Unequal discourses: Problems of the current model of world health development

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed institutional deficiencies in world health development. This viewpoint paper examines the allegations about the partiality and political bias of the World Health Organization's (WHO) response to world health emergencies. We draw on quantitative and qualitative analysis of the WHO's Director-General's speeches pertaining to the COVID-19 and EVD outbreaks. We find that the WHO's discourse on COVID-19 praised the Chinese government's role in the containment. By contrast, the WHO's discourse on the African countries fighting to contain Ebola centered on the unpreparedness of these countries. We argue that the WHO's unbalanced emphasis on different practices and traits of member states paints a partial picture of global health emergencies, thus it fails to uphold its founding principles of egalitarianism and impartiality. Finally, we put forward suggestions about a more equal and fairer model of world health development. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper examines the shortcomings of the World Health Organization's response to global health emergencies, particularly in its unequal treatment of different countries during the COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks. The authors argue that the WHO's biased emphasis on certain member states fails to uphold its founding principles of egalitarianism and impartiality, and propose suggestions for a more equitable and fairer model of world health development.