Towards optimal collaboration: reforming the WHO country cooperation strategy in Thailand

Overview

As the leading coordinating agency for global public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) is challenged to improve its country-level work.1,2 In May 2016, the World Health Assembly requested WHO’s senior management to use country budgets and the organization’s social and intellectual capital to leverage additional resources to implement and sustain national programmes.3 A 2017 meeting of WHO country representatives highlighted the need to transform WHO into a flexible, nimble, responsive and proactive organization at the country level.4 Here we describe how WHO and Thai health authorities (the health ministry, autonomous health agencies outside the ministry, civil society and academia), have created an innovative country cooperation strategy that responds to these recommendations.