World Health Organization (WHO) in Model UN

The World Health Organization has been the UN's agency for health since 1948, and every year its member states send delegations to the World Health Assembly in Geneva to set its policies. A Model UN WHO committee sits as that Assembly: you represent a country and draft resolutions on health.

Updated Oct 26, 2026

  • 1 country: on 91% of seat lists
  • 19 more seats in a typical simulation of 20

Upcoming WHO conferences

123 conferences

Browse all Model UN conferences

How the WHO works in Model UN

What it is

Member states take their decisions in the World Health Assembly: each sends a delegation, and together they set the Organization's policies, appoint the Director-General and approve the programme budget.

How it runs in Model UN

Each member state has one vote, and what you pass decides how far it reaches. A convention binds each state that accepts it and needs two thirds of the members present and voting. A regulation, on matters such as preventing the international spread of disease, binds every member that does not reject it in time, and a recommendation binds no one; both pass by simple majority. The International Health Regulations (2005) are regulations of that kind.

The Assembly splits its agenda between two main committees, Committee A for programme and budget matters and Committee B for administrative, financial and legal ones, and the plenary then adopts their texts. That is how the WHO Pandemic Agreement went through: 124 votes in favour, none against and 11 abstentions in committee, then adoption by consensus in the plenary on 20 May 2025.

Resolutions carry the session's number. WHA78.5 of 27 May 2025, on lung health, urges member states to act and asks the Director-General to report on progress to the Assemblies of 2027 and 2028. Write your draft the same way, with some operative clauses aimed at governments and others at the Director-General.

Who it suits

A WHO committee rewards you if you like working from data: your position can start from your own country's figures. It suits you if you are drawn to medicine, public health or science, since the Assembly can take up any health question within WHO's remit.

How to prepare

  1. 1

    Start from your country's own figures. Pull them for your topic from the Global Health Observatory, then work out the politics (allies, blocs, past votes) with the guide to researching your country.

  2. 2

    Find what earlier Assemblies decided. WHO's governing bodies documentation holds the texts on your disease or programme. Note what each one urged governments to do and which progress reports the Director-General still owes.

  3. 3

    Lead with one national figure. Take it from the Observatory and make it the hook of your position paper: the hook goes right after the header, where it states your stance, and the earlier Assembly texts then fill the part on past action.

  4. 4

    Draft your clauses the way WHA78.5 is drafted. Open each operative paragraph with a capitalised verb such as URGES or REQUESTS, and take the others from the list of opening verbs in the resolution guide. Before the final vote, check what a simple and a two-thirds majority mean in the MUN glossary.

Tip

The Pandemic Agreement is only the second agreement ever negotiated under Article 19 of WHO's Constitution; the first was the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003. Propose a convention and you are asking the Assembly for something it has done twice.

WHO topics in Model UN

Of 1,030 WHO topics on mymun, 73% are about health and pandemics, 6% about women and children and 5% about cyber and AI.

ThemeShare of topics
  1. Health and pandemics 73%

    Example: Addressing Health Issues on Active Disease Outbreaks, Do Your Best Model United Nations II

  2. Women and children 6%

    Example: Addressing the maternal death spikes in conflict zones, Towarzystwo Edukacyjne Vizja Model United Nations

  3. Cyber and AI 5%

    Example: Promoting adolescent health and wellbeing in an increasingly digital world, VNMUN INPSS Abu Dhabi

  4. Climate and environment 5%

    Example: Debate on Public Health and Ethical Governance of Climate Intervention Technologies, Mahapanchayat MUN - Ekklesia

  5. Crime and drugs 4%

    Example: Establishing potential regulations regarding drugs leading to rapid weight loss, Tricity Model United Nations

  6. Economy and development 2%

    Example: Examining the phasing out of nicotine products with emphasis on world economies, International American School Model United Nations

  7. Refugees and migration 2%

    Example: Managing public health crises among displaced populations and refugees, ChessMUN - Private Conference

  8. Armed conflicts 1%

    Example: Addressing the psychological toll of war on civilians, The English College in Prague MUN

From 1,030 WHO topics on mymun. A topic can touch several themes.

