WHO, at heart of world's sluggish COVID response, could face shake-up

FILE PHOTO: Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) attends a news conference on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization, at the heart of the world's sluggish handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, faces a potential shake-up to prevent future outbreaks as a top official warned that "the pathogens have the upper hand".

Health ministers agreed on Monday to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the capacity of both the U.N. agency and countries to contain new viruses.