Outgoing Chair Of WHO Executive Board Outlines Way Forward

The world needs more of the World Health Organization (WHO), not less, says outgoing Chair of the WHO Executive Board, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott.

Speaking at the 157th Session of the WHO’s Executive Board at the 78th World Health Assembly, Mr. Walcott admitted that the last year had been a “tumultuous one” globally, from threats to multilateralism to raging wars and conflict to threats to global health and health diplomacy as well as climate change. 

However, he said he believed the WHO had collectively risen to the challenge by delivering a pathway forward at the World Health Assembly for global health cooperation and for the WHO as an institution.

“And our work this past year has begun a repositioning that I hope will make the organization more effective, more impact oriented and more people centred. But to do that, it takes financing and it takes support. And we have a collective responsibility to do this. Member states, philanthropy, the private sector; we need to step up for global healthcare,” he emphasised.

He highlighted the negotiation and adoption of the historic Pandemic Agreement as “the signal we all needed”, stating that it was critical for small island developing states such as Barbados whose small size and level of development placed it at a disadvantage during the last pandemic.

Stating that Barbados could neither access the special provisions for other developing countries nor the commercial market to purchase vaccines and therapeutics, the outgoing Chair said he hoped the Treaty would correct these as well as other inequities in the prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemics.

Mr. Walcott also highlighted other successes of the Executive Board including its role in the adoption of a process for handling and investigating potential allegations against WHO Directors-General. He noted that the adoption of the process demonstrated the WHO’s commitment to high standards of accountability.

However, he reminded Board Members that the “real work starts now”. He said they needed to move with alacrity to finalise the Pathogen and Benefits Sharing annex of the Pandemic Agreement to deliver on the promises of the Treaty.  Mr. Walcott also pointed out there was a need for the WHO to reform if it was to remain “fit for purpose”.

To do this, he explained it should take advantage of its comparative advantage by providing global leadership on health governance, and technical assistance and capacity building to developing country member states.

Additionally, he stated there was the issue of sustainable financing in terms of broadening donor funding, meeting the 50-50 funding model and the ongoing work of member states leads on governance reform, which, he noted, would be critical to how member states achieved “the WHO we want and the WHO the world deserves”.

As for the Executive Board, Mr. Walcott said he enjoyed his tenure as Chair and would continue working with the Board, as a member, as it sought to improve its efficiency and functioning.

He thanked the member states of the Americas Region and the Pan American Health Organization for the opportunity to Chair the WHO Executive Board.

Author: Melissa Rollock

Publish: May 28, 2025