World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
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Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#2It's like this at the world bank and IMF as well.
Their senior staff travel like royalty in first class and often their fancy luggage is also paid for.
There's no doubt that these organizations like the WHO do a lot of good. But the perception of this definitely does hurt them when they want to get more funds.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#3Because the WHO is part of the United Nations, it operates primarily in diplomatic circles. This means protocols matter. For example, when negotiating with local officials on the ground, the political implications for the local officials are different if the party with whom they are negotiating arrives in a limousine from a top hotel or arrives by bus from the Motel6. One allows the local official to present the negotiated result as a compromise between equals, the other may provide an opportunity for political opponents to cast compromises and concessions or just plain reasonableness by the local official as weakness.
The WHO has a unique political capability in regard to reaching consensus on international health policies. It is better equipped to get political commitments from local political leaders when it comes to issues like getting medical supplies across the borders of a dozen countries. In no small part this is because the WHO provides the cover of legitimacy for local political leaders. And with no doubt part of that legitimacy comes from the WHO's ability to project an image of power...it is backed up by UN peace keeping policies. As with diplomacy in general, the WHO travel budget is cheaper than military deployment.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#4Because the WHO is part of the United Nations, it operates primarily in diplomatic circles. This means protocols matter. For example, when negotiating with local officials on the ground, the political implications for the local officials are different if the party with whom they are negotiating arrives in a limousine from a top hotel or arrives by bus from the Motel6. One allows the local official to present the nego…
Interesting; I hadn't considered that. Thanks for raising this viewpoint.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#5Because the WHO is part of the United Nations, it operates primarily in diplomatic circles. This means protocols matter. For example, when negotiating with local officials on the ground, the political implications for the local officials are different if the party with whom they are negotiating arrives in a limousine from a top hotel or arrives by bus from the Motel6. One allows the local official to present the nego…
I don't buy this, it still sounds like hypocrisy. The power of WHO (and UN) doesn't come from their image, but from the fact that they are backed by the mightiest nations on Earth. I'm sure WHO representatives would be taken seriously by some local bureaucrats even if arrived to the meeting on bicycles.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#6I think these kind of comparisons are a little miss guided.
WHO is a world organization, so by definition they have to travel the world. Every time you get in a plane, car, or train, that costs. On top of that, a lot of their work has to be done in person. You can't test a local population in Africa for a specific strain of ebola in a lab in North America. A team has to be sent to do that work and exfiltrate samples. Also, there often has to be a person on the ground directing. If I'm working with a warlord to ensure the safe movement of medical supplies, that's better done in person.
I can do all the AIDS, TB and malaria research I want in a lab. We have samples that were previously taken and can be mailed. I can share my findings with people on the other side of the world with the help of the internet.
To top my argument off, even if you could reduce spending on travel, that doesn't directly translate into more effective fighting of AIDS, TB, or malaria. Many of the people that are able to do the most effective work in these fields are already doing so. Just throwing more money in the pot doesn't necessarily speed up the process. And not to get political, but if you want to look at allocations of money for medical research, look at the HUGE cuts that are about to happen at the National Institute of Health.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#7Does the WHO buy most of the vaccines and treatments, or most of the countries buy their own doses?
This looks like a true but misleading title, like "The United Nations Security Council spends more in coffee than in tanks, battleships and bombers combined"
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#8I think these kind of comparisons are a little miss guided. WHO is a world organization, so by definition they have to travel the world. Every time you get in a plane, car, or train, that costs. On top of that, a lot of their work has to be done in person. You can't test a local population in Africa for a specific strain of ebola in a lab in North America. A team has to be sent to do that work and exfiltrate samples.…
I think you've missed the point here. It's not against traveling, but traveling in first/business class. Most other similar charities have explicit decree that forbids traveling first/business class and mandates even the highest ranking officials to travel economy class.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#9I think these kind of comparisons are a little miss guided. WHO is a world organization, so by definition they have to travel the world. Every time you get in a plane, car, or train, that costs. On top of that, a lot of their work has to be done in person. You can't test a local population in Africa for a specific strain of ebola in a lab in North America. A team has to be sent to do that work and exfiltrate samples.…
From the article, though, it doesn't make sense that Doctors Without Borders has more than 4 times the staff but less than a fourth of the travel costs.
It's not about banning travel, it's about not traveling first class.
Re: World Health Organization spends more on travel than AIDS
#10Because the WHO is part of the United Nations, it operates primarily in diplomatic circles. This means protocols matter. For example, when negotiating with local officials on the ground, the political implications for the local officials are different if the party with whom they are negotiating arrives in a limousine from a top hotel or arrives by bus from the Motel6. One allows the local official to present the nego…
We had a local politician who was caught using money to fly first class instead of economy. They defended themselves by saying "You can't step off economy to meet with the leaders of the world."
But it doesn't matter. If you are part of WHO and arrive at your destination, you aren't going to be greeted on the plane. You're likely going to get off the plane, get in a car, and head to your hotel.
In other words, other people rarely have anything to do with it. Most meetings take place inside a meeting room, not a plane or limo.