¶ World Health Organization
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is a supranational organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations focused on international public health.
¶ History
The Government of Canada joined the World Health Organization on August 29, 1946.[1]
On April 25, 2009, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over the H1N1 strain of influenza.[2]
On June 11, 2009, declared that the H1N1 virus was to be considered an influenza pandemic.[3]
In December 2010, the WHO launched the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and UNICEF.[4]
On May 5, 2014, Director-General Margaret Chan declared the international spread of polio a public health emergency of international concern.[5]
On August 8, 2014, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a public health emergency of international concern.[6]
On September 19, 2019, the WHO published a pandemic preparedness document titled “Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza.”[7]
¶ COVID-19
In early 2020, the WHO contacted the United Nations Foundation to “help build momentum and support for its role in leading and coordinating global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond.”[8] Just over two weeks later in March 2020, the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was launched in partnership with the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation to support the WHO's response efforts to the declared COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
The World Health Organization launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) at the end of April 2020.[10]
On December 2, 2020, the WHO put out a call for applications for a new Smart Vaccination Certificate Working Group to "inform the definition of specifications and standards related to interoperability, governance, and design for a personal digital vaccination certificate" in anticipation of the then-upcoming COVID-19 vaccines.[11]
On June 10, 2021, the WHO convened the 2nd Global Consultation on SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern and their Impact on Public Health Interventions.[12]
In December 2021, the World Health Assembly established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to create and negotiate a pandemic treaty under the auspices of the Constitution of the World Health Organization.[13] In January 2022, the WHO Executive Board passed Decision 150(3), beginning the process of amending the current International Health Regulations.[14][15] This was followed in May 2022 by World Health Assembly decision WHA75(9), officially forming the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005).[14:1][16]
In 2022, the WHO Regional Office for Europe published a document titled “Vaccine crisis communication manual: step-by-step guidance for national immunization programmes.”[17]
From March 13-15, 2023, the WHO co-hosted a Global Convening on COVID-19 Vaccination Monitoring and Related System Strengthening with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF on the subject of COVID-19 vaccines.[18]
On June 24, 2022, the WHO renewed the status of polio as a public health emergency of international concern.[19]
¶ Organization
The World Health Organization is organized under the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
¶ Subsidiaries
¶ Personnel
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Timothy Evans | Assistant Director General (2003-2010)[20] | Event 201, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, A Spreading Plague, World Bank Group, McGill School of Population and Global Health |
¶ Funding
The WHO is funded by the national governments of member states and external donors including non-governmental organizations, corporations, individuals and philanthropic organizations.[21] Voluntary contributions are the primary source of funding for the WHO, along with an annual “assessed contribution” calculated based on the GDP of each member state.
Organizations that have funded the WHO in the last several years include:[21:1][22][23][24][25][26]
- Adimmune
- Africa Re Foundation
- African Development Bank Group
- African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET)
- African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)
- Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED)
- Al Jazeera Media Network
- Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR)
- Alwaleed Philanthropies
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
- amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research
- ANESVAD Foundation
- AO Foundation
- Apple
- Applied Information Sciences
- Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND)
- Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- Asian Liver Center at Stanford University
- Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH)
- Austism Speaks
- Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO)
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
- Australian Respiratory Council
- Bank of Africa Foundation
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
- Baxter
- Bayer
- BBC Global News
- Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)
- Beijing Tiantan Biological Products (TIANTANBIO)
- Bernard van Leer Foundation
- Big Heart Foundation
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Borrow Foundation
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
- Bridges to Development
- Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI)
- Brighton Collaboration
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Carter Center
- Catholic Relief Services
- CDC Foundation
- Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
- Central European Initiative (CEI)
- Centre for Ageing Better
- Chemo Ibérica
- Chiba University
- Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
- China Medical Board (CMB)
- China Population Welfare Foundation (CPWF)
- Christian Blind Mission (CBM)
- Christian Medical College Vellore (CMC)
- Cipla Health
- Clarke Mosquito
- Clean Air Fund
- Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
- Conba Group Co.
