IOAC Interim report on WHO’s response to COVID-19

Overview

The unprecedented pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prompted the IOAC, in conducting its advisory and accountability function, to examine the performance of the WHE Programme during the first few months of the COVID-19 outbreak. The annual IOAC report, that would normally be submitted to update the IOAC report presented to the 146th session of the Executive Board, 2 will be submitted to the next full governing body meeting. This report is informed by WHO Secretariat briefings, desk reviews, and interviews with a select number of headquarters/WHE staff members, and external global health experts. The IOAC emphasizes that this is not a comprehensive assessment of the WHO COVID-19 response. Rather, in keeping with the IOAC mandate, it is a compilation of observations of how the structures and processes established by WHO, through the WHE Programme and related mechanisms, functioned from January to April 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 response. The IOAC notes that WHO is composed both of its Member States and the Organization’s Secretariat. The present interim report makes it clear at whom specific recommendations are aimed throughout the document.