A Transforming WHO, Ready for the Future

Over the past six years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has undergone a fundamental transformation to ensure it is fully prepared to play its central role in the global health ecosystem and in a rapidly changing world.

The WHO Transformation Agenda, launched in July 2017, is the most ambitious and comprehensive change program in the organization’s history, with more than 40 initiatives implemented across seven major workstreams to build “a modern WHO that operates seamlessly to make a measurable difference in people’s health at the country level.”

The transformation agenda is built around three overarching goals.

The first goal is to ensure that WHO is fully focused and aligned to deliver impact at the country level.
Building on the bold new strategy—GPW 13—this has included the introduction of innovations such as the Output Scorecard, Delivery for Impact methodologies, and a new approach to impact measurement, aimed at institutionalizing a culture of measurable results and data-driven ways of working.

Reforms in planning, budgeting, and implementation processes have facilitated an integrated approach across WHO’s three levels (e.g., output delivery teams, networks of technical experts) and ensure that leadership, technical products, and country support programs are fully aligned with national needs and WHO’s strategic priorities.

Performance management processes now directly link the daily work of the entire workforce to WHO’s mission and strategy.

The second goal introduced changes to enable the organization and its workforce to realize their full potential in providing trusted advice and leadership on critical health issues within a rapidly evolving environment.

The creation of the Chief Scientist and the Science Division strengthened the management and coordination of WHO’s extensive scientific and research capacities, hosted research partnerships, special programs, broad expert networks, and WHO collaborating centers, as well as the organization’s engagement with the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

This has strengthened the Secretariat’s capacity to shape global health research priorities, ensure that normative work meets the highest standards of ethics and quality, and support countries in strengthening their own health research capabilities.

With new, dedicated capacities in innovation and digital health, WHO is now better positioned to advise Member States and partners on recent scientific and technological advances.

New capabilities in data, analytics, and Delivery for Impact across all three levels allow WHO to better monitor, analyze, and report health trends—including through the new Global Health Data Hub—while supporting countries to improve data quality, availability, timeliness, and governance.

Capabilities have also been established or enhanced in priority areas such as health emergency preparedness and response (including the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence), antimicrobial resistance, gender, equity and rights (including diversity, equity and inclusion), primary health care, healthier populations (e.g., climate change and health, social determinants of health, health promotion), and mental health, where the need for WHO leadership, normative capability and country support has grown.

WHO’s organizational structure and three-level operating model have been significantly redesigned to flatten hierarchies, break down silos, optimize spans of control, and enable more seamless and agile ways of working across the organization.

Roles and responsibilities at each WHO level have been clearly defined, and headquarters and regional office structures have been aligned around four main pillars (programmes, emergencies, external relations, business operations) to enhance collaboration.

A new WHO country-level operating model is being implemented to strengthen core capacities, including engagement with UN country teams.

WHO’s core technical, business, and external relations processes are being digitalized and optimized according to “best-in-class” standards.

All these changes aim to facilitate shifts in mindsets, behaviors, and working practices, in line with WHO’s core values.