Factors That Assist and Hinder the WHO- Organization’s Activities

Factors That Assist and Hinder the Organization’s Activities

Several factors ensure the effectiveness of WHO in promoting the health of the local communities. For example, the organization possesses at least some medical infrastructure in all the member countries that allow it to better understand the regional needs and provide help more effectively. Additionally, WHO has a significant number of professionals that can be moved relatively freely from one location to another, addressing specialists’ shortages. Yet, some barriers hinder the organization’s activities. They may include limited population awareness concerning medical services, difficulties to coordinate actions with the local governments and health providers, and a worldwide shortage of professionals in certain spheres.

The Organization’s Dependence on Policy, Legislation, and Funding

As any transnationally operating entity, WHO’s activity is highly sensitive to local policies and legislation. For instance, Khan et al. (2018) maintain that 48 WHO Member States do not have any policies and laws concerning the treatment and support of people with disabilities. Such a lack of commitment from the local leaders makes it harder for the organization to create the necessary infrastructure to help disabled people. Moreover, the entity is hugely dependent on funding, especially from such countries as the United States, Japan, and China which provide 24.8%, 9.7%, and 7.9% of the total financing, respectively (WHO, n.d.a). Therefore, any decisions by these countries to reduce the investments may greatly affect individuals and local communities, especially in poorer countries, as people there would have less access to free medication.

WHO’s Impact

Considering what was discussed above, it becomes clear that WHO has a tremendous influence on individuals’ health and safety needs globally. One of the greatest impacts among them is that the organization conducts and shares the research findings on how to treat diseases most effectively. As a result, even the least developed countries have access to knowledge that otherwise would necessitate major investments. Additionally, some of the entity’s successes include its important role in smallpox eradication and active leadership during the SARS epidemic (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). Furthermore, WHO puts continuous efforts to finish COVID-19 epidemics and help the most vulnerable groups.

Nurses’ Possible Contribution to WHO

There are also several ways in which each medical worker, including nurses, can contribute to the efforts of WHO. For instance, the organization usually initiates programs that facilitate expertise exchange between health professionals worldwide. In this regard, recently, WHO and Pan American Health Organization (PANO) launched an initiative that intends to collect ideas concerning the global learning strategy to implement it in practice in the future (PANO, n.d.). Moreover, nurses can join some of the WHO’s short-term volunteering programs domestically or internationally.

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