World Health Organization (WHO)

Jason A. GonzalezBIOL 402April 13, 2010

WHO is the global health branch of the UN.

Their agenda is ambitious.

The WHO’s goal is world peace through global health and security.

The WHO’s major task is to combat disease, especially key infectious diseases.

The WHO agenda has six points:Two health objectivesTwo strategic needsTwo operational approaches

WHO promotes development of 3rd world and impoverished nations and increases access to health care

Equity

WHO fosters global health security and monitors potential pandemic situations.

EpidemicsRevised International Health Regulations (June 2007)

They seek to strengthen regional and global public health systems

Poverty-reduction strategy

WHO funds and emphasizes research to more efficiently and appropriately address global health problems.

Authoritative health information

The WHO partners and collaborates with existing organizations

• International organizations• Civil society• Private sector

They continuously seeks to improve standards and performance of global health policy and administration

Ongoing reforms

General success is measured in the state of women’s health and health in AfricaIs it successful?

The WHO communicates their projects, funding, and research knowledge through their publications

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)World Health Report (annual)Bulletin of the World Health Organization (monthly)List of Essential MedicinesGlobal plan of action on worker’s healthHealth Sciences Online

The WHO is not an original.

1907-1946 (1950): The Office International d’Hygiene Publique (OIHP)

1922-1948: The Health Organization

April 7, 1948: WHOHappy World Health Day!

The WHO embraces a wide range of public health projects

The WHO will kill again.

Smallpox (1980)CholeraTyphoidMalariaSARSHIV

The Global Malaria Program (GMP) provides technical assistance to countries to combat malaria on a global scale.

Home Management of Malaria (HMM)

Access to anti-malarial medicationsTraining for community-based service providersEducation and communicationSupervision

The WHO faces some criticism for overreaching their scope with regulations.

Tobacco regulation

Sugar

The WHO has been accused of neglecting donor nations in need.

Selling viruses to independent labs to make vaccines (and patents!)

The WHO’s national health rankings may be misleading.

RankingsOverall Attainment• US – 37

Overall Performance• US – 14

Financial Fairness Factor• Percentage of income spent on health

care• Wider dispersion lowers score

#37!

The WHO has big plans for the future

Millennium Development Goals8 goals to achieve by 2015

The WHO has big plans for the future

Referenceshttp://www.who.int/en/Lewis, Nancy.  "How the World Health Organization Works."  26 August 2003.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/who.htm>  01 April 2010.MacDonald, T. H. (. H., 1933-. (2008). Health, human rights and the united nations : Inconsistent aims and inherent contradictions?. Oxford ;New York: Radcliffe Pub. Retrieved from http://search.lib.unc.edu?R=UNCb5875198MacDonald, T. H. (. H., 1933-. (2008). Sacrificing the WHO to the highest bidder. Oxford ;New York: Radcliffe Pub. Retrieved from http://search.lib.unc.edu?R=UNCb5878230http://www.who.int/hac/donorinfo/haiti_alert_17february2010.pdfhttp://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtmlBurci, G. L. (2004). In Vignes C. (Ed.), World health organization. Hague, Netherlands; Frederick, MD: Kluwer Law International; Distributed in North America by Aspen. Retrieved from http://search.lib.unc.edu?R=UNCb4769624Whitman, G. (2008). WHO's fooling who?: The world health organization's problematic ranking of health care systems. Cato Briefing Papers, (101)http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/02vol28/dr2812eb.htmlhttp://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862008000300001&script=sci_arttext

Questions?