Letter from Executive Board

Prospective Delegates,

The Executive Board of the WHO being simulated at the Mother’s Public School in 2024
welcomes your participation in this conference. We plan to channelize our efforts in making
this a big learning experience. Considering the nature of the conference, we look forward to
making this more of a learning engagement while still keeping up the spirit of competition
and the essence of debate. To meet such ends, we shall be formulating UNA-USA Rules of
Procedure and Conduct of Business which shall be explained to you in brief prior to the first
session as well as throughout the working of the committee, as and when required. We expect
the debate to comprise of substantive points, logical analysis of facts and suggestions and
advancement of country opinion.

To clear any contentions, the participants need not let thoughts about our expectations be a
hurdle in their research or give way to any fear regarding fulfilment of their objectives. The
only thing the Executive Board will put strong emphasis on, would be helping you
understand the international analysis, and argumentative debating. Participants shall be tested
on their knowledge and arguments, along their specific country lines and the respective
ideology, over the various topics discussed in the debate and also the deliberations before
choosing a particular topic.

This guide, although very comprehensive and factual, provides a basic idea of the topics
likely to be argued upon and topics to be discussed in view of the committee and may vary
from those of the respective delegate's ideologies. In no way is this guide to confine a
participant's research. The guide consists of subjective and factual data with arguments, but
this is just to make the participants understand the ways in which they must make their
addresses. We do not expect this guide to serve as enough research for the topics and you to
revert to us for any help with understanding or proceeding with the research, in case you have
any doubts or contentions till the end of the conference.

Wishing you the very best,

WHO Executive Board

 Introduction to Model United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 to maintain international

peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and promote social progress,
better living standards, and human rights in 51 countries committed.

The UN has 4 main purposes:

• To keep peace throughout the world;

• To develop friendly relations among nations;

• To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, conquer hunger, disease,
and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;

• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals

A simulation of the United Nations is called a "model UN," and it helps to learn more about
current global challenges. It is merely an effort to understand how the UN functions by using
some of its operational procedures. Each participant is designated a country to represent and
is referred to as a Delegate of that country in their various committees.
 Research Suggestion

1. Read the agenda guide, atleast 2 days prior to the conference and make a note of
everything that needs to be understood. Do read the background guide

2. Google/search everything and find relating documents (UN news articles, scholarly
articles) for whatever was not really understood.

3. After wholly understanding (subject to how in depth you wish to go for the research), try
understanding your allotted country’s perspective on the agenda.

4. Make the stance in accordance with the country’s perspective on the agenda which shall
also define your foreign policy (history, past actions etc.)

5. Understand the cues and hints that are given minutely in the background guide that may
come handy while presentation of contentions in committee.

6. Take a good look at the mandate of council as to what you can discuss and what you can do
in this council. This point is placed here, just because your knowledge base shouldn’t be
limited to the mandate of the council. Know everything; speak whatever the mandate allows.

7. Predict the kind of discussions and on what sub topics can they take place, thereby
analyzing the sub topic research you have done and prepare yourself accordingly. Make a
word document and put your arguments there for better presentation in council and bring a
hard copy of it to the committee.

8. Ask the Executive Board your doubts, if you have any, by means of the given email id and
make sure to not disclose your allotted country, until you want to understand the policy of
your country.

9. Download the United Nations charter and other relevant treaties and documents given.

10. Ask questions regarding procedure to speak something etc., if you have any, on the day of
the conference.
 Nature of Proof and Evidence

Documents from the following sources will be considered as credible proof for any
allegations made in committee or statements that require verification:

Reuters: Appropriate Documents and articles from News agencies will be used to corroborate
or refute controversial statements made in committee.

UN Document: Documents by all UN agencies and affiliated agencies will be considered as

sufficient proof. Reports from all UN bodies including treaty-based bodies will also be
accepted. (Ex- IAEA, IMF, WB)

Government Reports: Government Reports of a given country used to corroborate an

allegation on the same aforementioned country will be accepted as proof.

Introduction to WHO

During the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization, Szeming Sze, a
delegate from China, conferred with Norwegian and Brazilian delegates on creating an
international health organization under the auspices of the new United Nations. After failing
to get a resolution passed on the subject, Alger Hiss, the secretary general of the conference,
recommended using a declaration to establish such an organization. Sze and other delegates
lobbied and a declaration passed calling for an international conference on health.

