Maison de la Paix
Organised by the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute and the United Nations Foundation.
The annual World Health Assembly (WHA) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva is a premier global health gathering. With the emergence of the many events, meetings, and negotiations that take place around the core deliberations among Member States, the WHA engages a wide range of actors in global health by bringing together Member State delegates, high-level officials of health-focused international organisations, representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the press, and the private sector. Given this complexity and the great number of current global health challenges, many new delegates and participants feel a need to become more familiar with the Assembly’s processes, structures, and main issues for discussion in order to maximise their participation at WHA.
With this in mind, the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute and the United Nations Foundation are convening this introductory briefing to the WHA in order to build understanding around WHO’s role in global health and key issues at stake at WHA69, which will take place 23-28 May 2016.
Hosted by Ambassador John E. Lange and Professor Ilona Kickbusch, the event will outline important elements of WHA procedures and governance, as well as provide insights into how delegations from both Member States and civil society prepare for WHA.
With the participation of WHO experts, the briefing will also provide an overview of key issues facing this Assembly, including the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors; the reform of WHO’s work in health emergency management; and the process for the election of the next Director-General of WHO.
Gaudenz Silberschmidt: WHO Financing Model & FENSA
Michelle Gayer: WHO's Health Emergencies Programme
Jakob Quirin: Process for the Election of the Director-General