Having taken on the role of assisting with the stewardship of health systems, it is important for WHO itself to:

• clarify these interactions;
• demonstrate their role in improving health systems and increasing the responsiveness of services;
• systematize the positive dimensions of new styles of governance and participation within health systems.

The technical and policy analysis and debate that WHO offers remains academic unless it is rooted within national health and political systems and regional and global institutions in and beyond the health sector.