty in preventing and controlling the coronavirus cannot be lackluster. It is their duty to serve the 194 Member States and organize a global movement to unite the world under one main health institution. Their perspective throughout this process is the most vital for the betterment of mankind. They must listen to every nation’s needs, transmit new information to the public, and send testing kits and other goods to nations. Without their perspective and effort, people and governments could fail to resist this global pandemic and thousands could unnecessarily pass away.
The World Health Organization’s role can be determined throughout many forums of communications including their YouTube channel, website, and news agencies. These forums allow people to traverse through established documentation and make smarter decisions. When the World Health Organization's constitution was written in 1948, their primary functions included "(1) normative functions, including international conventions and agreements, regulations and non-binding standards and recommendations; (2) directing and coordinating functions, including health for all, essential medicine activities for the impoverished and its specific disease programs; (3) research and technical cooperation functions including disease eradication and emergencies" (Ruger & Yach, 2009, pp. 1-2). Recently, these ideals have been analyzed and reformed to adapt more for the world’s quick globalization.
The spread of the coronavirus was extremely rapid due to how interconnected the world is today. At the beginning of the disease, researchers were not able to understand the ease by which the virus can spread. By the time they knew, it was already too late to slow the spread with travel restrictions. The World Health Organization has been working with the Chinese government since January 1, 2020 to study and better understand the implications that COVID-19 may bring upon the world. By January 12, the World Health Organization received samples of the coronavirus’s genetic code from China and immediately lead research teams to develop vaccines for it (World Health Organization, 2020). The findings from these research teams have been shared to all countries. The entire world relies on the effective implementation of the World Health Organization’s main role in creating new medical guidelines and procedures. This is extremely prevalent in the COVID-19 epidemic.
The World Health Organization is the only agency with the authority to develop and implement international health norms and standards and facilitate ongoing dialogue among member states on priorities (Ruger & Yach, 2009, p. 4). Their global health functions aid with unstable countries’ inability to distribute public health goods and provides leadership in spreading awareness regarding health issues. With the 194 Member States and millions of dollars in budgetary spending, the World Health Organization is the only group in the world with enough resources to reliably and effectively complete research on the coronavirus. They trust and depend on research that is accepted throughout the scientific community in order to transmit the data to the public. WHO values better health for everyone, everywhere and does not conceal any information (World Health Organization)
Based only on the truth, WHO is a viable source for the newest COVID-19 information and can be trusted not to act on any political biases or favoritism. Within the World Health Organization’s main website, they provide access to over forty peer-reviewed COVID-19 publications free of charge. Additionally, they have a “MythBusters” page that allows any person to access all of the verified facts and denies the false claims that people may hear. This can be very useful for the people not accustomed to understanding scientific literature. With the weight of the world on their shoulders, the World Health Organization has provided much needed knowledge to millions of people.
On WHO’s YouTube channel, they state that their response to coronavirus consists of (1) speeding up the research and development, (2) helping countries prepare and respond, (3) coordinating the global response, and (4) communicating about how people can protect themselves and others (World Health Organization (WHO), 2020). This directly coincides with their constitution’s beliefs. They have sent over one and a half million test kits to nations all over the world and their effort in preventing the spread of the virus has not slowed down. WHO continues to research and inform the public. If the world wants to return to its former self, the World Health Organization must continue their essential role in the global governance of health and disease.
References
World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
This source is directly from the World Health Organization's website. They provide all of the information straight from the researchers and scientists that have been working on the virus since day one. They are concerned with educating the general public on everything that needs to be known and equips many forums of communication throughout this one page. This serves as the perfect source for fact checking because it comes from one of the most reliable and unbiased health organizations on Earth.World Health Organization (WHO). (2020, April 10). How WHO is responding to COVID-19 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Oe4bOMBws
Again, this comes from one of the many forums of the World Health Organization. On their YouTube channel, they have several videos describing their impact on the world and how they are responding to the pandemic. In just under a minute, this video proves to be a straightforward explantation of the World Health Organization's effort to eliminate and prevent the spread of the virus. This source is good evidence to provide their perspective because it a primary source that comes from their reliable and unbiased organization.
Ruger, J. P., & Yach, D. (2009). The Global Role of the World Health Organization. Global health governance : the scholarly journal for the new health security paradigm, 2(2), 1–11. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3981564/
This comes from the US National Library of Medicine, a library full of peer-reviewed articles about medicine, and was written by two former members of the World Health Organization. Jennifer Ruger, an associate professor at Yale and former health and development satellite secretariat at WHO, and Derek Yach, past executive director of the World Health Organization, both contributed to working and sharing the role that WHO has in the global governance of health. They use evidence from their past experiences and other primary documentation that comes directly from the World Health Organization to support their claim that WHO is the primary health organization in the world. They describe in detail what WHO's constitution, core functions, and reforms state and how these contribute to their global authority. It also details the world's shift into globalization and how that affected the overall health governance. The authors discuss what the World Health Organization's true motives are and what their perspective is. This helps to determine their role throughout this pandemic.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/who-director-general-s-special-envoys-on-covid-19-preparedness-and-response
Myth Busters