Who Is WHO? Examining the Role of the World Health Organization

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, 75 Years of the United Nations Special Issue, 2020

By Alex Newman

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, it is affecting every aspect of life, from jobs to health to education. For teachers, the challenge began last March when schools closed down, forcing them to scramble to provide online learning.

For Toronto high school art and tech teacher Renee Bucholtz, not being at school was difficult. Not only did she find it hard to adapt art to online instruction, but she “really missed the interaction with the students.”

A new challenge presented itself this summer when provincial education ministries announced classes would resume in person in September. While Bucholtz was happy about going back to class to see the students, at 61 with a few underlying health issues, she’s at risk. “It’s a hard one—I feel safer working at home but happier working at school.”

The Ontario Ministry of Education offered teachers a choice: return to class or continue at home. To help make the decision Bucholtz turned to fellow teachers, Canada’s top public health officials, articles from respected publications, and various social media feeds.

“I was on Facebook checking in with my various teacher’s groups from all over North America and Europe,” she says. “There was a lot of discussion worldwide about how they’d either done or were going to do reopening.” But she also spent time on the World Health Organization (WHO) website since almost everything she read and heard referenced the organization.

One of the WHO’s leading epidemiologists, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, says “there’s a lot of considerations that need to be taken into account when deciding whether and how to open schools. It’s not just a matter of if they should open, it’s how they should open. And there’s a lot of detrimental effects to children who are not in school.”

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Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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Alex Newman
Alex Newman
Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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