The World Health Organization

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) is the branch of the United Nations dedicated to discussing and coordinating international matters related to physical health, mental health, safety, and relief. As part of the General Assembly, participating members may propose, debate, and vote on recommendations and guidelines affecting the global community as a whole. Additionally, WHO acts as a major player in global health emergencies by organizing research, facilitating collaboration, and training healthcare personnel.

  • CRISPR, short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a gene-editing technology that can allow scientists to make targeted changes to DNA, which are the biological instructions that allow life to grow, develop, and reproduce. DNA editing was possible before CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9), but it was more expensive and less precise. Advancing research has revealed that CRISPR-Cas9 has incredible potential for medical application, including use in curing genetic diseases such as sickle-cell disease. WHO states that there were an estimated 7.74 million people living with sickle-cell disease globally in 2021. As CRISPR use becomes more advanced and more accessible, it has become an important issue for WHO because it raises questions about who can access this care, as well as how it can be applied safely and ethically.  

    CRISPR can be applied in people who are already alive, as is the case with the sickle-cell therapy, Casgevy, but it can theoretically be applied to germline cells, such as eggs or sperm, to cause the gene edits to be inherited. This could hypothetically lead to the ability for a CRISPR treatment to improve someone’s intelligence, or other traits with larger societal implications. Beyond this, there are also considerations regarding informed consent, unequal access, genetic data privacy, and unregulated clinics. All of these raise serious ethical and social concerns.

    There is a promising future for CRISPR in medicine and public health, but careful governance is needed to ensure that the benefits do not come at the cost of human rights, safety, or global equity. WHO has recommended stronger international cooperation, transparent research practices, and global standards for oversight of human genome editing. As they approach a resolution on this topic, Member States must therefore ensure that CRISPR can be regulated in a way that supports responsible scientific and clinical progress, while ensuring that the technology remains accessible to all populations and misuse is prevented. 

    • Should germline gene editing, which can affect future generations, be prohibited or restricted under international standards?

      • How can Member States enforce this?

    • How can Member States encourage responsible scientific progress while preventing CRISPR from being used for non-medical enhancement or discrimination?

    • How can CRISPR-based treatments be made accessible without increasing global health inequality?

  • Transmissible diseases can spread between people, communities, and countries, making timely and accurate reporting essential for global public health. As international travel and trade increase, outbreaks that begin locally can quickly become regional or international concerns. Legislation exists to ensure the global community is able to tackle transmissible public health threats; the International Health Regulations, or IHR, are a legally binding framework that requires 196 countries to detect, assess, report, and respond to public health risks that may cross borders. 

    Accurate reporting allows governments and international organizations, such as WHO, to identify outbreaks, coordinate health measures, and share guidance with the public. However, transparency can be difficult when countries have different surveillance systems, testing capacities, and political or economic concerns such as trade, travel, tourism, public confidence, and fear of penalties. Our World in Data notes that international disease information varies by country and has some limitations. These limitations arise because some countries do very little testing, and even when countries do adequate testing, there is a long reporting chain between when a case is confirmed and when it is included on international databases. These challenges can make it harder for WHO and Member States to compare data and respond quickly. 

    Addressing transparency in reporting transmissible diseases requires cooperation between national governments, public health agencies, laboratories, and international organizations. As they approach this topic, Member States should consider how WHO can support fast, reliable, and transparent reporting while respecting national capacity and sovereignty, public trust, and the need for coordinated international action.

    1. How can Member States improve disease reporting while respecting national sovereignty?

    2. What should WHO do when a country delays, withholds, or provides incomplete outbreak information?

    3. What financial and technical support should be provided to countries with limited testing or disease surveillance capacity?

    4. How can countries prevent political pressure from interfering with public health reporting?

    5. What standards should exist for reporting suspected cases, confirmed cases, deaths, and testing rates?

Position papers are due on February 12, 2026 in order to be considered eligible for an award.

contact: hsmun.who@gmail.com.