We explain what WHO is and what is the history of this organism. In addition, its main objectives and what is PAHO.
-
What is the WHO?
WHO is the World Health Organization (in English WHO: World Health Organization ), an agency attached to the United Nations Organization ( UN ) specialized in the management of international policies for the promotion and prevention of health protection in the world.
WHO consists of the participation of 196 Member States , which govern it through the World Health Assembly, where each one has official representatives. This meets annually, usually in May, under instructions from 34 members and technicians from the health field, who form the Executive Council for 3 years.
In addition, WHO ordinarily acts through its Secretariat , which has about 5,000 workers of diverse nature and profession, throughout the six regional offices held by the organization: Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), in the Republic of Congo; Regional Office for Europe (EURO), in Copenhagen, Denmark; Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO), in New Delhi, India; Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMPRO), in Cairo, Egypt; Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO), in Manila, Philippines; and the Regional Office for the Americas, in Washington DC, United States.
WHO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and in 2009 it was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.
-
WHO History
The first meeting of this body took place in Geneva in 1948 , organized by the United Nations Social Economic Committee. However, world needs around the preservation of the health of the peoples of the world date back to the end of the 19th century, and they were mostly charged after the end of World War II , when the need to orchestrate political destiny was imposed of nations to avoid conflicts that will brutally affect the lives of millions of people.
One of the first measures of the WHO was the eradication of smallpox , which was achieved in 1979. Such an achievement promoted aggressive campaigns against polio, leprosy, cholera, malaria and tuberculosis , with different margins of success. WHO also conducts the global fight against HIV / AIDS, and sponsors medical research in numerous contagious diseases.
-
WHO Objectives
WHO’s activities pursue various objectives framed in the protection of human health and the democratization of access to minimum sanitary conditions, around various axes of action:
- The harmonization of global health activities and the universal codification of diseases and medicines necessary to combat them, especially those that require government policies to be accessible to the population .
- Taking emergency health measures to deal with epidemic situations, or for the prevention of endemic diseases.
- Eradication of diseases worldwide, through intensive and extensive health education, vaccination and treatment campaigns.
- Health assistance to developing countries or communities facing serious health conditions.
- Evaluate medications and ensure their development and proper use, for a correct and fairer distribution of pharmacology.
-
PAHO
PAHO is the Pan American Health Organization , an inter-American agency attached to the structure of the Organization of American States (OAS), also affiliated with WHO since 1949.
Its headquarters are located in the district of Columbia, United States, and it is proposed to ensure the integration of the policies of the different American nations in the field of health and disease prevention.
It is the successor of the International Sanitary Organization (1902-1923) and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (1923).
