Interview with Gro Brundtland

摘要

Brundtland managed the seemingly impossible. She took WHO out of the doldrums and gave it back some international credibility. On the global stage, the organisation has a newfound confidence, negotiating an international treaty on tobacco control and brokering partnerships with a wide spectrum of society. It would now be inconceivable to hold an important meeting on global health without WHO's involvement In a globalising world, with its striking health inequalities, WHO now wears many different hats―advocate of the poor, technical and scientific adviser, development partner, and steward of the increasingly disparate global health activities. Yet the organisation is plagued by major problems that prevent it carrying out these roles effectively (box).