World Health Organization
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- For other meanings of the acronym 'WHO', see WHO (disambiguation)
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. WHO was established by the UN on April 7, 1948. The current Director General is Jong-Wook Lee.
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Mission
The WHO's major task is to combat disease, especially key infectious diseases. As well as coordinating international efforts to monitor outbreaks of infectious disease such as SARS, malaria and AIDS, it also has programmes to combat such diseases, by developing and distributing vaccines. After years of fighting smallpox, WHO declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated - the first disease in history to be completely eliminated by deliberate human design. WHO is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years.
The constitution of WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not consisting only of the absence of disease or infirmity. In addition to its work in eradicating disease, the WHO also carries out campaigns — for example, to boost consumption of vegetables worldwide, or to discourage tobacco consumption – and conducts research: for instance, into whether or not the electromagnetic field surrounding cell phones has a negative influence on health. Some of this work can be controversial, such as the April 2003 WHO report which recommended that sugar be no more than 10% of a healthy diet, which led to lobbying by the sugar industry against this recomendation [1].
Structure
Copyright: WHO/Pierre Virot
WHO member states [2] appoint delegations to the World Health Assembly, WHO's supreme decision-making body. The Assembly generally meets in May each year, and as well as appointing the Director-General (for five-year terms), supervises the financial policies of the Organization, and reviews and approves the proposed programme budget. The Assembly elects 32 technically qualified persons for three-year terms to an Executive Board. The main functions of the Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.
Membership
All UN Member States with the exception of Liechtenstein have joined the WHO. Territories that are not UN Member states may join as associated members (with full information but limited participation and voting rights) if approved by an Assembly vote. Examples include New Zealand's self-governing entities of Cook Islands and Niue. Entities may also be granted observer status - examples include the PLO and the Vatican. Taiwan is campaigning for observer status, against the opposition of China which is already a WHO member and sees Taiwan as part of China.
Secretariat
The day-to-day work of WHO is carried out by its Secretariat, which is staffed by some 3500 health and other experts and support staff on fixed-term appointments, working at headquarters, in the six regional offices, and in countries.
Partnership
As a UN agency, the WHO is financed through the UN system by contributions from member states. In recent years, the WHO's work has involved more collaboration with NGOs and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as with philanthropists such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Some of these collaborations may be considered public-private partnerships [3].
Directors-General of the WHO
| Name | Country | Term of Office |
|---|---|---|
| Brock Chisholm | Canada | 1948–1953 |
| Marcolino Gomes Candau | Brazil | 1953–1973 |
| Halfdan T. Mahler | Denmark | 1973–1988 |
| Hiroshi Nakajima | Japan | 1988–1998 |
| Gro Harlem Brundtland | Norway | 1998–2003 |
| Jong-Wook Lee | South Korea | 2003— |
Other notable persons associated with the WHO
External links
da:WHO de:Weltgesundheitsorganisation es:Organización Mundial de la Salud eo:Monda Organizaĵo pri Sano fr:Organisation mondiale de la santé it:Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità nl:Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie ja:世界保健機構 no:Verdens helseorganisasjon pl:Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia pt:Organização Mundial da Saúde sv:WHO zh:世界卫生组织
