Submission ID 116938
| Issue/Objective | Given the authoritarian role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in global health, the global health priorities the WHO outlines can greatly influence what work gets undertaken across countries around the world. The global health work that the WHO prioritizes and plans to carry out are outlined in their Global Programme of Work (GPW), thus being a crucial component of global health governance. Despite GPWs subsequently shaping national policy and programmatic priorities, there have been no analyses conducted on these strategic documents that are central to global health governance. We asked and answered the research question: how has the WHO's strategic priorities as outlined in their GPWs changed within the last two decades? We were interested in changing topical foci, how macro-level forces are treated, and the discussion of and approach to equity. |
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| Methodology/Approach | We conducted a longitudinal document analysis of WHO GPW documents over the past two decades: the 11th (2006-2015), 12th (2014-2019), 13th (2019-2023), and the draft of the 14th (2025-2028). |
| Results | As a first step, we looked to the change in frequency across topics. Some topics were discussed with increased frequency (ageing, mental health, climate change, health emergencies, and universal health coverage [UHC]), decreased frequency (HIV/AIDS), and no change in frequency (tuberculosis and malaria, reproductive health, and chronic and noncommunicable diseases). Second, we investigated how macro-level forces are mentioned in the WHO GPWs. We identified mentions of three macro-level forces: globalization, urbanization, and the displacement of populations. Notably, each of these areas is discussed in a technical and depoliticized manner and for the first and latter, intersectoral and multisectoral action is noted to be needed. And lastly, we found that the WHO, in its GPW documents, discusses inequity in three key ways: (i) GPW 11-13 often examined inequity "between and within countries", usually emphasizing unequal development between countries and the need to address poverty within countries; (ii) GPW 11-13 each discuss inequality between genders; and (iii) GPW 14 in response to the pandemic makes addressing inequity a key priority, broadening the focus to address the various sources of inequities to build resilient health systems. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Because we map how the foci of the WHO's technical work has changed over the past two decades, we can pinpoint shortcomings and opportunities for improvement which are crucial for advancing global health in a changing world that we hope to present at CCGH 2025. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Michelle Amri University of British Columbia Jenina Ibanez University of British Columbia |