- Covanta
- COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
- Crown Agents
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Deb Worldwide Healthcare
- Delft University of Technology
- Denka Seiken
- DiaSorin
- Diversey
- Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi)
- Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
- Eisai
- Eleanor Crook Foundation
- Eli Lilly
- Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF)
- Elrha
- Emergency Architecture & Human Rights (EAHR)
- Emirates Red Crescent
- The END Fund
- Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
- European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
- European Commission
- European Health Management Association (EHMA)
- European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA)
- European Investment Bank
- European Respiratory Society (ERS)
- European Society for Medical Oncology
- Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN)
- Famine Relief Fund
- FHI 360
- FIA Foundation
- FIFA
- Fluart Innovative Vaccines
- Fondation Botnar
- Fondation d'Harcourt
- Fondation des Immeubles pour les Organisations Internationales (FIPOI)
- Fondation Mérieux
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- Ford Foundation
- Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND)
- Fred Hollows Foundation
- French National Cancer Institute (INCa)
- Gates Ventures
- Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
- Gedeon Richter
- Gharda Chemicals
- Gilead Sciences
- GitHub
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
- Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP)
- Global Disability Innovation Hub
- Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
- Global Health Workforce Alliance
- Gojo Industries
- Government of Catalonia
- Government of Flanders
- Government of Hong Kong
- Government of Macau
- Grand Challenges Canada
- Green Cross Corporation (GSC)
- Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health
- HackerOne
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- HD Hudson
- Health Foundation
- Health Service Executive (HSE)
- Hearing Conservation Council (HCC)
- Hepatitis Fund
- Hilfsaktion Noma
- Hualan Biological Bacterin
- Imperial College London (ICL)
- Innovation Norway
- Instabug
- Institut de France
- Interbrand
- International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)
- International AIDS Society (IAS)
- International Company for Medical Necessities
- International Development Association
- International Development Law Organization
- International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE)
- International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations
- International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA)
- International Foundation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (IFOS)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- International League Against Epilepsy
- International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- International Society of Audiology
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD)
- International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
- International Water Association (IWA)
- INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI)
- Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
- Israeli Fund for UNICEF (IFU)
- Italian National Institute of Health
- Japan Hospital Association (JHA)
- Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals
- Jhpiego
- JMI Syringes & Medical Devices
- Johann Jacobs Foundation
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Johns Hopkins University
- Johnson & Johnson
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
- Kaketsuken
- Kanazawa University
- Kantar
- Karolinska Institute
- King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS)
- King's College London
- Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine
- KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation
- Korean Foundation for International Healthcare
- La Trobe University
- Laerdal Foundation
- Latter-day Saint Charities
- Light for the World
- Lillian Lincoln Foundation
- Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF)
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
- Mada - Assistive Technology Center Qatar
- Madrilenian Health Service (SERMAS)
- Mahidol University
- March of Dimes
- McKinsey & Company
- Mectizan Donation Program (MDP)
- Medicines Development for Global Health
- MedImmune
- Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC)
- Merck
- Microsoft
- Monash University
- Mundo Sano
- National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center
- National Institute of Pulmonology Marius Nasta
- National Philanthropic Trust
- National University of Singapore (NUS)
- New Sunshine Charity Foundation
- New Venture Fund
- Nippon Foundation
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH)
- Novartis
- Nutrition International
- Oil Search Foundation
- OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
- Open Society Foundations
- Open Society Institute
- Options Consultancy Services
- Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
- Organisation for the Prevention of Blindness
- P&P Patents and Technologies
- Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA)
- Palestinian National Authority
- PandemicTech
- Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH)
- PAS Center
- Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
- Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
- Philippine Business for Social Progress
- Population Action International (PAI)
- Population Services International (PSI)
- Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ)
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
- President and Fellows of Harvard College
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH)
- Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development
- Qiagen
- Quadram Institute
- RAND Corporation
- Reckitt Benckiser
- Regions for Health Network
- Rehabilitation International
- Research in Advanced Medical Informatics and Telematics (RAMIT)
- Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD)
- Research4Life
- Restream
- Robert Koch Institute
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Roche
- Rockefeller Foundation
- Romanian Angel Appeal
- Rotary International
- Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
- Sabin Vaccine Institute (SVI)
- Safaricom Foundation
- Sandoz
- Sanofi-Aventis
- Sanofi Espoir Foundation
- Sanofi Pasteur
- Sasakawa Health Foundation
- Save the Children
- SC Johnson
- Sclavo Vaccines Association
- Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
- Seqirus
- Shanghai Institute of Biological Products
- Sightsavers
- Sinovac Biotech
- SK Bioscience
- Snyk
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
- Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat
- Sprinklr
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- St. Petersburg Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera (SPbSRIVS)
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation
- Swiss Philanthropy Foundation
- Tableau Software
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Task Force for Global Health
- Tetra Pak
- Thai Health Promotion Foundation
- TikTok
- True Colours Trust (TCT)
- Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
- UCB
- UN Women
- UNICEF
- UNICEF USA
- Union Nationale des Caisses d'Assurance Maladie (UNCAM)
- Unitaid
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Federal Credit Union Foundation
- United Nations Foundation (UNF)
- United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
- United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)
- United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
- United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD)
- United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF)
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA)
- United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS)
- United Nations University Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH)
- United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
- University College London (UCL)
- University of Antwerp
- University of Bergen
- University of Birmingham
- University of Calgary
