The World Health Organisation
The world health organisation was founded in 1948. It leads the world alliance for health for all. A specialized agency of the United Nations with 191 member state, WHO promotes technical cooperation for health among nations, carriers out programmes to control and eradicate diseases, and strives to improve the quality of human life.
WHO has four main functions:
☆ to give worldwide guidance in the field of health.
☆ to get global standards for health.
☆ to cooperate with governments in strengthening national health programmes.
☆ to develop and transfer appropriate health technology, informations and standards.
Some projects target vulnerable populations such as elderly and women. Others focus on encouraging healthy lifestyles, sexual health and tobacco free societies.
The impact of the government on health is a high priority for WHO. One example is access to safe drinking water. WHO puts the highest priority on the development of community water supplies and sanitation facilities with the AFRICA 2000 initiative. WHO is deeply concerned with prevention and control of ionising radiation so dramatically highlighted by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Other issues such as the health effects of electromagnetic fields and the increasing depletion of the ozone layer, are of major concern.
With the boundaries of public health action becoming blurred, WHO is increasingly operating in a complex and rapidly changing landscape that extends into other sectors that influence health opportunities and outcomes. WHO responds to these challenges using a six-point agenda that addresses two health objectives, two strategic needs, and two operational approaches. The six points in the agenda are promoting development; fostering health security; strengthening health systems; harnessing research, information and evidence; enhancing partnerships; and improving performance.
WHO's agenda of health development is directed by the ethical principle of equity: Access to life-saving or health-promoting interventions should not be denied for unfair reasons, including those with economic or social roots. WHO activities aimed at health development give priority to health outcomes in poor, disadvantaged or vulnerable groups.
Its health and development agenda includes attainment of the health-related Millennium Development Goals, preventing and treating chronic diseases and addressing the neglected tropical diseases. It has fostered health security by strengthening the world's ability to defend itself collectively against outbreaks by enforcing the revised International Health Regulations since June 2007.
Strengthening of health systems is a high priority for WHO and it ensures that health systems reach poor and underserved populations of the world. It addresses areas such as the provision of adequate numbers of appropriately trained staff, sufficient financing, suitable systems for collecting vital statistics, and access to appropriate technology including essential drugs. It generates authoritative health information, in consultation with leading experts, to set norms and standards, articulate evidence-based policy options and monitor the evolving global heath situation.
As a means of improving its performance, WHO participates in ongoing reforms aimed at improving its efficiency and effectiveness, both at the international level and within countries.
Entitled "Engaging for Health", the 11th General Programme of Work provides the framework for organization-wide programme of work, budget, resources and results for the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015. The General Programme of Work sets out core functions of WHO as: providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed; shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation and dissemination of valuable knowledge; setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation; articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options; providing technical support, catalyzing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity; and monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.
WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. The Constitution defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The World Health Assembly the supreme decision-making body for WHO meets each year in May in Geneva, and is attended by delegations from all 193 Member States. While the headquarters of WHO are in Geneva, Switzerland, it has six regional offices and 147 country offices in which more than 8000 people from more than 150 countries work.
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