Evaluating the WHO’s framing and crisis management strategy during the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented threat to the functioning of our society and led to a substantial loss of lives. In this paper, we systematically analyzed the World Health Organization (WHO)’s policy framing and management of the pandemic. The performance of the WHO can be evaluated in two aspects: the timeliness of their risk assessment, such as the announcements of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and pandemic, and the communication interfaces between the WHO and other stakeholders. Our study reveals that, while the WHO has made timely decisions in risk assessments, there were profound limitations in the current communication interfaces and feedback loops between the WHO, member states and other stakeholders. We recommend redesigning the current alert system so that the level of warning and the accompanying policy recommendations could more accurately reflect the threat and escalating nature of a pandemic outbreak.