It’s both a uniquely good and a uniquely bad time to be the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the global health body has become near indispensable, collecting and analyzing data from 194 member states, supporting poor countries with weak healthcare systems, and helping coordinate the global search for therapeutics and a vaccine. Pushed aside for years by countries who underfunded it and only gave it the time of day when faced with a deadly health emergency, the WHO now has a good chance to make a strong case for itself.