Inside the World Health Organization: Dr. Kumanan Rasanathan explains global health systems, primary care, inequality, conflict, and AI-driven transformation.

In this episode of Analyzing Healthcare, host Roy Bejarano sits down with Dr. Kumanan Rasanathan, Executive Director at the Alliance for Health Policy & Systems Research at WHO, to explore the realities behind global health governance, primary care, conflict-driven health crises, and the coming disruption from digital infrastructure and AI.

Drawing on two decades inside WHO, UNICEF, and ministries of health worldwide, Dr. Rasanathan explains why health outcomes diverge within countries more than between them, why primary care remains the most underfunded lever in healthcare, and how nations like Estonia, Thailand, and Rwanda are quietly redefining what modern health systems can look like.

What You’ll Learn

• ✅ How the World Health Organization actually operates — beyond headlines

• ✅ Why primary healthcare remains the most powerful (and neglected) investment

• ✅ How conflict now defines the worst global health outcomes

• ✅ Why inequality within countries is growing faster than inequality between countries

• ✅ How digital public infrastructure can reshape healthcare delivery

• ✅ Why Estonia, Thailand, Rwanda, and Singapore matter as health system case studies

• ✅ The real limits — and necessity — of public-private healthcare models

• ✅ Why AI may finally disrupt healthcare’s 30-year stagnation

Timestamps

• (00:00) Introduction to Global Health and WHO

• (11:10) The State of Global Health: Progress and Challenges

• (23:41) Key Determinants of Effective Health Systems

• (26:09) The Alma Ata Declaration and Primary Health Care

• (31:54) Challenges and Innovations in Universal Health Coverage

• (34:52) The Role of Tax Funding in Health Systems

• (40:21) Digital Health Innovations: The Case of Estonia

• (45:55) Public-Private Partnerships in Healthcare

Key Takeaways

• 💎 Health outcomes vary more by policy choice than by national wealth

• 💎 Conflict zones now represent the worst global health environments

• 💎 Primary care remains the most underutilized lever in healthcare

• 💎 Universal coverage succeeds when community-based systems lead

• 💎 Digital public infrastructure enables true care coordination

• 💎 AI may finally modernize healthcare delivery at scale

• 💎 Public-private systems only work with strong stewardship

Resource Links

Guest: Dr. Kumanan Rasanathan – World Health Organization
Host: Roy Bejarano – Analyzing Healthcare
Community: www.scale-community.com
Podcast Hub: Analyzing Healthcare by SCALE Community

Guest Bio

Dr. Kumanan Rasanathan is Executive Director of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research at the World Health Organization. A public health physician with nearly 25 years of experience across WHO, UNICEF, and the UN system, his work spans global health policy, health systems research, and implementation. Career highlights include serving as WHO Incident Manager for the COVID-19 response in Cambodia, helping shape the health-related Sustainable Development Goals at UNICEF, contributing to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, co-authoring the 2008 World Health Report on primary health care, and leading meningococcal vaccine trials in New Zealand.

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