NURS FPX 8024 Assessment 1 Nongovernmental Agencies involved in Global Issues

NURS-FPX 8024 Assessment 1

Nongovernmental Agencies involved in Global Issues

Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX8024

Professor Name

Submission Date

Nongovernmental Agencies Involved in Global Issues

The nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an essential role in addressing global health requirements through collaboration with government agencies. In the evaluation, key aspects of the World Obesity Federation are highlighted to address the obesity issue. WOF is set to take initiatives on obesity management (WOF, 2025). The NGO also advocates for increased policies and funding to support initiatives aimed at preventing and managing obesity. 

Section I

• About the Nongovernment Funding Organization

The WOF is one of the significant NGOs that lead in the obesity response in the world. The Federation was established in 2014 through a merger of two precursor organizations, the International Association for the Study of Obesity and the International Obesity Task Force. Historically. The establishment of WOF is considered a landmark shift in international health advocacy of obesity. In this manner, the NGO focuses on managing the complex, chronic, and non-communicable condition of obesity. The NGO is London-based and operates through a vast network of more than 95 member organizations in more than 100 countries (WOF, 2025).

The extensive membership network of organizations enables the WOF to accommodate country-specific efforts while reinforcing a collective and inclusive global strategy to address obesity. The Federation encompasses in its international outlook a multiplicity of regions such as Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. The WOF is present in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, China, India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, France, Slovakia, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica (WOF, 2025). The broad network enables WOF to balance country-specific efforts with a global approach.

• Mission and Goals

The mission of the WOF is to provide international leadership and motivate global action to reduce, prevent, and address obesity. Mission is in keeping with the worldwide health agenda of responding to the epidemic increase in obesity and the morbidity, mortality, and cost of care globally. The mission of the WOF is provided, and the goals are explained, measurable, and achievable (WOF, 2025).

The goals are to decrease the proportion of obesity among individuals and enhance patient awareness of the management of obesity. Furthermore, the Federation creates the Global Obesity Observatory that contains useful evidence-based information that could guide the necessary country response, with sufficient reference points to track and measure change in the future (European Commission, 2025). The instruments that members can use concerning WOF goals are reasonable and supported by evidence.

• Transparency and Accountability

The WOF is also very committed towards openness in financial affairs, governance systems, and decision-making. WOF is a charity organization that was founded in the UK, and, therefore, it is a subject of the regulatory body of the Charity Commission of England and Wales ( UK Charity Commission, 2025). The WOF adheres to regulatory standards that reflect the NGO’s transparent approach. Moreover, the annual reports and audited financial statements maintain transparency on the economic process. The finance committee is primarily responsible for financial accountability, preparing the annual budget, identifying risks, and providing information for discussion at the board of trustees level.

A board of trustees, which has regional vice-presidents and committee chairs, governs the WOF. Governance is complemented by the tasks of operational committees, clinical care, policy and prevention, publications, and membership committees, which enable WOF to ensure that decisions reflect the diversity of views and the course that is aligned with the health priorities globally. Responsibility is defined in the working structure of WOF. The WOF holds a yearly general meeting (AGM), during which members cast votes on major resolutions, which contain annual accounts and whether an independent auditor is to be hired (Nutter et al., 2023). The member involvement increases accountability, particularly in terms of transparency within WOF, and more significantly represents operational and institutional accountability.

• Program Effectiveness

To address the multidimensional and complicated problem of obesity, WOF continues to provide several international programs. The Strategic Center of Obesity Professional Education (SCOPE) program is one of the most influential programs of WOF, training and certifying global healthcare professionals (WOF, 2024). The program is founded on international clinical guidelines and recommendations and is constantly revised according to novel best practices and research. The training enables health professionals to more effectively evaluate, manage, and treat individuals with obesity in various settings and populations.

Consequently, the efforts of WOF are directly contributing to managing the burden of obesity in the world and providing interventions that are specific to vulnerable sub-populations. World Obesity Day is another significant program, held on March 4 every year, contributing to the mobilization of the global advocacy and awareness of obesity (Lan & Sulaiman, 2024). The campaign utilizes the definition of obesity as a disease, aims to reduce stigma, and advocates for broader policy action. In this way, the program has served a global community, and it has trained thousands of practitioners, hence becoming a scalable, tangible solution to improving healthcare systems as it pertains to the obesity crisis, even in regions that are generally devoid of trained obesity specialists.

• Partnerships and Collaborations

The WOF has a rich history of collaborating with other international organizations, governments, universities, and local communities. Because of this, it has gained more visibility and reach across the globe. WOF, as a nongovernmental organization with formal consultative status with the WHO, is in a position to shape the global health policy and engage in obesity prevention practices. The collaborative rights of the WOF are best represented by the cooperation between The Lancet Commission on Obesity, which is formulated to explore the food systems approach to the intertwined epidemics of obesity and climate change, and the WOF itself (Swinburn et al., 2022).

Additionally, the alliances of the WOF with national governments and ministries of health are particularly significant when addressing obesity. WOF supports the implementation of national obesity strategies by providing technical assistance in surveillance and policy assessment, as well as conducting regional workshops to enhance capacity building through national-level involvement. Moreover, WOF has collaborated with organizations such as the World Heart Federation, indicating a shift towards cross-sector and cross-disciplinary collaboration to promote system-wide measures addressing common risk factors beyond obesity (World Heart Federation, 2025). The collaborations are relevant to provide coordinated, universal, and systems-based answers to obesity prevention and management.

