Source: https://spherestandards.org/organizer/world-health-organization-who/

World Health Organization

Background Guide coming soon!


Topic A: Vaccine Equity and Diplomacy

Topic B: Antimicrobial Resistance

The World Health Organization is a specialized body of the United Nations tasked with promoting global health and safety. Over the years, the WHO has pioneered numerous global health efforts from smallpox eradication to providing medical assistance during natural disasters. The World Health Organization committee at UCBMUN will prompt delegates to explore both legislative and technological solutions to ensure that they solve the major problems plaguing our world today.

Topic A will address promoting vaccine accessibility and distribution process globally, focusing on the global impact of vaccine equity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine inequities were visible, where vaccine nationalism, misinformation, intellectual property rights, and constraints in development prevented high and low-income individuals from being vaccinated equally, throughout and past the pandemic. Without key global sharing of vaccine doses and technologies, vaccine monopolies overtook the market, causing several pitfalls for vaccination access in third-world countries. Delegates will be asked to consider policies to balance development and innovation with ethical considerations for vaccine accessibility.

Topic B prompts delegates to tackle the ever-increasing arms race against rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Around the world, diverse microbes ranging from bacteria to viruses to fungi are finding new ways to evade even some of our most long-established defenses. This war plays out not only in medical settings like hospitals but also even in farms - in fact, a quarter of all antibiotics in the US are used in pig farming alone, which is a huge driver of AMR! Delegates must consider the diverse contexts and applications of antimicrobials, and how to ensure that we are victorious in this perpetual arms race of mother nature.





Arhant Ghanta

Chair

Welcome delegates! My name is Arhant Ghanta (he/him), and I am very excited to be your Chair for the World Health Organization GA at UCBMUN XXIX. I am a senior from Boston, Massachusetts double majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology and Public Health, and minoring in Political Economy. In the past, I have served as a CD twice at UCBMUN and am extremely excited to finally Chair a GA committee this year (I'm a GA delegate myself). I have always loved both STEM and the humanities, and enjoy discussing underrated issues that are often interdisciplinary in nature. Health and medicine are too often overlooked in discussions of politics and international relations, yet they play such a fundamental role in every single life on this planet. I am pumped to see the discussions that arise out of debating the incredibly important roles of two of mankind's greatest (and possibly most life-saving) innovations, namely vaccines and antimicrobials. Outside of school, I enjoy reading, biking, studying languages, traveling, and trying new recipes. I look forward to meeting in the spring!

Best,
Arhant Ghanta
Chair, World Health Organization


Anousha Athreya

Chair

Hey all, I'm Anousha Athreya, and I'm beyond excited to be your chair for the World Health Organization committee at UCBMUN this year! I'm a third-year majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Data Science, with a minor in Public Policy. In the past, I served as a Chair for the My Way Killings Committee, on UCBMUN XXVIII Secretariat as the Director of Technology, and currently serve as the Generalized Head Delegate for the travel team. Before and even in my current major, I have a large interest in biotechnology and brain science, so I'm hyped to chair this committee and hear all of your ideas on how to effectively combine diplomacy and health on the global level. These innovations have been critical during world health crises in the past few years, and the WHO acts as oversight for providing technical guidance to countries on their response & preparedness, but also ensuring no groups are overlooked. At Berkeley, I currently work on security research, and serve on the Computing and Information Technology Academic Senate committee. I also really enjoy watching mystery & detective shows, so let me know if you have any recommendations. I can't wait to see you all, good luck, and I look forward to meeting you next year!

Best,
Anousha Athreya
Chair, World Health Organization