The first meeting of the World Health Assembly finished on 24 July 1948, having secured a
budget of US$5 million (then GB£1,250,000) for the 1949 year. G. Brock Chisholm was
appointed director-general of the WHO, having served as executive secretary and a founding
member during the planning stages, while Andrija Štampar was the assembly's first president.
Its first priorities were to control the spread of malaria, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted
infections, and to improve maternal and child health, nutrition, and environmental hygiene.
Its first legislative act was concerning the compilation of accurate statistics on the spread and
morbidity of disease.

Today, WHO is an organization of 194 Member States. The Member States elect the Director-
General, who leads the organization in achieving its global health goals.
Secretariat

WHO’s Secretariat includes experts, staff, and field workers at the Geneva-based
headquarters, 6 Regional Offices, and other stations located in 150+ countries around the
world.

Member States

WHO works with all Member States to support them to achieve the highest standard of health
for all people. Our staff working in countries advise ministries of health and other sectors on
public health issues and provide support to plan, implement and monitor health programs.

World Health Assembly

The World Health Assembly is WHO’s highest-level decision-making forum. Every year,
delegates from all Member States convene at the World Health Assembly to set priorities and
chart a course for global health progress. The main functions of the World Health Assembly
are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise
financial policies, and review and approve the proposed program budget. The Health
Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

The World Health Organization (WHO) plays a crucial role within the United Nations (UN)
system. Its functions are:

1. Global Health Leadership: The WHO serves as the leading authority on global health
matters. It provides strategic direction, guidance, and coordination to address health-related
challenges worldwide.

2. Health Policy Development: The WHO formulates evidence-based policies, guidelines,

and strategies to promote and protect public health. It conducts research, collects data, and
analyses health trends to provide member states with recommendations for effective health
policies.

3. Disease Prevention and Control: The WHO works to prevent and control the spread of
diseases globally. It monitors disease outbreaks, coordinates responses to health emergencies,
and supports countries in implementing preventive measures, such as vaccination campaigns
and disease surveillance.
4. Health Systems Strengthening: The WHO assists member states in strengthening their
health systems to ensure access to quality healthcare services for all. It provides technical
support, builds capacity, and promotes the development of resilient health systems.

5. Health Advocacy and Partnerships: The WHO advocates for health as a fundamental
right and raises awareness about key health issues. It collaborates with governments, non-
governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to foster partnerships and mobilize
resources for global health initiatives.

6. Normative Functions: The WHO develops international health regulations and standards
to promote health equity, safety, and quality of care. It sets guidelines for various health areas,
including disease classification, pharmaceuticals, and medical technologies.

7. Health Information and Research: The WHO collects, analyses, and disseminates health
data and information to support evidence-based decision-making. It conducts research and
facilitates knowledge-sharing among member states to address health challenges effectively.

These are some of the primary roles and responsibilities of the World Health Organization
within the United Nations. Its work spans a wide range of global health issues, aiming to
improve health outcomes and promote well-being on a global scale.

WHO reform

WHO is reforming to be better equipped to address the increasingly complex challenges of

the health of populations in the 21st century. From persisting problems to new and emerging
public health threats, WHO needs to be flexible enough to respond to this evolving
environment. The process of reform is Member State-driven and inclusive. The three
objectives were defined at the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly and at the Executive
Board’s 129th session.

● Improved health outcomes, with WHO meeting the expectations of its member states
and partners in addressing global health priorities, focused on the actions and areas
where the Organization has a unique function or comparative advantage and financed
in a way that facilitates this focus.
● Greater coherence in global health, with WHO playing a leading role in enabling the
many different actors to play an active and effective role in contributing to the health
of all peoples.
 ● An organization that pursues excellence; one that is effective, efficient, responsive,
objective, transparent, and accountable.

Three distinct and interconnected fields of work have emerged in line with these objectives:

1. Programmes and priority setting

2. Governance reform
3. Managerial reform

The WHO agenda

The framework in which WHO operates is getting more complicated day by day. The lines
between public health and other fields that have an impact on health opportunities and
outcomes have become blurred. To address these issues, WHO has a six-point plan. The six
points cover two health-related goals, two strategic requirements, and two practical methods.
The effect of WHO's activities on women's health and health in Africa is generally used to
evaluate the organization's overall success:

1. Promoting development
2. Fostering health security
3. Strengthening health system
4. Harnessing research, information, and evidence
5. Enhancing partnerships
6. Improving performance
 Ensuring sustainable well-being through healthy environments by
addressing the impact of chemicals, wastes and pollution on human
health