• Financial Management

The WOF has a very high level of financial transparency and efficiency in its operation. The total income of WOF in the year 2024 is 2,088,287, as stated by the UK Charity Commission (2025). At the same time, the organization’s expenses exceeded its revenue, resulting in a total deficit of more than 1,964,237 pounds. In this way, the financial analysis indicated that WOF has complied with the regulatory requirements in that it has been filing annual reports on time and has been subjected to independent financial audits, demonstrating a good practice of financial stewardship and accountability to the public. Regarding the budgetary allocation, WOF appears to utilize budgetary resources effectively to support the mission of reducing the risk of obesity. In 2023, it spent about 72 percent of total expenditure on charitable activities, including global education programs, data-driven advocacy, and policy influence in the fields of obesity prevention and treatment.

The sources of funding for this organization are diversified. The professional training and certification fees, e.g., the SCOPE program and international events related to obesity management, are revenue streams. Although WOF does not earn a lot of money from donations, the dependence on self-generated income, as well as partnerships with different sectors, offers specific protection (Lublóy, 2020). Nevertheless, the lack of significant grant funding or significant gifts might reduce financial flexibility when the earned income is low, which is a potential weakness in the long term. Financial Economics is under the watch of a finance committee that is made up of senior organizational leaders. Thus, the committee should develop the yearly budget, track financial risk, and forward budget proposals to be approved.

Section II

• Logistics

Name:

Email:

Position: Community Outreach Coordinator 

Organization contact number:

Link to Website: https://www.worldobesity.org/

Interview Location: Online via Zoom

Name of Organization: WOF

Era is a six-year veteran of the WOF. She began as a program coordinator of a program to address obesity among the people of Toronto. She described her work as dynamic and multidimensional, involving strategic planning and fieldwork. She may work on the already long applications for grant funding to implement the obesity management program, or review the program data on a particular day. What Era enjoys in her work is the program’s effects and the immediate positive results for people with obesity. When questioned on the challenges she encountered, Era said that it was tough to get financial grants for the obesity prevention program. Era indicated that her career in the field of public health started as an intern in a nutrition program when she pursued her undergraduate degree in public health nutrition. She said that her practical experience working with the reality of obesity management sparked her desire to pursue a full-time career in the nonprofit sector. The most gratifying aspect of the job is designing a program to help in managing the risk of obesity in individuals.

• Mission, Activities, and Community Impact

The WOF is an NGO with a focus on obesity and prevention programs. The central aim of the organization is to create a difference in the global obesity, namely, a community outreach program. The primary objectives of the organization are to establish equal access to preventive programs and assist the vulnerable communities in achieving better health outcomes worldwide. As Era explained, their programs are affected by the changing policies regarding healthcare access and other policies regarding public health. The organization was involved in the creation of the program after it identified a gap in service delivery after conducting a community health needs assessment. The statistics revealed substantial barriers to accessing obesity prevention programs. Accordingly, the program resulted in prevention-oriented care tailored to the community’s specifications, particularly for individuals with obesity.

The target group is the adults who are predisposed to obesity. Involving the community has been one of the most critical factors that have led to the success of the organization. Local advisory boards and community forums are organized partnerships that provide community responsiveness and input to change the services. Moreover, WOF performed quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to evaluate the impact of services. The performance indicators are: the prevalence of obesity, the rates of obesity complications, and the rates of participation in obesity prevention programs. One of the latest success stories involved a partnership with a low-income housing community in which 20 percent of the childhood obesity cases were reduced upon completion of a preventive program.

The WOF is constantly seeking to establish a relationship with other nonprofits, organizations, and nonprofit care providers. Collaborations expand the magnitude and enhance the depth of the services offered, enabling wraparound services, such as referrals of households to social services and medical care. Community outreach is also frequently conducted by volunteers to promote programs, such as raising awareness of community strategies to prevent health and obesity issues through community outreach on prevention programs.

Another primary issue the organization faces is establishing equity in access to preventive care across differently populated areas. The organization has also identified a currently unmet health need in the absence of culturally attuned nutrition education, which is directed towards the immigrant populations. To ensure long-term financial sustainability, the WOF has a diverse range of sources of funding, such as private donations, corporate sponsors, and foundation grants. WOF will initiate a mobile clinic in the future to expand its reach to rural areas and develop an app that would help families access obesity preventive care services in the neighborhood.

• Reflections

Both the research and the interview with the representative of WOF contributed to improved insights into the functioning of the public health organizations. The community-focused approach to delivering public health services was one of the features that met my expectations. To successfully implement initiatives, collaboration is a key requirement for a public health initiative. Regarding the comparison of NGOs to government-financed programs, I also had a long-term concern with the scope of the NGO’s work in the first place. I expected NGOs to face challenges in securing funding and implementing projects or services.

Nevertheless, in actuality, WOF has robust alliances and a viable funding plan. Additionally, one of the key diversities that I realized is that the NGO can be innovative and adopt programs that are more sensitive to suit the needs of the community. The experience has had a profound impact on my life, broadening my perspective on the importance of public health workers’ involvement in meaningful work.

Conclusion

The mission of the WOF is to act globally to reduce, prevent, and treat obesity. Section I presents in detail the information on the WOF, funding structure, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of the programs. The WOF is very committed to financial transparency, governance structure, and decision-making. Section II provides insights from the informational interview conducted with a WOF employee. The description of the organization, the logistics of the interviews, and the mission and community contribution will allow one to determine the effect of the WOF in addressing obesity among individuals.