The world organization is increasingly dependent on voluntary donations to achieve its goals. Only sixteen percent of the WHO budget comes from mandatory dues paid by members. The remaining 80 percent comes from voluntary contributions from governments and private partners. Top voluntary contributors include the United States, Germany, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These voluntary contributions are often allocated for specific initiatives and projects. However, in order to meet these goals, WHO needs to be better aligned with its donors.
Goals
In its mission to eradicate disease, the WHO has a number of goals, but they need to align their priorities with the goals of its donors to maintain their funding. In its most recent two-year goal, the WHO is focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. While 16 percent of WHO funding comes from mandatory dues paid by member states, 80 percent comes from voluntary contributions from governments and private partners. The top voluntary contributors are Germany, the United States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. While voluntary contributions have become increasingly important to WHO, the agency must still work to align its goals with those of its donors.
Structure
The term ‘world community’ was central to the debate over supra-sectional consent and loyalty. It helped to articulate the dilemma progressive realists faced when they renounced their institutionally conservative faith in the Westphalian system. The term was also used by Hans Morgenthau, who famously wrote in Politics Among Nations that a world community must precede the creation of a world state. It was eventually replaced by the more general concept of an ‘international community’.
Budget
The WHO budget is almost identical to the annual budget of the University hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. The rest of the WHO budget is allocated to other programs. But a significant part of the WHO budget is for its headquarters in Geneva, where most of its scientific research, coordination, and compilation of global evidence is conducted. NGOs that make voluntary contributions review and approve activities supported by these contributions. These contributions are then funneled to specific programs or activities.
Responsibility
What is the responsibility of a world organization? This is a question that has been a matter of great debate for decades. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted the articles of the International Law Commission on the responsibility of international organizations. These articles sum up the responsibility of international organizations. But what does it actually mean? And how can international organizations be accountable for their actions? Let’s examine this issue in more detail. We will begin by examining what is meant by “responsibility.”
Efficiencies
The UN General Assembly in New York City held this week, and the results are mixed. UN action on refugees is two years behind schedule; Russia bombed a UN aid convoy; and the Syrian army reopened its offensive on Aleppo. And UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon could barely conceal his scorn for world leaders. In light of this week’s UN General Assembly, we’ve compiled a list of the top five least-effective international organizations, and why they’re not working so well.
Western Balkans
The COVID-19 pandemic in March has brought to the forefront the shortcomings of the health system in the Western Balkans. Until now, these countries had neglected these issues while suffering from high emigration rates and limited health care capacity. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp focus long-standing issues, including the importance of retaining skilled professionals. The region is facing a shortage of physicians and medical personnel, primarily due to low salaries and poor equipment.
Dumbarton Oaks proposal
The Dumbarton Oaks proposal for a world organization was a controversial idea, but it did come close to reality. In 1994, a global conference was held in Georgetown, Washington, to discuss a world organization. More formally, the event was known as the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization. In that year, President Clinton endorsed the idea. But the question remains: How will a world organization work?