World Health Organization (WHO), Summary of activities, Health C
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the League of Nations.
The World Health Organization is one of the original agencies of the United Nations, its constitution formally coming into force on the first World Health Day (7 April 1948) when it was ratified by the 26th member state. Prior to this its operations, as well as the remaining activities of the League of Nations Health Organization, were under the control of an Interim Commission following an International Health Conference in the summer of 1946. The transfer was authorized by a Resolution of the General Assembly.
As well as coordinating international efforts to monitor outbreaks of infectious disease such as SARS, malaria, and AIDS, it also has programs to prevent and treat such diseases. WHO supports the development and distribution of safe and effective vaccines and pharmaceutical diagnostics and drugs. 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 organization has already endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit for Zimbabwe from October 3, 2006, making it an international standard.
In addition to its work in eradicating disease, WHO also carries out campaigns — for example, to boost consumption of fruits and vegetables worldwide, or to discourage tobacco consumption.
In addition to WHO's stated mission, international treaties assign the Organization a variety of responsibilities. For instance, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances call on WHO to issue binding scientific and medical assessments of psychoactive drugs and recommend how they should be regulated. In this way, WHO acts as a check on the power of the drug policymaking Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
WHO also compiles the widely followed International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The tenth revision of the ICD was released in 1992 and a searchable version is available online on the WHO website. Later revisions are indexed and available in hard copy versions. The WHO does not permit simultaneous classification in two separate areas.
The WHO also maintains a model list of essential medicines that countries' health care systems should make available and affordable to people.
Would You Like to Read Other Topics?
| 