title: The normative authority of the World Health Organization.
abstract: The World Health Organization (WHO) was born after the devastation of World War II, as a normative agency endowed with unprecedented constitutional powers. But even as it has achieved stunning successes, such as the eradication of smallpox, it has failed to live up to the exalted expectations of the postwar health and human rights movement - exemplified most recently by its inadequate response to the Ebola epidemic. Our aim is to offer innovative ideas for restoring the Organization to its leadership position by exercising its normative authority, even as it faces a crowded and often chaotic global health architecture. Before doing so, it will be helpful to summarize the main tensions the Organization faces in today's global health landscape.
authors.affiliation: Georgetown University Law Center, Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: Gostin@law.georgetown.edu.
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Gostin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sridhar
authors.affiliation: Georgetown University Law Center, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hougendobler
mesh_terms: D014943:Global Health; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: Global governance; World Health Organization