World Health Organization

Dear Delegates,

My name is Billy Gorman, your committee’s director, and I’m thrilled to welcome you to what will most definitely become the most exciting committee of HNMUN 2011, the World Health Organization!

I am currently a rising sophomore at Harvard, residing in the fabulous Kirkland House, and I can surely say my short time here has been a whirlwind. Growing up in the ever-so-distant Whitman, MA, I am forced to travel an eternal 35 minutes whenever I make the trek back home. Despite essentially attending school in my backyard, I can honestly say that I have learned more about myself and the world during my brief stay here than I ever have before. I’ll likely be concentrating in social studies and earning a citation in Spanish, which I can hopefully use to pursue a career in international development. College has been my first experience with Model UN, though I’ve definitely made up for lost time, staffing both HNMUN and our high school conference, HMUN, as well as traveling with our own team, ICMUN. Outside Model UN, my hobbies include running, following the greatest team on Earth, the Red Sox, and studying marine biology.

I’m thrilled to be directing the World Health Organization, as it truly presents an amazing opportunity for me, as well as you. As a lover of history and social science, I really want to evolve the discussion of this committee to more than simply talks of medicine and disease control. As much as we can drill into society’s ears the dangers of H1N1, bird flu, or terrorism, we must accept that our globe is a fast paced, chaotic mess that we can’t entirely control. Accepting our subordinate position, it is our duty to prepare ourselves for the worst. What if natural disaster strikes? How do we cope? And as we try to keep pace with the speed of our planet, how do we best ensure the rights and liberties of all Earth’s people, without sacrificing our abilities to maintain our development pace? Despite the efforts of great men and women in the past, these questions remain unanswered. I look forward to discovering if we can outdo our predecessors and really make some headway on these topics.

If you have any questions leading up to conference, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m already counting down the days and weeks until conference, and I hope you will become as excited as me for what will certainly turn out to be the best committee of the weekend.

Yours truly,

Billy Gorman
Director, World Health Organization
Harvard National Model United Nations 2011

Topic Area A: Preventing the Spread of Disease Following Natural Disasters

Unfortunately, when discussing natural disasters, the death toll is rarely limited to the event itself. Even those lucky enough to find shelter must often cope with a lack of electricity, clean food and water, or sufficient medical care. Perhaps most debilitating, however, communication can oftentimes be completely cut off. The US Center for Disease Control cites numerous potential health threats following disasters, including cholera, diarrhea, and hepatitis. In addition to these threats, illness can spread through the air, parasites, and mosquitoes and other animals. Though many of these diseases are treatable with proper care, they can prove fatal if left untreated- an unfortunate probability if travel and communication are restricted.

The world has witnessed several horrific disasters in the past decade alone, from the Indonesian tsunami to Hurricane Katrina to the recent earthquake in Haiti. Nature is not slowing down for Earth’s people, so a new strategy must be developed on how to prevent disease and its spreading. Sadly, not all nations have adequate resources, meaning many do not have the capabilities to deal with catastrophes individually. Knowing this, who should be expected to provide the necessary assistance in times of crisis? Should the responsibility lie with those closest geographically to an incident, or should an inter-state organization be made dedicated to the health of disaster victims? Regardless of who provides the assistance, how can it be most efficiently utilized? Should neighboring nations be expected to contribute monetarily, or is there an obligation to provide direct assistance to communities in need? And if so, in what fashion should they?

Society cannot prevent natural disasters from occurring, but is it not the world’s duty to ensure the future safety of as many fellow planet-dwellers as possible? It is impossible to tell when the next disaster may strike, so the world must act now.

Topic Area B: Ethics in Drug Research and Development

Following World War II and the revelations of countless inhumane experiments performed in Nazi concentration camps, the Nuremberg Code was established, which ensured many rights for research subjects that were previously not guaranteed. Though great strides were made, it became clear that work was still left undone in the 1970s, when a United States horrendous research project was unmasked. In the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, researchers were found to have denied syphilis patients penicillin, a drug known to cure the disease, in order to test the effectiveness other drugs. Many of these subjects died during the study due to the infection, even though it was completely curable. The United States took action following the case, passing the National Research Act in 1974 to further protect the rights of test subjects. Other nations have enacted similar laws, but the specifics vary from country to country.

With today’s unequal standards, companies can simply go to nations with the least stringent policies, while continuing to neglect the rights of their subjects. As long as there is still inequality amongst nations, discussion on this topic is necessary. Should there be an updated universal policy on health research to the Nuremburg Code? If one is created, how stringent should these codes be? Does the standard treatment of every human being override any potential gains that research may provide? Is there a point where in protecting subjects so much, it inherently prevents companies from developing beneficial drugs that the world would greatly use? With our increase in science and technology, some truly amazing inventions can be created and fascinating discoveries made. The only question remaining is how much society is willing to pay for them.