Examine the roles of international health agencies and global initiatives, including the Sustainable Development Goals, in addressing global health inequities

What this dot point is asking

WACE expects you to know the roles of the key players and judge how effective coordinated global action is. A strong answer describes each agency with its function, explains a global initiative, and evaluates how it reduces inequity, including limits. Marks reward this connected, evaluative explanation rather than a list of organisation names.

Why international agencies are needed

Many threats to health are global: pandemics, the marketing of harmful products, and the social determinants that keep poorer countries poorer all cross national borders. No single country can solve these alone, so international agencies provide the coordination, standards and shared funding that individual governments cannot. This mirrors the intersectoral and partnership thinking from Unit 3, scaled up to the world.

The World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for international public health. It sets global health standards and guidelines, coordinates responses to outbreaks and emergencies, collects and publishes global health data, runs programs against major diseases, and provides leadership and technical support to countries. Its strength is its authority and reach as the recognised global health body. Its limits include reliance on member funding and cooperation, and limited power to compel countries to act, so its influence depends on agreement.

The United Nations and global goals

The United Nations sets shared global agendas that include health. The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of global targets to be achieved by 2030, covering poverty, hunger, education, clean water, gender equality and more, with one goal focused directly on good health and wellbeing. Because health is shaped by social determinants, many of the other goals also drive health, so the framework treats health as connected to development as a whole.

Non-government organisations in global health

International non-government organisations deliver health programs, provide emergency relief, fund research and advocate for change, often reaching populations that governments and large agencies cannot. They are flexible and trusted locally, but usually depend on donations and operate at a smaller scale than the World Health Organization. They work best in partnership with agencies and national governments, each contributing what it does best.

Evaluating global initiatives

Global initiatives reduce inequity when they set clear, measurable targets, mobilise funding, and direct effort toward the countries and determinants that need it most. Their effectiveness is limited by funding gaps, by national governments that do not act, by political conflict, and by the difficulty of measuring progress across very different countries. A balanced evaluation recognises real gains, such as falling child mortality and expanded vaccination, while noting that progress is uneven and that the deepest inequities persist where the social determinants remain unaddressed.

How this maps to the exam

Expect a stimulus describing a global health problem or initiative. Identify the relevant agency and its role, explain how a global initiative such as the Sustainable Development Goals addresses the problem, and evaluate how well it reduces inequity, including its limits. Link the initiative to the social determinants where the stimulus allows.