European criticism of the World Health Organization’s handling of the H1N1 pandemic intensified Friday with the release of two reports accusing the agency of exaggerating the threat posed by the virus and failing to disclose possible influence by the pharmaceutical industry on its recommendations for how nations should respond.
The WHO’s response caused widespread, unnecessary fear and prompted countries to waste millions of dollars, according to one report. At the same time, the Geneva-based arm of the United Nations relied on advice from experts with ties to drugmakers in developing the guidelines it used to encourage countries to stockpile millions of doses of antiviral medications, according to the other report.
The reports outlined the drumbeat of criticism, primarily in Europe, of how the world’s leading health organization responded to the first influenza pandemic in more than four decades.
“For WHO, its credibility has been badly damaged,” wrote Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal, which published one of the reports. “WHO must act now to restore its credibility.”
A WHO spokesman, along with several independent experts, disputed the reports, saying they misrepresented the seriousness of the pandemic and the WHO’s response.
