‘WHO’s programma’s ineffectief’
De Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie is een gepoliticeerde en overbodige organisatie die daarnaast ook nog eens erg ineffectief werkt. Dat is de conclusie van een artikel dat verscheen in de National Review.
Het enige succes waar de WHO op kan bogen is een plan tegen tabak, een van de meest irrelevante wereldproblemen op dit moment, volgens de auteur van het artikel. De belangrijke programma’s, die echt zoden aan de dijk zetten, zoals tegen AIDS en malaria, hebben gigantisch gefaald.
The tobacco convention is in place, but one wonders why. Rather than going after infectious diseases (like cholera or dengue) in poor countries, or at least “involuntary” disease in rich countries (like cancer or hypertension), the WHO decided to go after “voluntary” smokers. It’s debatable whether smoking-related diseases should be classified as a public health issue at all — surely, it’s a private matter if you decide to smoke.
While there is merit in heading off a future problem, the main effect of the anti-tobacco convention has been to introduce a far-reaching power base from which WHO has launched other initiatives that encroach deep into private life.
No critical analyst or journalist seriously believed WHO that the tobacco convention was the only one WHO would establish in its campaign against lifestyle choices. Back in 2001, I attended one of the tobacco-control workshops organized by WHO. One journalist in the audience asked whether “alcohol and food were next.” The WHO officials insisted tobacco was different from other lifestyle issues. But, no sooner was the convention signed last fall, than the WHO announced an obesity initiative.