Sustainable well-being:

Well-being is a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a

resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions.
Well-being encompasses quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to
the world with a sense of meaning and purpose. Focusing on well-being supports the tracking
of the equitable distribution of resources, overall thriving and sustainability. A society’s well-
being can be determined by the extent to which it is resilient, builds capacity for action, and is
prepared to transcend challenges

WHO works with Member States and partners to advance well-being as it pertains to global
health and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Well-being is a major underlying
driver of policy coherence across sectors and encourages galvanized action. Advancing societal
well-being helps create active, resilient and sustainable communities at local, national and
global levels, enabling them to respond to current and emerging health threats such as COVID-
19 and environmental disasters.

Societies with positive well-being provide the foundations for all members of current and future
generations to thrive on a healthy planet, no matter where they live. Such societies apply bold
policies and transformative approaches that are underpinned by a positive vision of health that
integrates physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being.

Societal well-being is essential to enable the conditions for individual well-being, in which
societal structures and systems promote population-level equity as it relates to the determinants
of health. As a result, individuals face fewer barriers to accessing health promoting resources
and engaging in healthy behaviours.
Impact of Chemicals, Waste & Pollution on Health:

 WHO estimates that in 2016, 13.7 million deaths, amounting to 24% of deaths and 23%
of disease burdens globally, were attributable to modifiable environmental factors,
among which are chemicals, waste and pollution. For chemical risks, the evidence is
still growing, with an estimate of 1.6 million deaths in 2016 from exposure to selected
chemicals.
 Globally 90% of people live in places where the air is unhealthy to breathe, resulting in
4.2 million deaths globally each year (2016 data). Of all deaths from ambient air
pollution, 38% were due to IHD, 20% were due to stroke and 43% were due to COPD.
 As of 2020, 26% of the worldwide population lack safely managed drinking-water
services. Approximately 144 million people still collect drinking-water directly from
surface water. Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause 485 000 diarrhoeal
deaths each year, in addition to malnutrition and many other diseases
 Nearly half the world’s population lacked safely managed sanitation services in 2020.
Such deficiencies cause 432 000 diarrhoeal disease deaths globally each year (2016),
and also lead to soil-transmitted helminth infections, malnutrition and numerous other
diseases. Poor sanitation contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance and
negatively affects broader well-being.

Intensifying effect of Climate Change on Health Risks:

Climate change impacts health directly due to extreme weather events. Extreme heat, rising sea
levels, floods, extreme precipitation, droughts, and storms are increasingly frequent and lead
to tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. Indirect
effects of climate change result for example from food and water insecurity, increasing
transmission of vector- and water-borne diseases, the disruption of the health care system and
water and sanitation supplies, increased health inequality, and displacement/migration of
communities.

Main contributors to global climate change are fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes
but also agriculture, deforestation and other land-use changes, transportation and building
energy use. In addition, the health sector is a significant contributor to global carbon dioxide
emissions.
All people are exposed to the hazardous effects of climate change but some groups are
particularly vulnerable such as people living in small island nations (SIDS) and other coastal
regions, megacities, and mountainous and polar regions. Other vulnerable groups include
children, older people and those with underlying health conditions, especially those living in
low-income countries (LMIC).

Radiation exposure through various Sources:

 Through Food & Drinking Water:

Food and drinking-water can contain radioactive substances (radionuclides) that could present
a risk to human health. The radiation exposure resulting from ingestion of radionuclides makes
a contribution to the overall population radiation dose from the many different natural and
humanmade radiation sources of radiation found in our everyday lives. Foods and drinking-
water can have a considerable range in variation of radionuclide concentrations, reflecting the
radionuclide content of water, rocks, soil and fertilizers from where they originated and the
prevalent circumstances.

In normal circumstances, natural radionuclides are the major source of exposure through
ingestion, and the radiation risks are usually small compared with the risks from
microorganisms and chemicals that may be present in food and drinking-water.

Following radiation emergencies, human-made radionuclides released into the environment

may be transferred to food and water and represent a significant source of exposure. These
factors should be considered for establishing criteria for food and water safety regulation,
management and surveillance. In normal situations, the International Basic Safety Standards
require that the national relevant regulatory authorities establish specific reference levels for
radiation exposure due to radionuclides in food and drinking-water.

