The World Health Organization (WHO) came up with the proposal to take care of issues related to global health. This specialized agency of the United Nations was founded on April 7, 1948, when its statutes were ratified. Currently, more than 7000 people work in 150 offices in different countries, in six regional offices and at the headquarters in Geneva.
The objective of WHO, according to its constitution, is to guarantee all people the highest level of health. It is worth noting that this agency defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being,that is, health is much more than the absence of disease.
→ WHO functions
Providing health to the entire world population is not an easy task and, therefore, WHO acts in different ways to ensure this goal. As roles that can be assigned to WHO, we can cite:
Assisting Governments in strengthening health services;
Encourage work to eradicate disease;
Promote the improvement of nutrition, housing, sanitation, recreation, economic and working conditions of the population;
Encourage cooperation between scientific groups so that studies in the health area can advance;
Provide health information;
- Carry out the international classification of diseases.
→ WHO Achievements
WHO has already achieved several achievements in the fight for the well-being of the world population. One of these achievements was the eradication of smallpoxthanks to his continuous efforts between 1967 and 1979. Another important achievement was the decrease of about 99% of cases of polio, a project known as the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Furthermore, we cannot forget the role of WHO in the fight against AIDS, given that it is one of the agencies that make up the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). This program seeks to research and combat the epidemic of this serious disease.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/organizacao-mundial-saude-oms.htm
