Founded with the promise of averting wars and other man-made catastrophes, the United Nations is today a weak and compromised organisation, critics say. It has played no significant role in efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. Some problems are so universal, such as weapons proliferation, that only a global organisation can come up with effective solutions, he concluded. Last week the State Department published an “America First” strategy for global health that would use country-to-country relationships rather than international agencies such as the World Health Organisation to fight pandemics and other health problems. While many doctors and experts around the world support the WHO, opponents say it is too influenced by China to be fully independent.