For its 16th edition, FerMUN 2026 is reintroducing two committees outside the traditional framework of the ILO. Unlike the ILO committees, which are organised on a tripartite basis, these new bodies will adopt the classic format of UN agencies. The two organisations chosen are the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) and the WHO (World Health Organisation). The FAO committee will be chaired by Leya Petijean, Hanae Schwebel and Lina Ben Massaouda while the WHO committee will be led by Elisa Bourguignon, Eulalie Bohler and Lorena Peter.
The FAO Committee: ensuring global food security
Founded in 1945, FAO is the UN agency responsible for fighting hunger and improving nutrition worldwide. It currently has 195 member states and operates through the FAO Council, chaired since 2019 by Qu Dongyu. Its main objective is to ensure that everyone has regular access to healthy, sufficient and sustainable food.
The FAO supports countries in their agricultural policies and the management of livestock, fisheries and forestry, while strengthening food security in more than 100 countries. It also leads major initiatives, such as the Special Programme for Food Security, which aims to drastically reduce hunger worldwide, and the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), which improves the transparency of international agricultural markets.
Among its major achievements are the eradication of rinderpest in 2011 (a victory comparable to the elimination of smallpox in humans) and the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, which enabled hundreds of millions of people in Asia to escape famine thanks to new varieties of cereals. The FAO is also behind innovative programmes such as ‘Zero Hunger’ in Brazil, which have inspired continental policies in Latin America.
The WHO Committee: a key player in global public health
Founded in 1948, the WHO now coordinates 194 Member States from its headquarters in Geneva, drawing on a network of more than 150 country offices. Its goal is clear: ‘to bring all peoples to the highest possible level of health’. Led by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation operates under the governance of the World Health Assembly and its Executive Board of 34 experts.
Its missions cover a wide range of areas: international response to health crises, support for governments in strengthening health systems, setting global medical standards, managing epidemics and developing prevention strategies.
The WHO is particularly known for its major victories, such as the eradication of smallpox in 1979, the first human disease to be completely eliminated, and the fight against polio, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, thanks to massive vaccination campaigns and international partnerships. It has also managed recent crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola epidemic. And it was behind the launch of the concept of Primary Health Care (PHC) in 1978, which remains a global benchmark.
With the arrival of the FAO and WHO, FerMUN 2026 will offer delegates a unique immersion in two of the most influential agencies in the UN system. Between the fight against hunger and global health challenges, young diplomats will have the opportunity to debate crucial issues and propose ambitious solutions.
FerMUN 2026 promises to be an exceptional edition, placing food security and public health at the heart of negotiations.
Ruben Buchot