Annabel Ferriman on questions for Margaret Chan
22 Jun, 09 | by BMJ Group
The spread of A/H1N1 flu has propelled Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, into the limelight. On 11 June she was on television and radio programmes across the world, declaring that “the world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic” and that “further spread is considered inevitable”
But what do we know about the 62 year old doctor who took over the reins of the behemoth on the death of Dr Lee Jong-wook in 2006? A profile of her in the Financial Times in May criticised her for not having a grand vision of reform and described her as a bureaucrat rather than a politician.
But it also quoted Julio Frenk, dean of Harvard School of Public Health, as saying: “For the kind of focused response [needed during an epidemic] she’s the best person we could possibly hope for.”
What do you think about Dr Chan’s handling of the crisis and her performance at the head of WHO? Does Dr Chan have a vision for the future? What should her priorities be for the next three to five years? Was she wrong to insist that swine flu be renamed A/H1N1 after pressure from the farming lobby? Do her Chinese roots prevent her from dealing firmly enough with the secrecy and violations of human rights of the Chinese government?
And, above all, has WHO overreacted to the threat from flu? Simon Jenkins wrote in the Guardian on 29 April: “The World Health Organization, always eager to push itself into the spotlight, loves to talk of the world being ‘ready’ for a flu pandemic, apparently on the grounds that none has occurred for some time . . . An obligation on public officials not to scare people or lead them to needless expense is overridden by the yearning for a higher budget or more profit”.
Now is your chance to put your questions to Dr Chan. The BMJ’s Hong Kong correspondent, Jane Parry, will conduct an interview with the WHO chief in July. She would welcome your questions.
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2009/06/22/annabel-ferriman-on-questions-for-margaret-chan/
22 Jun, 09 | by BMJ Group
The spread of A/H1N1 flu has propelled Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, into the limelight. On 11 June she was on television and radio programmes across the world, declaring that “the world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic” and that “further spread is considered inevitable”
But what do we know about the 62 year old doctor who took over the reins of the behemoth on the death of Dr Lee Jong-wook in 2006? A profile of her in the Financial Times in May criticised her for not having a grand vision of reform and described her as a bureaucrat rather than a politician.
But it also quoted Julio Frenk, dean of Harvard School of Public Health, as saying: “For the kind of focused response [needed during an epidemic] she’s the best person we could possibly hope for.”
What do you think about Dr Chan’s handling of the crisis and her performance at the head of WHO? Does Dr Chan have a vision for the future? What should her priorities be for the next three to five years? Was she wrong to insist that swine flu be renamed A/H1N1 after pressure from the farming lobby? Do her Chinese roots prevent her from dealing firmly enough with the secrecy and violations of human rights of the Chinese government?
And, above all, has WHO overreacted to the threat from flu? Simon Jenkins wrote in the Guardian on 29 April: “The World Health Organization, always eager to push itself into the spotlight, loves to talk of the world being ‘ready’ for a flu pandemic, apparently on the grounds that none has occurred for some time . . . An obligation on public officials not to scare people or lead them to needless expense is overridden by the yearning for a higher budget or more profit”.
Now is your chance to put your questions to Dr Chan. The BMJ’s Hong Kong correspondent, Jane Parry, will conduct an interview with the WHO chief in July. She would welcome your questions.
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2009/06/22/annabel-ferriman-on-questions-for-margaret-chan/