Lucas A
Lancet. 1998 Mar 7;351(9104):743-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)12451-5.
WHO's activities at country level have earned the organisation both criticism and praise. The organisation's technical publications are esteemed as authoritative guidelines for disease control. Successful disease-control programmes and contributions to health research have heightened WHO's reputation. The organisation has also provided the focus for evolution of important ideas, such as primary health care and the relevance of equity and other ethical issues. But WHO has been criticised for not adapting rapidly and logically to changes in the health field. With increasing national capacity in the more advanced developing countries, and with the involvement of new participants in the health sphere, the organisation needs to reassess its role at country level. My recommendation is that WHO improves its analytical capacity so that its programmes take into consideration the health needs of the country, its national capacity, and the contributions from other external agencies.
世卫组织在国家层面开展的活动既赢得了批评，也获得了赞誉。该组织的技术出版物被视为疾病控制的权威性指南。成功的疾病控制项目以及对卫生研究的贡献提升了世卫组织的声誉。该组织还为一些重要理念的发展提供了焦点，例如初级卫生保健以及公平性和其他伦理问题的相关性。但世卫组织因未迅速且合理地适应卫生领域的变化而受到批评。随着较发达发展中国家国家能力的增强，以及新参与者涉足卫生领域，该组织需要重新评估其在国家层面的作用。我的建议是，世卫组织提高其分析能力，以便其项目能考虑到该国的卫生需求、国家能力以及其他外部机构的贡献。
