An editorial in The Lancet Infectious Diseases: WHO failing in duty of transparency. The conclusion:
Rather than the 4 million deaths predicted in the worst case scenarios, 15 000 people are estimated to have died from pandemic influenza so far. WHO is right to have sought advice from a range of experts, some of whom will inevitably have ties with pharmaceutical companies.
However, the lack of transparency raises concerns that WHO did not take into account possible conflicts during its decision-making process and points to a system struggling to balance a relationship between drug companies and global health. WHO must address the failings of transparency in this event to recover public trust and restore its credibility.
