The first conference, in Paris, was almost solely concerned with cholera, which would remain the disease of major concern for the ISC for most of the 19th century. Under his presidency, ECOSOC initiated the international conference that established the WHO as a specialized UN agency. Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar, the first president of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1946, played a central role in founding the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHA elects and advises an executive board made up of 34 health specialists; selects the WHO's chief administrator, the director-general (currently Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia); sets goals and priorities; and approves the budget and activities. The WHO's felicebet bonus official mandate is to promote health and safety while helping the vulnerable worldwide. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

Constitution

Our team of 8000+ professionals includes the world’s leading public health experts, including doctors, epidemiologists, scientists and managers. World Health Organization Prizes and Awards are given to recognize major achievements in public health. On 21 October 2017, the director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appointed the then Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador to help promote the fight against non-communicable diseases. The WHO regularly publishes a World Health Report, its leading publication, including an expert assessment of a specific global health topic. Recent themes have been vector-borne diseases (2014), healthy ageing (2012) and drug resistance (2011). Partners work together to put international principles for aid effectiveness and development co-operation into practice in the health sector.

Public health education and action

On 8 August 2014, WHO declared that the spread of Ebola was a public health emergency; an outbreak which was believed to have started in Guinea had spread to other nearby countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. In line with a growing global trend, as documented by the OECD and established at the EU, the WHO has embraced increased public participation in health policymaking. The TDR aimed to coordinate international research into the diagnosis, treatment, and control of tropical diseases, while also building research capacity in endemic countries. During the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization, Szeming Sze, a delegate from the Republic of China, conferred with Norwegian and Brazilian delegates on creating an international health organization under the auspices of the new United Nations. The agency advocates for universal health care coverage, engagement with the monitoring of public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting health and well-being generally.

• At the annual World Health Assembly in 2015, Director-General Margaret Chan announced a $100 million Contingency Fund for rapid response to future emergencies, of which it had received $26.9 million by April 2016 (for 2017 disbursement).
• In January 2025, during his second term, President Trump issued an executive order to withdraw the United States from the WHO, citing their alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic originating in Wuhan, among other reasons.
• Each year, the organization marks World Health Day and other observances focusing on a specific health promotion topic.
• During the first two years of the pandemic, American funding of the WHO declined by a quarter, although it is expected to increase during 2022 and 2023.
• Many decisions are made at the regional level, including important discussions over WHO’s budget, and in deciding the members of the next assembly, which are designated by the regions.
• It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards, collects data on global health issues, and serves as a forum for scientific or policy discussions related to health.

Communicable diseases

Its first legislative act was concerning the compilation of accurate statistics on the spread and morbidity of disease. The constitution of the World Health Organization was signed by all 51 countries of the United Nations, and by 10 other countries, on 22 July 1946. After failing to get a resolution passed on the subject, Alger Hiss, the secretary general of the conference, recommended using a declaration to establish such an organization.

Medical Society of the World Health Organization

WHO promotes the development of capacities in member states to use and produce research that addresses their national needs, including through the Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet). The Global Health Observatory (GHO) has been the WHO's main portal which provides access to data and analyses for key health themes by monitoring health situations around the globe. The WHO has published various tools for measuring and monitoring the capacity of national health systems and health workforces.

We are champions for healthier, safer lives

Since 1999, regional directors serve for a once-renewable five-year term, and typically take their position on 1 February. The board must approve such appointments, although as of 2004, it had never over-ruled the preference of a regional committee. Each region has a regional committee, which generally meets once a year, normally in the autumn.

• Every year, delegates from all Member States convene at the World Health Assembly to set priorities and chart a course for global health progress.
• As of 2002update, a total of 473 nongovernmental organizations (NGO) had some form of partnership with WHO.
• WHO is mandated under two of the international drug control conventions (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 and Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971) to carry out scientific assessments of substances for international drug control.
• The RD manages and/or supervises a staff of health and other experts at the regional offices and in specialized centres.
• WHO created the Civil Society Reference Group on HIV, which brings together other networks that are involved in policymaking and the dissemination of guidelines.
• Among the points made, it seems clear that although the prevalence of HIV transmission is declining, there is still a need for resources, health education, and global efforts to end this epidemic.

One of the thirteen WHO priority areas is aimed at the prevention and reduction of "disease, disability and premature deaths from chronic noncommunicable diseases, mental disorders, violence and injuries, and visual impairment which are collectively responsible for almost 71% of all deaths worldwide". The World Health Organization's definition of neglected tropical disease has been criticized to be restrictive (focusing only on communicable diseases) and described as a form of epistemic injustice, where conditions like snakebite are forced to be framed as a medical problem. At the time, the World Health Assembly president, Guyana's Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy, condemned Pope Benedict's opposition to contraception, saying he was trying to "create confusion" and "impede" proven strategies in the battle against the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated the eradication programme has saved millions from deadly disease.
This incident led to accusations about the PRC's political influence over the international organization. In a 2020 interview, Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward appeared to dodge a question from RTHK reporter Yvonne Tong about Taiwan's response to the pandemic and inclusion in the WHO, blaming internet connection issues. China once again dismissed concerns over Taiwanese inclusion with the foreign minister claiming that no-one cares more about the health and wellbeing of the Taiwanese people than central government of the PRC. Pressure to allow the ROC to participate in WHO increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with Taiwan's exclusion from emergency meetings concerning the outbreak bringing a rare united front from Taiwan's diverse political parties.