WHO Transformation

Our goal is clear: a modern WHO, working seamlessly to make a measurable difference in people’s health at country level.

 

 

WHO’s Transformation Agenda, launched in July 2017, is the most ambitious and comprehensive organizational change agenda in the Organization’s history. From the outset, underpinned by the Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 13), the transformation effort aimed to align all three levels of the organization to deliver on the ambitious strategic goals of improving the health and well-being of all people everywhere.

Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 the world has changed – and will continue to change – in fundamental ways that have profound implications for human health and well-being in every country and community, and particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable. WHO must continue to adapt and evolve to meet these changes and to better deliver measurable impact at the country level.

With the central role of WHO in the COVID-19 pandemic, systems put in place as part of the Transformation Agenda were tested under great pressure, and a new level of understanding was achieved globally, from political leaders and the public, about the centrality of health and well-being to social and economic development.

The Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14), covering the period 2025-2028, takes into account lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluation of the GPW 13. It will carry forward the three strategic shifts of stepping up WHO’s health leadership, delivering global public goods for health and differentiated country support to drive public health impact in every country.
 

 

 


 

Dr Jeremy Farrar speaking at an event.

Science is about seeking, generating, translating and sharing knowledge, the same tenets on which the World Health Organization was built. So, it is only fitting that WHO, like science, evolves to keep pace with the complex and shifting contexts of society.

 

Nurse Officer Gladness (right) checks the blood pressure of 20-year-old Elizabeth at Manushi Dispensary in Moshi, Kilimanjaro.

A key shift of WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work and the Transformation Agenda has been a much stronger focus on accountability and transparency in reporting the Organization’s performance and contributions to the strategic goals.

 

A WHO officer is about to walk through a plastic curtain to enter the temperature-controlled section of a warehouse.

WHO has become the fifth largest procurer in the UN system. As part of WHO's Transformation Agenda, the different existing elements are being pulled together and new competencies and processes are being developed to build a more holistic and professional WHO supply chain.

 

Photo of Dr Catharina Boehme during a meeting, typing on her laptop as she follows the discussion.

Strengthening WHO’s approach to resource mobilization has been an iterative process, catalysed by the Organization’s transformation and defined by interaction between Member State-led and Secretariat-led processes.

 

A woman is talking in the microphone at an event, seen in front of a backdrop of national flags from various countries.

In the face of the shifting global health landscape, and during a time of ambitious transformation, WHO has gone from the sidelines of international political events to being a key player, shaping the global conversation on public health.

 

A strategic roundtable "Climate change and health: a global vision for joint action" during the 77th World Health Assembly on 1 June 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The collaboration and support of the global community is vital to the World Health Organization fulfilling its mission to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.

 

Nelson Olim, WHO Academy learning programme creator, assists participants with a tabletop simulation activity during a Mass Casualty Management training for the Emergency Unit team at Attikon University Hospital, Greece.

WHO’s technical products such as recommendations, guidance, reports and data are widely used by the global health community in everything from medical textbooks to scientific articles, from student essays to feature stories.

 

Sangam Basnet, WHO Intern, at the global induction of newly appointed WHO Representatives (WRs) at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 29 January 2024.

WHO internships are an important avenue for young professionals to gain exposure to the Organization’s work and valuable experience in the global health sphere.

 


 

 

Publications and documents

The WHO Transformation: 2020 progress report

The pandemic has been an important test for our Transformation – it has shown that we are changing and that many of the changes introduced are...

Publication cover of The WHO Transformation Overview January 2020

Director-General’s detailed update on the status of Transformation at the end of the design phase. The report provides an overview of progress, examples...

Publication cover of WHO Transformation Plan & Architecture

Key document of WHO’s Global Policy Group which lays out the vision, major areas of work, and deliverables for the Transformation, setting the scope...

Governing Bodies reports and documents

Evaluation of WHO transformation, executive summary

EB149/5 Add.1 - May 2021

Assessment of the progress of WHO transformation at all levels of the Organization from July 2017 to date and the status of implementation of the WHO Transformation Plan & Architecture.

Transforming for enhanced country impact, Report by the Director-General

EB 148/32 - December 2020

Provides an update on how WHO is transforming across the three levels to deliver enhanced impact in countries.

The WHO Transformation Agenda

A72/48 - May 2019

Describes the overall Transformation approach and its major areas of work and gives an update on progress.

WHO presence in countries, territories and areas

A72/INF./4 - May 2019

Complements the report A72/48 and provides an overview of the work and vision to establish a consistent, predictable, minimum WHO country presence.