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INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD
HEALTH ASSEMBLY:
A BRIEFING FOR NEW DELEGATES
Organised by the Global Health Programme, the Graduate Institute and
the United Nations Foundation in collaboration with the World Health Organization
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Public event
Sunday, 17 May 2015, 15:00 – 18:00
Maison de la paix, the Graduate Institute, Geneva
The annual World Health Assembly (WHA) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva is the decision-making
body of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a premier global health gathering. WHA attracts
health ministers or their representatives from 194 WHO Member States, high-level officials of healthfocused international organizations, top NGO and foundation officials, industry representatives, the
media, and many others.
Interest in WHA has grown in recent years. Last year’s WHA was the largest-ever with over 3,000
registered delegates, and the WHO Secretariat expects attendance to remain high this year as the
Assembly considers a number of critical issues for the future of global health. At the same time,
many individuals (including some from Member States, civil society organizations, and the press) are
unfamiliar with the Assembly’s processes, structures, and key issues.
With this in mind, the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute and the United Nations
Foundation, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, are convening this introduction to
the WHA for new delegates and participants. Topics under discussion include:
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WHA mandate, governance, structure, procedures, decision-making mechanisms, and politics;
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Key issues related to the governance reform of WHO;
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WHO capacity building to respond to future health emergencies in the aftermath of Ebola;
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Policy challenges of transitioning from the MDGs to the SDGs;
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Key dimensions of the global action plan on anti-microbial resistance under discussion at WHA 68.
The event will address these issues, among others, under the auspices of Ambassador John E.
Lange and Professor Ilona Kickbusch, with the participation of WHO experts. The aim is to build
understanding of the role of the WHO in global health, and how the WHA contributes to engaging
a wide range of actors in global health by bringing together Member States, non-governmental
organizations, journalists, and other WHA participants and observers.
The event is sponsored by the United Nations Foundation.
For more information, please visit:
graduateinstitute.ch/globalhealth-event17may
You are required to register your attendance, free of charge, at
graduateinstitute.ch/globalhealth-event17may-registration
For more information, please contact:
globalhealth@graduateinstitute.ch