Global Health Cluster
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| Global Health Cluster | |
|---|---|
| Name | Global Health Cluster |
| Type | Humanitarian coordination mechanism |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Geneva |
| Parent organizations | World Health Organization; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
| Area served | International |
Global Health Cluster The Global Health Cluster is an international humanitarian coordination mechanism linking World Health Organization leadership, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and a network of United Nations Children's Fund, International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and national ministries of health. It aims to coordinate emergency World Health Organization-led responses across crises such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, 2015 Nepal earthquake, and conflicts like the Syrian civil war and Yemen civil war.
Overview
The Cluster model emerged from humanitarian reform dialogues involving United Nations General Assembly resolutions, Good Humanitarian Donorship principles, and the Oslo Guidelines and links operational actors such as Pan American Health Organization, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, United States Agency for International Development, UK Department for International Development, Norwegian Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children International, CARE International, World Vision International, Amnesty International, and national agencies including Ministry of Health (Ethiopia), Ministry of Health (Kenya), Ministry of Public Health (Afghanistan). The mechanism interacts with technical bodies including Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Stop TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNAIDS.
History and Development
Cluster concepts were formalized after reviews by United Nations Secretary-General panels, including inputs from the Humanitarian Response Review and the Cluster Approach Review. Early operationalization involved actors such as United Nations Children's Fund and World Bank-supported initiatives in post-disaster settings like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and later tested during public health emergencies such as the 2009 swine flu pandemic and the 2016 Zika virus epidemic. Leadership iterations included personnel linked to World Health Organization country missions in Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and Lebanon. Reforms incorporated lessons from the Cholera outbreak in Haiti response, evaluations by Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and inputs from non-state providers such as Red Cross Crescent Movement national societies.
Structure and Governance
Governance integrates World Health Organization headquarters, regional offices like World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, and coordination with United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, and International Labour Organization when cross-sectoral issues arise. Operational clusters operate at country level with cluster coordinators drawn from partners including Médecins Sans Frontières, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children International, and national ministries such as Ministry of Health (Pakistan). Advisory mechanisms have included experts from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Imperial College London, and technical support from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health England, and Institut Pasteur. Decision-making involves donor actors like European Commission and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alongside coordination bodies such as Inter-Agency Standing Committee.
Activities and Operations
Operational roles cover health service delivery coordination during crises like Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), Hurricane Maria, and outbreaks including Cholera outbreak in Yemen, Measles outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zika virus epidemic in the Americas. Activities include emergency preparedness tied to International Health Regulations (2005), rapid needs assessments alongside Sphere Project standards, health cluster meetings with participation from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and liaison with military health units such as those from United States Department of Defense or Royal Army Medical Corps. The Cluster supports technical areas: disease surveillance with TechNet-21-style partners, immunization campaigns coordinated with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Global Polio Eradication Initiative, wound care and trauma services linked to International Committee of the Red Cross, mental health programs with Médecins Sans Frontières and United Nations Population Fund, and reproductive health in crises with International Planned Parenthood Federation and UNFPA.
Partnerships and Funding
Funding derives from humanitarian pooled funds such as Central Emergency Response Fund, country-based pooled funds administered by Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, bilateral donors including United States Agency for International Development, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, Government of Japan, Government of Sweden, philanthropic contributors like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and institutional support from World Health Organization core budgets. Partnerships extend to academic institutions including Columbia University, Yale School of Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, and operational NGOs such as Doctors of the World, HealthNet TPO, Mercy Corps, and Danish Refugee Council. Coordination links with surveillance networks like Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and laboratory partners including World Reference Laboratories.
Criticisms and Challenges
Challenges include coordination tensions between humanitarian actors such as Médecins Sans Frontières and UN-led mechanisms during crises like Ebola epidemic in West Africa and debates involving Humanitarian Accountability Partnership standards. Critiques highlight gaps in localization involving national societies like National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, slow funding flows from donors like European Commission and USAID, and operational constraints in conflict zones such as Syrian civil war and Yemen civil war where access negotiations involve actors like Hamas, Hezbollah, or state ministries. Technical criticisms reference surveillance limitations exposed during 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic and coordination frictions with initiatives like Global Health Security Agenda. Other issues include accountability debates in fora like the United Nations Human Rights Council and reform pressures from independent evaluations commissioned by United Nations and World Health Organization leadership.