 In Healthcare:

Every year, millions of patients globally benefit from medical uses of radiation. Because of the
risks associated with radiation exposure, enhancing access to radiation technologies should be
linked to building capacity to their safe and appropriate utilization. A balanced approach is
required to maximize the benefits while minimizing risks for patients, health care workers and
members of the public.
Medical exposures must result in a sufficient benefit to the patient, based on a benefit–risk
analysis that provides the basis for the justification of radiological medical procedures. To
ensure optimization of protection and safety, the design and construction of equipment and
installations as well as the protocols and working procedures applied should result in the
minimum patient dose required to achieve the clinical purpose and the probability of
errors/incidents should be minimized. While dose limits are not applied to medical exposures,
annual radiation dose limits are applied to health workers and members of the public.

Specific Environmental Risks to Children’s Health

An estimated 1.6 million deaths in children aged under 5 years in 2016 were due to
environmental risks, which means 28% of all deaths in children that year could have been
prevented through a cleaner and safer environment. Especially in low-income countries,
environmental health risks are important contributors to childhood death and disease. More
than 90% of children breathe toxic air every day.

Children are exposed to many different environments that have a profound influence on their
growth and development. Environmental exposures, both adverse and health-promoting, do not
work in isolation but interact with social and nutritional determinants of health to influence
children’s health and well-being. Adverse environmental exposures include among others
polluted indoor and outdoor air, contaminated water, lack of adequate sanitation, household
and community environmental hazards, toxic hazards, disease vectors, UV radiation and
degraded ecosystems. Improving children’s environmental health presents an essential
contribution towards the achievement of the SDGs

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental threats due to their developing organs and
immune systems, smaller bodies and airways. Proportionate to their size, children ingest more
food, drink more water and breathe more air than adults. In addition, certain modes of
behaviour, such as putting hands and objects into the mouth and playing outdoors can increase
children’s exposure to environmental contaminants. Furthermore, children as young as five
years old sometimes work in hazardous settings.
Health Impact of sustainable and active mobility

Road traffic accidents kill 1.3 million people per year (2019 data); pedestrians, cyclists and
motorcyclists in low- and middle-income countries are disproportionally affected. More
cycling and walking tend to lead to fewer road traffic accidents as motorists become sensitized
to the presence of non-motorized traffic and to sharing the road.

Increased road safety and the provision of public and green spaces can enable and motivate
people to walk and cycle more, especially for short trips. Less motorized traffic also reduces
air pollution, noise and carbon emissions.

Systems of mobility that include public transport and infrastructure for cycling and walking
can contribute to increasing levels of physical activity. The positive health effects of regular
physical activity include improved muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness, improved bone and
functional health, reduced risk for NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes,
and falls and fractures and weight control. Regular physical activity also improves mental and
cognitive health and is recommended for people of all ages and abilities. Encouraging and
enabling regular physical activity requires adequate provision of, and equitable access to
supportive environments that encourage participation in walking, cycling, sports, active
recreation and play by people of all abilities.

Transport can also affect health and health equity by enabling and facilitating access to
education, decent jobs, health care, leisure and clean water. Road infrastructure and urban
design can have an impact on social interaction within neighbourhoods while also discouraging
motorized transport and slowing the impact of climate change.

As the majority of the world population is living in urban areas, cities have a particular
responsibility and opportunity for improving urban design and transport systems to retain and
support increasing levels of walking and cycling. Affordable and accessible transport systems
and sustainable community infrastructure development are however equally relevant for peri-
urban and rural areas.
 Links

1. Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment

2. Achieving well-being: A global framework for integrating well-being into public
health utilizing a health promotion approach
3. Promoting well-being: WHO
4. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB154/B154_24-en.pdf
5. https://www.who.int/tools/compendium-on-health-and-environment/chemicals
6. https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/916484/retrieve
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IKW4jjo6uc
8. https://www.unep.org/topics/chemicals-and-pollution-action/why-does-chemicals-
and-pollution-action-matter
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10472068/
10. https://mlienvironmental.com/blog/effects-of-hazardous-waste/
11. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/zero-pollution/health/chemicals
12. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021002415
13. https://www.thegef.org/what-we-do/topics/chemicals-and-waste
14. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00090-
0/fulltext
15. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37943968/
16. https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste
17. https://www.who.int/news-room/photo-story/photo-story-detail/10-chemicals-of-
public-health-concern
18. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-effects-chemical-
exposure.html
19. https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-
matter-pm
20. https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/events/the-impact-of-chemicals-
waste-and-pollution-on-human-health/