The Normative Authority of the World Health Organization

Authors

Lawrence O. Gostin, Georgetown University Law CenterFollow
Devi Sridhar, University of EdinburghFollow
Daniel Hougendobler, Georgetown University Law CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) was born after the devastation of World War II, as a normative agency endowed with unprecedented constitutional powers. But even as it has achieved stunning successes, such as the eradication of smallpox, it has failed to live up to the exalted expectations of the postwar health and human rights movement e exemplified most recently by its inadequate response to the Ebola epidemic. Our aim is to offer innovative ideas for restoring the Organization to its leadership position by exercising its normative authority, even as it faces a crowded and often chaotic global health architecture. Before doing so, it will be helpful to summarize the main tensions the Organization faces in today's global health landscape.

Comments

Available online at: http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506(15)00200-0/fulltext

Recommended Citation

Gostin, Lawrence O.; Sridhar, Devi; and Hougendobler, Daniel, "The Normative Authority of the World Health Organization" (2015). O'Neill Institute Papers. 87.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/ois_papers/87