Global Health Governance, the centralization approach, and the principle of subsidiarity

Global health scholars argue that the WHO, as the central global health authority, should centralize and coordinate actions tackling global health threats like pandemics. We call this the centralization approach. This paper questions this approach. Specifically, by looking at Gostin and Rugger, the paper identifies the main problems of Global Health Governance to then discuss the reasons why they defend the centralization approach as the most adequate solution. The paper challenges their approach by introducing the idea of decentralization captured by the principle of subsidiarity. The paper argues that the principle of subsidiarity provides a more reasonable, efficient, and effective solution to the identified problems because it clarifies the different degrees of responsibilities that different global health stakeholders should bear in relation to a certain global health problem, while empowering local communities and also fostering a global culture of coordination and cooperation.