From MSF to WHO: Why a Korean pediatrician chose global health’s frontlines

Two of the most influential international health organizations -- the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) -- play a central role in shaping the future of global medicine. At last Saturday’s “KMI–Korean Doctors Weekly Global Health Leadership Camp” for medical students, a senior physician with experience in both organizations offered rare firsthand insights into working on the frontlines of global health.

Ko Eun-young, WHO Country Representative for the Philippines, delivered a lecture titled “The Life of a Doctor Working at WHO” at the Kyowon Gapyeong Vision Center in Gyeonggi Province.

Dr. Ko Eun-young, WHO Country Representative for the Philippines, delivers a lecture titled “The Life of a Doctor Working at WHO” during the “KMI–Korean Doctors Weekly Global Health Leadership Camp” for medical students at the Kyowon Gapyeong Vision Center in Gyeonggi Province last Saturday. (KBR photo)

WHO is structured around its headquarters in Geneva, six regional offices, and country offices worldwide. Headquarters develops global guidelines and policies, regional offices adapt them to local contexts, and country offices work directly with national governments by supporting policy development, providing technical advice, training personnel, implementing projects, and evaluating outcomes.

Dr. Ko explained that country offices serve as WHO’s operational frontline, working closely with governments, health institutions, and communities to ensure that health service delivery systems function effectively.

Why would a Korean pediatrician choose a career in international health?

Dr. Ko, a pediatric specialist, began combining clinical practice with international health work through MSF, which marked her first step into the global health field.

While working in Niger, Sierra Leone, and Haiti, she treated severely malnourished children. However, seeing some patients return in the same critical condition even after treatment led her to question the limits of individual clinical care, motivating her to address the broader root causes of disease.

After completing a master’s degree in public health, Dr. Ko transitioned to the WHO Country Office in Laos, where she focused on reducing maternal mortality as a key priority. When she began her work, Laos’ maternal mortality rate stood at approximately 350 per 100,000 live births, while antenatal care coverage and facility-based deliveries were extremely low.

Collaborative efforts involving WHO, the Lao government, and partner agencies—including policy development, budget allocation, and service delivery improvements—helped reduce maternal mortality to around 200 per 100,000 live births after roughly six years, alongside a significant rise in facility-based deliveries.

“The WHO’s role is not to perform medical procedures directly, but to work with governments to develop plans, coordinate budgets, and support and evaluate services needed by a country’s citizens,” Dr. Ko said. “These are population-based interventions aimed at improving health indicators for entire communities.”

Following her tenure in Laos, Dr. Ko worked in the North Pacific island nations, where inter-island travel is difficult and access to healthcare is limited. In this setting, she gained experience operating “integrated services,” which combined previously fragmented health programs—such as chronic disease management, infectious disease control, and maternal and child health—into a single delivery framework.

MSF and WHO: Similar missions, different realities

Based on her experience, Dr. Ko said MSF and WHO share a commitment to improving health outcomes but differ fundamentally in structure and approach.

Doctors Without Borders operates as a mission-based volunteer organization, dispatching personnel for limited assignments and providing activity-based allowances rather than monthly salaries. During her MSF service from 2005 to 2008, Dr. Ko received approximately 2 million won ($1,386) per month, with one week of leave granted after three months of service. Workloads were intense -- she recalled performing CPR on five children in a single night.

In contrast, WHO has a distinct organizational culture, which Dr. Ko described as “an organization that works with governments.” Its activities align more closely with long-term development than emergency relief, and progress often requires navigating complex administrative procedures and lengthy approval processes.

Dr. Ko also noted that WHO recruitment differs from the commonly perceived notion of open international hiring. Before joining WHO, she participated in projects linked to Korea’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs. At her advisor’s recommendation, she became involved in a WHO project in collaboration with KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency). She initially served as a WHO-dispatched staff member for two years before becoming a full-time WHO employee.

“At the time, there were not many professionals working in international health, so there was a shortage of people,” she said.

Drawing on her career journey, Dr. Ko encouraged medical students interested in international health to remain realistic yet open-minded.

“You don’t need to feel overly burdened by language barriers—there is a lot you can do with English alone,” she said. “But you should be careful not to view international health organizations as a single destination or to romanticize the work.”