Created in 1948, the WHO, or World Health Organisation, is a specialised UN agency for public health with headquarters in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation aims to achieve the highest attainable standard of physical, mental and social health for all people in its member and partner states.

As we have seen during this COVID-19 pandemic, arming oneself against such a virus is never easy despite all the medical and technical innovations of the last two decades. Fighting the virus in order to stop its spread: this is the main challenge facing the WHO, which has been dealing with the coronavirus for almost a year and with others for decades. Faced with the scale of the media and their colossal influence, it is not always easy to distinguish between truth and false information. In the age of social networks, information is pouring in from all sides: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, so many ways to share sometimes contradictory or incorrect content. However, in times of health crisis, the disclosure of false information can prove to be a real obstacle to communication. Moreover, the prospect of future pandemics worries many specialists. In their view, COVID-19 is neither the first nor the last pandemic facing humanity.

So how do we fight against misinformation in times of health crisis? And how do we prepare for and manage future pandemics? These are the two issues that the WHO committee will be addressing at this FerMUN 2021 conference.

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TRANSLATION: Lucie LOUIS