The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020. WHO rapidly scaled up its response including through its 149 country offices to support Member States prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.850260/full |
| _version_ | 1818339013871796224 |
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| author | Amy Coates Kathleen Taylor Warren Corey Henderson Michelle McPherson Offeibea Obubah Peter Graaff Shambhu Acharya |
| author_facet | Amy Coates Kathleen Taylor Warren Corey Henderson Michelle McPherson Offeibea Obubah Peter Graaff Shambhu Acharya |
| author_sort | Amy Coates |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020. WHO rapidly scaled up its response including through its 149 country offices to support Member States prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes the frontline role of the WHO Country Offices (WCOs) and demonstrates that WHO utilized its existing country presence to deliver its global program of work during this unprecedented emergency. Using data collected from the 2020 WHO COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan monitoring and evaluation framework assessments, plus data collected in a quantitative survey completed by 149 WCOs during 2020, this article describes how WHO supported national authorities and partners through leadership, policy dialogue, strategic support, technical assistance, and service delivery, in line with WHO's current 5-year strategic plan, the WHO 13th General Programme of Work 2019–2023. Country level case studies were used to further illustrate actions taken by WCOs. WHO's achievements notwithstanding, the Organization faced several key challenges in the first year of the response. Recommendations to enhance WHO presence in countries for future emergency prevention, preparedness and response, from several independent reviews, were presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2021 and relevant recommendations are presented in this article. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:20:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-602918ce9d35411f83779b3b18e04989 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:20:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-602918ce9d35411f83779b3b18e049892022-12-21T23:40:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652022-03-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.850260850260The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020Amy Coates0Kathleen Taylor Warren1Corey Henderson2Michelle McPherson3Offeibea Obubah4Peter Graaff5Shambhu Acharya6Country Strategy and Support, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandCOVID-19 Country Technical Support, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandCOVID-19 Country Technical Support, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandConsultant, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandCountry Strategy and Support, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandHealth Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandCountry Strategy and Support, World Health Organization, Geneva, SwitzerlandThe World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020. WHO rapidly scaled up its response including through its 149 country offices to support Member States prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes the frontline role of the WHO Country Offices (WCOs) and demonstrates that WHO utilized its existing country presence to deliver its global program of work during this unprecedented emergency. Using data collected from the 2020 WHO COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan monitoring and evaluation framework assessments, plus data collected in a quantitative survey completed by 149 WCOs during 2020, this article describes how WHO supported national authorities and partners through leadership, policy dialogue, strategic support, technical assistance, and service delivery, in line with WHO's current 5-year strategic plan, the WHO 13th General Programme of Work 2019–2023. Country level case studies were used to further illustrate actions taken by WCOs. WHO's achievements notwithstanding, the Organization faced several key challenges in the first year of the response. Recommendations to enhance WHO presence in countries for future emergency prevention, preparedness and response, from several independent reviews, were presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2021 and relevant recommendations are presented in this article.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.850260/fullCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2pandemic responseWorld Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization country officestechnical assistance |
| spellingShingle | Amy Coates Kathleen Taylor Warren Corey Henderson Michelle McPherson Offeibea Obubah Peter Graaff Shambhu Acharya The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response World Health Organization World Health Organization country offices technical assistance |
| title | The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 |
| title_full | The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 |
| title_fullStr | The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 |
| title_short | The World Health Organization's Frontline Support to Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 |
| title_sort | world health organization s frontline support to countries during the covid 19 pandemic in 2020 |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response World Health Organization World Health Organization country offices technical assistance |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.850260/full |
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