From 10 to 19 February 2023, the first Global Model WHO – organized by the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) in collaboration with WHO – was held to promote a greater understanding of the importance of global health issues and foster support in strengthening and advancing the work of WHO. About 198 high school and university students participated in the conference from over 40 countries. In addition, 29 student volunteers from over 18 countries supported the conference by representing the WHO secretariat.
The virtual conference provided an accurate simulation of the World Health Assembly (WHA) by creating a fully student-led Model WHO, where youth delegates learn how decisions are made at the Health Assembly by negotiating resolutions on WHA topics.
At the opening of the event, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said “We started this as a way of engaging young people from diverse backgrounds in a wide range of global health issues, and to generate new ideas and new ways of solving problems. We also hope it will interest you in pursuing a career in global health, and give you some of the tools and networks to move towards that goal.”
During the 10-day event, eight Committee A sessions were organized covering seven health topics:
- Universal Health Coverage: Reorienting health systems to primary health care (Committee A1 and Committee A7)
- Strengthening Infodemic Management
- Public health emergencies : preparedness and response
- WHO global action plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, 2019–2023
- Substandard and falsified medical products
- The highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities
- Global agenda on health, environment and climate change
To ensure that each simulation is authentic to that of the World Health Assembly, WFUNA trained student leaders how to chair plenary and committee meetings and how to facilitate discussions during informal consultations with the aim of helping delegates to reach consensus on the text of a resolution.
In addition, WFUNA developed webinars to help delegates prepare for the conference that included information on the history of the decision-making process in international organizations, an overview of the flow of debate, how WHA resolutions are structured and how to draft them, how to negotiate the text of a resolution with aim of reaching consensus, and an overview of WHO.
All the necessary background information for their discussion were also provided to the delegates which includes the Director-General’s report on the health topic, agenda and programme of work.
To help the delegates in their negotiations, they were provided with additional materials such as a resource guide, delegate handbook, documents to help students draft and amend resolutions and examples of general discussion speeches.
Through these simulations, the delegates learned more about global issues and the importance of multilaterism. In addtion, they also develop leadership and diplomatic skills and a range of interpersonal and academic skills , including negotiating, debating, public speaking, and conducting research on health issues that people face worldwide. A key outcome of the simulations is the 8 resolutions negotiated by the delegates where they displayed their commitment, common sense and passion to work on solutions to global health challenges.
At two different points of the simulation, delegates had the opportunity to interact with WHO staff who were experts on the health topics discussed. At the beginning of each simulation experts briefed students before started drafting their conference papers. On the last, experts playing the role of Assistant Directors-General, reacted to speeches delivered during the general discussion in Committee A. These interactions helped to deepen delegates’ knowledge of the topic they were discussing.
Watch the opening ceremony of the conference
Over 30 side events were organized to provide the delegates with a range of exciting opportunities to learn more about several health topics such as adolescent sexual reproductive health, antimicrobial resistance, behavioral science, inclusion and disability, noncommunicable diseases, oral health, vaccine hesitancy, youth and road safety and tobacco industry interference. Several skill building workshops and career development sessions were held on public speaking, what it’s like to work at the United Nations, and success in the workplace.
One of the side events focused on WHO’s 75th anniversary which provided the delegates with an overview of the science, solutions and solidarity in the past 75 years which led to many great successes in public health for humankind. The session also looked at what does the future of health look like to young people, and how they imagine a “Health for All” world.
The Global Model WHO is a new way of engaging youth in WHO’s work will provide them with the tools they need to participate in the decision-making processes that determine policies on important issues and a platform for presenting their recommendations on actions that need to be taken.
Note to editors
There were 198 high school and university students who participated in the 2023 edition of the Global Model WHO from the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.