World Health Organization responds to a critical First Opinion A letter to the editor critiques Ashish Jha’s recent op-ed on reforming the WHO

https://www.statnews.com/2025/01/21/letter-to-editor-who-world-health-organization-ashish-jha-covid/?utm_campaign=daily_recap&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--kIhC5sYLcAA64smI_nrZGzn7BkmUSvES4e1bux4h5KMq0Ub4i_6pJAntJUFaOlGwlKc0a-dQfQWnbwvNMNyKrPEKYsA&_hsmi=343515760&utm_content=343515760&utm_source=hs_email Last week, physician and former White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha wrote a First Opinion essay about his belief that the World Health Organization needs “deep reforms,” but that exiting the organization is not the way to enact any needed change. (On Monday, Trump signaled his intent to withdraw through an executive order.) Yesterday, WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove wrote a letter to the editor in STAT, responding to Jha’s criticism of the organization. “The scant evidence he cites vastly oversimplifies complex scientific issues and completely overlooks the comprehensive multiyear response that WHO led,” Van Kerkhove wrote.