Recent WHO topics

  1. Addressing Health Issues on Active Disease Outbreaks

    Do Your Best Model United Nations II
    Health and pandemics

  2. Strengthening Healthcare Systems in Conflict-Affected Regions

    Global Cooperation Model United Nations
    Health and pandemics

  3. Strengthening Global Pandemic Preparedness and International Response Mechanisms

    GavelPoint MUN
    Health and pandemics

  4. Mental health crisis amongst adolescents and young adults

    Aquinas American School MUN II
    Health and pandemics

  5. Improving early warning systems for zoonotic spillover in order to prevent future pandemics

    Young Entrepreneurs Society Model United Nations
    Health and pandemics

  6. Addressing Public Health Impacts of Pollution & Global Epidemiological Preparedness: Standardized Data Sharing Frameworks for Biosecurity

    Turkmenistan World Model United Nations
    Health and pandemicsClimate and environment

  7. Addressing the psychological toll of war on civilians

    The English College in Prague MUN
    Armed conflicts

  8. Strengthening Global Pandemic Preparedness and Response Mechanisms

    ACADEMUN Basel
    Health and pandemics

WHO countries in Model UN

China appears on 91% of WHO seat lists on mymun, and the United States, France, the United Kingdom and India on 83 to 87%. The World Health Assembly seats every member state, an Executive Board of 34 members prepares its agenda, and the United States left WHO on 22 January 2026.

  • 1 country: on 91% of seat lists
  • 19 more seats in a typical simulation of 20

Most often seated

CountryShare of seat lists
  1. 1China91%
  2. 2United States87%
  3. 3France86%
  4. 4United Kingdom86%
  5. 5India83%
  6. 6Germany80%
  7. 7Russia77%
  8. 8Brazil77%
  9. 9Japan73%
  10. 10Canada67%
  11. 11South Africa62%
  12. 12Australia62%

Share of 830 WHO seat lists on mymun.

Most requested

CountryShare of applicants
  1. 1United States8%
  2. 2France7%
  3. 3United Kingdom7%
  4. 4Germany6%
  5. 5Canada6%
  6. 6China6%
  7. 7India5%
  8. 8Japan4%
  9. 9Australia4%
  10. 10Brazil3%
  11. 11Russia3%
  12. 12Sweden3%

Share of 24,143 WHO applicants on mymun who asked for the country.

Often still open

CountryStill open
  1. 1Haiti10 of 10
  2. 2Thailand11 of 12
  3. 3Czech Republic10 of 11
  4. 4South Africa19 of 22
  5. 5Chile10 of 12
  6. 6Iran12 of 15
  7. 7Saudi Arabia12 of 15
  8. 8New Zealand8 of 10
  9. 9Peru8 of 10
  10. 10Argentina11 of 14
  11. 11Vietnam11 of 14
  12. 12Indonesia13 of 17

Still open in upcoming WHO simulations that take applications now and have started placing delegates (34 simulations).

WHO in Model UN: quick answers

How many delegates are in a WHO committee?

The real World Health Assembly seats every member state. WHO simulations on mymun seated about 20 delegations.

Can the WHO make binding rules?

Yes. The World Health Assembly can adopt regulations that bind every member unless it rejects them in time, and conventions that bind the members that accept them: the 2003 tobacco convention and the Pandemic Agreement adopted in May 2025.

Is the WHO a good committee for beginners?

Yes: country positions are quick to research, because WHO publishes health data for each country in its Global Health Observatory.

What topics does the WHO debate in Model UN?

Top themes in 1,030 WHO topics on mymun: health and pandemics (73%), women and children (6%) and cyber and AI (5%).