The
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization
was founded in 1948. A specialized agency of the United Nations
with 191 Member States, WHO promotes technical cooperation for health
among nations, carries out programmes to control and eradicate disease,
and strives to improve the quality of human life. Its objective
is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible levels
of health.
WHO has four main
functions:
- To give worldwide guidance in the field of
health
- To set global standards for health
- To cooperate with governments in strengthening
national health programmes
- To develop and transfer appropriate health
technology, information and standards
WHOs
major achievements include the eradication of smallpox, a disease
that scarred and killed millions before being officially declared
eradicated in 1980. Eradication resulted in a huge reduction of
human suffering and great financial savings. Other diseases, such
as polio and guinea-worm, are now on the threshold of eradication
and leprosy is also being overcome. But, as well as fighting infectious
disease, WHO is the leading international public health agency in
efforts to improve access to and equality of health care, fight
a growing worldwide burden of non-communicable diseases, deliver
essential drugs and support the development of new drugs, promote
healthy lifestyles and environments, and develop quantitative methods
to analyse health policy options. Of particular concern to WHO is
the link between poverty and health and WHO is working with the
international community to ensure that health is made a priority
of international development efforts.
WHO is headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland with six Regional Offices covering the globe
and over 100 country offices. Its supreme decision-making body is
the World Health Assembly, which meets annually.
For more information about WHO, see www.who.int
WHOs
role in GAVI
WHO is a partner in the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization
and WHOs Director-General, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, is currently
Chair of the GAVI Board. The GAVI Task Force on Country Coordination,
which is responsible for developing and identifying the best
mechanisms for bringing together stakeholders activities
at national level, is coordinated by WHO.
WHOs Department of Vaccines and Biologicals
is charged with ensuring that all people at risk should be protected
against vaccine-preventable diseases (www.who.int/vaccines).
On the basis of targets established by the World Health Assembly,
three major objectives have been defined for the Department. The
three objectives are: Innovation, Immunization Systems, and Accelerated
Disease Control. Each of these broad objectives is anchored with
one time-limited priority project with specific measurable goals.
For Innovation, the priority project is the accelerated introduction
of new vaccines. For Immunization Systems, the priority project
is to increase immunization safety. And for Accelerated Disease
Control, the priority is polio eradication.
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