Table 5.
Examples of cross-sectoral collaboration between the WHO and other IGOs reported in annual updates to the governing bodies
| Organization | Example of collaborationa,b,c |
|---|---|
| World Trade Organization (WTO) | 2001 • Joint WHO/WTO meeting on differential drug pricing and financing of essential drugs in April 2001 [46] 2002 • WTO contributed with research to a report prepared for the WHO on the links between tobacco consumption and trade liberalization in 2001 [47] • Joint WHO/WTO study on the implications of international trade and multilateral trade agreements for health systems and health service provision [48] |
| International Labour Organization (ILO) | 1998 • Collaboration sought within the framework of the WHO Global Strategy for Occupational Health for All, to increase priority to occupational health and safety on national and international agendas 2000 • Agreed in 1999 to establish an inter-secretariat working group in order to promote cooperation in areas such as poverty alleviation, gender issues in workers’ health, prevention and control of HIV/AIDS among workers, and health financing and health insurance coverage for workers. 2010 • WHO and ILO were designated lead agencies for a UN system initiative on social protection (one of nine initiatives to help member states respond to the economic crisis) |
| International Monetary Fund (IMF) | 2000 • WHO, IMF and the World Bank continued discussions begun in 1998 on health policies and measurement of health-system performance. • IMF participated in the policy advisory group of the Tobacco Free Initiative and in the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. |
| World Bank | 1998 • The World Bank adopted the policy of WHO partnership for health development, including collaboration at country level where WHO’s technical expertise is mobilized to improve the design, supervision and evaluation of World Bank-supported projects, and global collaboration where the WHO and the World Bank together advance international understanding of health, nutrition and population issues. 1999 • The World Bank joined WHO and other organizations in the partnership for Roll Back Malaria and the Tobacco Free Initiative. Previously, the World Bank had co-sponsored the Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction in 1988, and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases from the start in 1975. 2000 • Poverty reduction identified as an important area for collaboration • WHO’s policy guidance considered to be helpful for shaping the design of health and social development projects financed by the World Bank. • The World Bank agreed to co-sponsor the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. 2001 • WHO cooperated on poverty reduction in the context of the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Within the framework of HIPC, WHO and UNICEF collaborated with the World Bank on the health, nutrition and population components of the poverty reduction strategy papers. • The World Bank and WHO worked together on health systems and health care financing, and prepared together with ILO a paper for WHO’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. 2002 • WHO analysed health in the strategy papers for 10 countries presented at the IMF/World Bank International Conference on Poverty Reduction Strategies 2003 • The World Bank, as part of its initiative to accelerate progress towards the health-related goals, convened organizations in the United Nations system, including WHO, and donors to examine approaches to scaling up activities. WHO’s main role was reported to be addressing cross-cutting issues influencing achievement of goals, such as those related to human resources, governance and human rights. 2004 • WHO collaborated with the “anchor unit” of the World Bank’s Human Development Network to promote deworming activities in the FRESH Start initiative (Focusing Resources on Effective School Health). |
| Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) | 1998 • Close collaboration in support of the World Declaration and Plan of Action for Nutrition, and the country implementation of over 160 national food and nutrition policies and plans of action. • WHO involved in the Inter-Agency Working Group on Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System as part of global follow-up to the World Food Summit of 1996. • WHO and FAO facilitated the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (which issue standards, recommendations and guidelines explicitly recognized in the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as the international reference for food safety). 2001 • In the context of long-standing collaboration with FAO within the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme and joint expert committees, WHO was active on standards for infant and young child feeding, and on salt iodination. The two organizations also intensified efforts to develop an information and mapping system on food insecurity, vulnerability and poverty. 2003 • The Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases [49] provided scientific foundation for WHO’s elaboration of a global strategy on diet, physical activity and health |
| World Food Programme (WFP) | 2000 • WFP a partner in training programmes for medical doctors, midwives, nurses and others involved in implementing WFP’s food assistance projects. 2007 • Collaboration agreement signed between WFP and WHO, as part of reform in the area of humanitarian assistance, logistics planning and implementation, whereby WHO will coordinate health logistics through the WFP network of humanitarian response depots and WFP will provide priority logistical services to WHO’s human and technical resources during emergencies. |
| UNESCO | 1998 • Cooperation geared to promoting health of school-age children and young people, adult education, and physical activity for health. • UNESCO collaborated actively with WHO and other concerned partners in the launch and worldwide promotion of the Global Initiative on Active Living/Physical Activity for Health. 2000 • In September 1999, WHO led an interagency discussion with the World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF on the development of a common agenda on school health programmes, which resulted in the Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH) approach, later launched during the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000. The FRESH framework was designed to capture education, health, nutrition and overall development goals and provides the necessary intersectoral institutional support to ensure sustainability [50]. • UNESCO and WHO cooperated to support skilled-based health education for: HIV prevention; tobacco use prevention; health and nutrition; violence prevention; and caring for the environment. This collaboration generated methodological tools and age-appropriate material for teachers in developing countries to use in primary and secondary schools. |
| International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) | 1998 • WHO facilitated, together with the IAEA and FAO, the work of the International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation, an intergovernmental body with membership of 47 countries and convened a study group on high dose food irradiation. 2002 • Technical consultations conducted to streamline collaboration, covering areas such as radiotherapy, diagnostic procedures, molecular biology, communicable diseases, food safety and nutrition, and health-related aspects of radiation protection. 2003 • Started collaboration on building human resource and institutional capacity for the application of telecommunications to the maintenance of nuclear medicine equipment in developing countries. |
| World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) | 2007 • The Global Early Warning and Response System launched by the FAO, OIE and the WHO, as the first joint early warning and response system for animal diseases, including zoonoses, to enhance global capacity to detect and control diseases of animal origin at their source. |
| UNCTAD | 1998 • Explored the issue of trade in health services, and issued a joint publication which examined trade and health implications, especially from the developing country perspective [51]. • Collaborated on building up country capacity to analyse and respond to the effects of globalization and trade on health, and on a framework for integrating health protection into UNCTAD’s plan of action. |
aCollaborations may have been ongoing for several years before being reported to the governing bodies, and also continued without the governing bodies receiving further updates
bCollaborations at the regional and national level is not covered by this overview
cCollaborations on organizing international conferences has not been included in this overview