Matthew Hoisington

Photo Courtesy of the US Mission Geneva via  Flickr

Photo Courtesy of the US Mission Geneva via Flickr

This article argues for a “living, breathing” Global Health Governance Constitution, which would be initiated by a World Health Governance Forum (“Forum”) convened by the World Health Organization (WHO). The content of the new constitution would result from the contributions of the various public health actors. A “Board of Editors,” consisting of officials from the WHO and other stakeholders, would then review contributions and produce a non-binding instrument or modus vivendi. This instrument would be subject to continuous review, with “special temporary revisions” and “opinions” produced on a rolling-basis by the Board of Editors based on open- source contributions and comments submitted by stakeholders. Every year, the Forum would reconvene to comprehensively review the terms of the modus vivendi. The “living, breathing” Global Health Governance constitution would complement the existing governance arrangements and offer a structure for current and future action in the field of public health.