The World Health Organization WHO, or World Health Organization, is part of the United Nations. All countries that are members of the UN are members of the WHO. The WHO takes on an important role during health crises, but its commitment is broader. All matters concerning health belong to the domain of the WHO, so poverty, demography and nature also concern the WHO. The WHO helps countries draw up policies aimed at health and individuals by providing information.
What is the WHO?
WHO is an abbreviation of World Health Organization, in Dutch World Health Organization. The organization takes on a leadership role in health matters. The organization sets the health agenda, sets standards and helps countries where necessary with technical assistance and monitoring health trends.
The history of WHO
When the United Nations was founded in 1945, the creation of a health organization was already discussed. The WHO was officially established on April 7, 1948. This is still celebrated annually during World Health Day on April 7. There have been numerous campaigns since then. Previously through posters, now increasingly via the internet.
Core functions
The WHO has a number of core functions, namely:
- Providing leadership during health crisis
- Set up a research agenda and stimulate research
- Establish norms and values and promote their monitoring
- Emphasize the importance of ethical and evidence-based policies
- Provide technical assistance
- Monitor trends in health
These core functions are reviewed for every 10-year period. The above positions are for the period from 2006 to 2015.
WHO and FAO
The WHO works closely in the field of animal health with the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, which focuses on food. In the field of food safety, cooperation between these two organizations is of great importance, as both parties have an interest in it. There is a lot of cooperation in outbreaks of EHEC, for example, but also in cases of foot-and-mouth disease and bovine tuberculosis. Both organizations are seen as authorities in their field. It is therefore important that the organizations provide the same information to avoid confusion during disease outbreaks.
To publish
An important goal of the WHO is to publish reliable texts in the field of health. The aim of these publications is to make reliable information available. During an outbreak of a disease, hysteria quickly arises. Someone shouts out a cause and the media happily takes over. People start to believe a rumor. The WHO tries to combat this by being clear in the information available, and being clear about what is not yet known.
The subjects
The WHO investigates and is involved in many issues. Some are clearly a health topic, such as AIDS, cancer and other diseases. Other topics are less directly related to health, such as poverty, population structure, diet, suicide and nature. The WHO is a broad organization that focuses on typical lifestyle diseases, such as eating disorders and obesity, but also on diseases that are a result of poverty. The organization also operates in all climatic zones. Whether it is a tropical disease or a cold, the WHO has publications about it.
Member States
The WHO is part of the United Nations. All countries that are members of the UN are automatically members of the WHO. Other countries may join if approved at a meeting. A total of 194 countries are members.
In short, the WHO does all kinds of things. Whether it concerns handing out condoms, providing information about obesity or in-depth research into new diseases, the WHO is involved. The WHO helps individuals make choices that are good for their health, companies produce food safely and countries draw up good health policies.
read more
- What is and what does the Food and Agriculture Organization or FAO do