As the world struggles to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, political and health leaders have turned a critical eye towards the World Health Organization and its handling of the outbreak. It has long been apparent that the massive remit and governance structure, along with reliance on funding from multiple entities with often competing priorities can handcuff the agency in situations where swift decisive action is needed most. However, politically motivated threats to withdraw funding, are likely to exacerbate, rather than alleviate, these issues.
In this month's Editorial, the PLOS Medicine Editors discuss WHO's role in pandemic responses, its capabilities and limitations, and the balance that governments must seek to both support and hold the agency accountable as an essential partner in promoting world health.
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Editorial
Pandemic preparedness and responses: WHO to turn to in a crisis?
PLOS Medicine: published May 29, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003167
Perspective
Antibody-based therapies for COVID-19: Can Europe move faster?
PLOS Medicine: published May 5, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003127
Research Articles
Diagnostic accuracy of a novel tuberculosis point-of-care urine lipoarabinomannan assay for people living with HIV: A meta-analysis of individual in- and outpatient data
PLOS Medicine: published May 1, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003113
The association of innate and adaptive immunity, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease in the Rotterdam Study: A prospective cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published May 7, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003115
Multimorbidity, mortality, and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes: A cohort study with UK and Taiwanese cohorts
PLOS Medicine: published May 7, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003094
Mortality estimates by age and sex among persons living with HIV after ART initiation in Zambia using electronic medical records supplemented with tracing a sample of lost patients: A cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published May 13, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003107
Health profile of adult special immigrant visa holders arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States, 2009–2017: A cross-sectional analysis
PLOS Medicine: published May 13, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003118
Risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism in patients with HIV infection: A nationwide cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published May 14, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003101
Predicting the impact of patient and private provider behavior on diagnostic delay for pulmonary tuberculosis patients in India: A simulation modeling study
PLOS Medicine: published May 14, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003039
Quantification of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity by spectrophotometry: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published May 14, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003084
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National and regional prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published May 15, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003090
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Spatiotemporal trends and ecological determinants in maternal mortality ratios in 2,205 Chinese counties, 2010–2013: A Bayesian modelling analysis
PLOS Medicine: published May 15, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003114
Ethnic disparities in initiation and intensification of diabetes treatment in adults with type 2 diabetes in the UK, 1990–2017: A cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published May 15, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003106
Preoperative risk stratification in endometrial cancer (ENDORISK) by a Bayesian network model: A development and validation study
PLOS Medicine: published May 15, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003111
Medications for opioid use disorder among pregnant women referred by criminal justice agencies before and after Medicaid expansion: A retrospective study of admissions to treatment centers in the United States
PLOS Medicine: published May 18, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003119
Risk of severe maternal morbidity or death in relation to elevated hemoglobin A1c preconception, and in early pregnancy: A population-based cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published May 19, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003104
Sugary drink warnings: A meta-analysis of experimental studies
PLOS Medicine: published May 20, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003120
Amino acid and lipid metabolism in post-gestational diabetes and progression to type 2 diabetes: A metabolic profiling study
PLOS Medicine: published May 20, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003112
Comparative impact of pharmacological treatments for gestational diabetes on neonatal anthropometry independent of maternal glycaemic control: A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS Medicine: published May 22, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003126
Safety and continued use of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system as compared with the copper intrauterine device among women living with HIV in South Africa: A randomized controlled trial
PLOS Medicine: published May 22, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003110
Antibody and cellular responses to HIV vaccine regimens with DNA plasmid as compared with ALVAC priming: An analysis of two randomized controlled trials
PLOS Medicine: published May 22, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003117
Variations in use of childbirth interventions in 13 high-income countries: A multinational cross-sectional study
PLOS Medicine: published May 22, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003103
Impact of macronutrient supplements on later growth of children born preterm or small for gestational age: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised and quasirandomised controlled trials
PLOS Medicine: published May 26, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003122
HIV-related outcome disparities between transgender women living with HIV and cisgender people living with HIV served by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program: A retrospective study
PLOS Medicine: published May 28, 2020 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003125