- University of Cape Town
- University of Copenhagen
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Exeter
- University of Galway
- University of Lucerne
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
- University of Newcastle
- University of Oxford
- University of York
- University Research Co. (URC)
- Uppsala Monitoring Centre
- Uppsala University
- USA for UNFPA
- Velux Stiftung
- Veolia Environment Foundation
- Vital Strategies
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- War Child Holland
- WaterAid America
- Wellcome Trust
- Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
- West African Health Organization (WAHO)
- WHO Foundation
- WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
- World Bank
- World Diabetes Foundation
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- World Hepatitis Alliance
- World Meterological Organization (WMO)
- World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
- World Vision International
- ZeShan Foundation
- Zhongshan Opthalmic Center
- Zoom Video Communications
¶ Publications
- 2007: Guidelines for assuring the quality and nonclinical safety evaluation of DNA vaccines by James Robertson, Jim Ackland, Anja Holm
- January 2009: Toolkit for implementation in national legislation: The National IHR Focal Point
- 2013: Evolution of a Pandemic A(H1N1) 2009: April 2009-August 2010
- 2017: WHO guidance for surveillance during an influenza pandemic
- 2019: Causality assessment of an adverse event following immunization (AEFI): user manual for the revised WHO classification - 2nd Edition, 2019 update
- 2019: Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza
- 2022: Vaccine crisis communication manual: step-by-step guidance for national immunization programmes
- 2023: Global Convening on COVID-19 Vaccination Monitoring and Related System Strengthening
¶ External links
ARCHIVED - World Health Organization. (2005, April 8). Government of Canada. http://archive.today/2020.09.05-102827/https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/international-activities/international-partners-organizations/world-health-organization.html ↩︎
Wilder-Smith, A., & Osman, S. (2020). Public health emergencies of international concern: a historic overview. Journal of Travel Medicine, 27(8). https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa227 ↩︎
WHO declares H1N1 a pandemic. (2009, June 12). China Daily. https://web.archive.org/web/20200722054033/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-06/12/content_8289587_5.htm ↩︎
Robert, M., Hasan, H., Moen, C., & Billet, C. (2010, December 2). Global Health Leaders Launch Decade of Vaccines Collaboration. World Health Organization. http://archive.today/2013.10.30-095609/http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/press/news_release_decade_vaccines/en/index.html ↩︎
Public Health Emergency status. Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220729220527/https://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-now/public-health-emergency-status/ ↩︎
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB). (2019, March 8). 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://archive.today/2020.10.06-162536/https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/index.html ↩︎
WHO Global Influenza Programme. (2019). Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza. World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20220831234545if_/https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329438/9789241516839-eng.pdf ↩︎
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. United Nations Foundation. Retrieved July 4, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230704190217/https://unfoundation.org/covid-19-solidarity-response-fund/ ↩︎
Bridges, R. (2020, March 13). WHO, UN Foundation and partners launch first-of-its-kind COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. World Health Organization. http://archive.today/2021.01.18-024953/https://www.who.int/news/item/13-03-2020-who-un-foundation-and-partners-launch-first-of-its-kind-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund ↩︎
What is the ACT-Accelerator. World Health Organization. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.02.12-175054/https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/about ↩︎
World Health Organization open call for nomination of experts to contribute to the Smart Vaccination Certificate technical specifications and standards – Application DEADLINE 14 December 2020. (2020, December 2). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126233223/https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/world-health-organization-open-call-for-nomination-of-experts-to-contribute-to-the-smart-vaccination-certificate-technical-specifications-and-standards-application-deadline-14-december-2020 ↩︎
2nd Global Consultation on SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern and the Impact on Public Health Interventions. (2021). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20230312032446/https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/report-sars-global-consultation_10june2021.pdf ↩︎
Home. Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB). Retrieved February 12, 2024, from http://archive.today/2024.02.12-191643/https://inb.who.int/ ↩︎
Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005). World Health Organization. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from http://archive.today/2024.03.05-132401/https://www.who.int/teams/ihr/working-group-on-amendments-to-the-international-health-regulations-(2005) ↩︎ ↩︎
Executive Board - 150th Session - Resolutions and Decisions, Annexes - EB150/2022/REC/1 (p. 30). (2022). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20240509161756/https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB150-REC1/B150_REC1-en.pdf#page=30 ↩︎
Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies. (2022, May 27). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20240509161756/https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA75/A75(9)-en.pdf ↩︎
Dolezal, K.-S. (2022). Vaccine crisis communication manual: step-by-step guidance for national immunization programmes. World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172546/https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/352029/WHO-EURO-2022-3471-43230-60590-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ↩︎
Global Convening on COVID-19 Vaccination Monitoring and Related System Strengthening. (2023). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20231107180710/https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/final_data-global-con-report_2.5.pdf?sfvrsn=80275550_1 ↩︎
Poliovirus IHR Emergency Committee. (2022, June 24). Statement of the Thirty-second Polio IHR Emergency Committee. World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20220729220956/https://www.who.int/news/item/24-06-2022-statement-of-the-thirty-second-polio-ihr-emergency-committee ↩︎
Tim Evans. World Bank Blogs. Retrieved May 12, 2024, from http://archive.today/2024.05.12-164342/https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/team/t/tim-evans ↩︎
Our contributors. World Health Organization. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.07.21-211136/https://www.who.int/about/funding/contributors ↩︎ ↩︎
Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2021. (2022). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20220516042059/https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA75/A75_INF5-en.pdf ↩︎
Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2020. (2021). World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/359079/A74_INF4-en.pdf ↩︎
Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2019. (2020, June 9). World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/339657/A73_INF3-eng.pdf ↩︎
Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2018. (2019, May 9). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20220613194959/https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329246/A72_INF5-en.pdf ↩︎
Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2017. (2018, April 19). Wayback Machine; World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605174758/https://www.who.int/about/finances-accountability/funding/A71_INF2-en.pdf ↩︎