Great Decisions #8: The World Health Organization's response to Covid-19,

Join the World Affairs Council of Maine as we explore the Foreign Policy Association’s 2021 Great Decisions. 

Session #8: The World Health Organization's response to Covid-19

The   Covid-19 pandemic has thrust the World Health Organization (WHO) into the limelight,   for better and for worse. While some of the Trump administration’s criticism   of the organization is unfair, the response to the early stages of the   pandemic left many experts wanting more from the WHO. What is the WHO’s role   in responding to international pandemics? What can be done to improve the   WHO’s response to future global health crises?

About this week's facilitator:  Leila Bisharat, Bisharat Consulting

Leila Bisharat has 30 years experience working with foundations and international agencies on issues   related to child health and mortality.  In 1986 UNICEF turned to   her to lead its work in Child Survival and Urban Basic Services in the Middle   East and North Africa Region. As Chief of Programmes (1989-1992) her team further   developed these simple surveys to measure childhood mortality and make them a   widely recognized standard tool where the results could stand up to rigorous   scrutiny. As UNICEF’s Director of Planning and Coordination she led their use   across all UN Member States in collaboration with the World Health   Organization to track progress for children. She has a PhD from   Princeton, and has held two appointments at Harvard University.

TOPIC RESOURCES:https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/index.cfm?act=topic_detail&topic_id=97

Additional suggested reading:

"Will Ebola change the game? Ten essential reforms before the next pandemic." Lancet 2015; 386: 2204-21 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)00946-0/fulltext

What is Great Decisions? Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions is this country’s largest discussion program on world affairs. For over twenty years, our Council has brought these Great Decisions to the state of Maine. We’ve provided hundreds of hours of discussion to members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Southern Maine and hosted numerous dinner discussion groups across southern Maine. Click here for more information on our Great Decisions program.

What will each session look like? Each virtual session will last 90 minutes, divided between presentation and discussion.  Discussion questions and a suggested reading list will be provided to all registered attendees. 

I’ve never used Zoom. How will I know what to do? Virtual programming is new to most of us. We’re all learning together! We will send instructions on how to download Zoom to your device, as well as suggested settings to improve your Zoom experience. We will review Zoom functions at the start of each session and help members to troubleshoot. We can’t promise a flawless experience, but let’s not let perfect be the enemy of good! 

We recommend you review our WACM Zoom user document before your first session. 

IMPORTANT: Please register for each device being used to attend the webinar. For example, if you and a family member will be attending on one computer, only one registration is necessary. Alternatively, if you each will be using your own devices to attend, please register separately. This will ensure that each attendee is placed in a breakout room for the discussion portion of the webinar.