Cato Podcast The Cure for the WHO
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Apr 30, 2026 Roger Bate, fellow at the International Center for Law & Economics, brings expertise on global health institutions. He discusses WHO mission creep, how funding and leadership shifted priorities, and the organization’s failures during COVID. He also explores deference to China, a slimmer multilateral role focused on standards and sample sharing, and ideas for restoring accountability through funding reform.
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WHO Mission Creep From Broad Health Mandate
- WHO's broad definition of health caused mission creep away from infectious disease control.
- Since the late 1970s shift from vertical disease programs to broad health system building, donor priorities and fungible aid drove WHO away from core strengths.
Voluntary Funding Skews WHO Priorities
- Voluntary funding shifted WHO control from member states to donors and NGOs.
- Today about 82% of WHO funding is voluntary, letting donors dictate priorities like obesity or tobacco over core infectious disease work.
Tobacco Treaty Set A Dangerous Precedent
- WHO adopted UN-style binding instruments and regulatory playbooks, starting with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
- That treaty fossilized policy pre-vaping, excluded counter-opinions, and set a precedent for hard international health rules.