WHO / Henrietta Allen
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Credits
WHO’s 7 + 5 health stories for everyone, everywhere
75 years of improving public health
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Health For All: the ultimate goal
The World Health Organization’s commitment to Health For All, underpinned by a democratic notion that all humans are equal, shone through brightly in its founding Constitution in 1948. The Constitution was an unprecedented document in a world that was reeling from the destruction of the Second World War, but setting on a transformative path to value all human lives. It uncompromisingly called for health as a fundamental right of every human being and a foundation for peace and security.
Through the decades, WHO has been addressing key challenges for its mission: spearheading efforts to improve social conditions so that people are born, grow, work, live and age with good health. WHO has also been central to the global promotion of gender
and disability inclusion. But such progress has been constantly threatened by the persistence of health inequalities. The goal to achieve Health For All, therefore, remains as important today as it was 75 years ago. For WHO, this remains a key pathway
to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, reinforced by 16 other SDGs to be attained by 2030.
Image: Diplomats meeting in San Francisco, California to form the United Nations agree that throughout modern history, there has been insufficient collaboration between countries to control the spread of dangerous diseases across the world. Together they decide on the need for a global organization overseeing global health and plan for the creation of WHO. © UN
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Alleviating deadly diseases
One of WHO’s key missions is to prevent, alleviate and stop altogether the spread of deadly infections. As a result of an unprecedented global partnership, WHO certified smallpox eradicated in 1980. Smallpox was a highly contagious and fatal disease that claimed an estimated 300 million lives in the 20th century alone.
In the early 2020s, the world is on the brink of eradicating two other damaging diseases – polio and guinea-worm. The WHO’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative has partnered and supported efforts that have helped achieve 99.9% reduction in
the spread of polio.
Image: Parchment signed at Geneva on 9 December 1979, by the members of the Global Commission for Certification of Smallpox Eradication. In 1966, the 19th World Health Assembly requested the Director-General of WHO to initiate action to carry out a world-wide smallpox eradication programme. Historically, the programme remains one of the great achievements of WHO, as in 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly endorsed the conclusions of the Global Commission for Certification of Smallpox Eradication that smallpox had been eradicated worldwide and that the return of the virus was unlikely. © WHO / Naomi Wenger
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Protecting people from pandemics
WHO detects thousands of health emergency signals every day and works to protect people from the risks and repercussions of epidemics and pandemics. During past decades, WHO has been at the frontlines of all major health emergencies: from cholera and ebola to avian flu (H5N1), SARS and the COVID-19 pandemic. Each time, WHO’s unique convening role, technical expertise and partnerships are activated to respond rapidly and at scale, moving people, resources and supplies to where they are most needed. Discussions and decisions, many in the most challenging settings, are undertaken so that data and specimens are shared, and scientific advances are made in order for the world to overcome the emergency.
During 2020-2021 alone, WHO responded to 87 health emergencies in addition to COVID-19. WHO established the International Health Regulations (IHRs) in 1969 and revised in 2005, as an agreement between Member States to work together to prevent and respond
to acute public health risks that can cross borders and threaten people worldwide. A new global pandemic accord agreement is under development in consultation with 194 Member States and a broad range of public stakeholders, with the aim of building
a future-proof strategy to protect new generations from pandemics in the 21st century.
Image: WHO supported COVID-19 preparedness and response for vulnerable Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. © WHO / Blink Media – Fabeha Monir
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Peace for health, health for peace
WHO plays an often invisible role in negotiating humanitarian and health services during wars and conflicts. Since the 1980s, WHO has been implementing “Health as a bridge for peace” projects in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, delivering humanitarian interventions in conflict settings. With WHO’s help in 1990s, warring regions in Bosnia agreed to allow the free movement of ambulances and emergency medical care, continuing polio vaccinations and tuberculosis and HIV campaigns.
WHO staff continue to undertake dangerous duties in conflict zones from Iraq to Libya and Sudan to Ukraine. In many territories, conflicts and chaos are increasing. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, for example, the largest refugee and migrant health crisis in the world is taking hold with half of its 22 countries and territories remaining in the state of acute or prolonged emergency.
In 2019, WHO launched a Global Health for Peace programme to accelerate the promotion of health care in conflict zones, addressing underlying barriers for peace.
Image: In Sienna village, Duhok region in northern Iraq, Yezidi men, women and children line up at a mobile Clinic supported by WHO to get the medical care they need. About 1 500 Yazidi live in the village, many of them in unfinished buildings. They were displaced from Sinjar Mountain in 2014. © WHO / Sebastian Meyer
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Guiding policy and standards for health
WHO is the global authority for the issuance of policies and guidelines to improve people’s health. In 1981, WHO Member States adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. By 2020, the code had been implemented in 136 countries, promoting breastfeeding for millions of babies.
In 2003, WHO Member States adopted the world’s first public health treaty – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The Treaty, now law in 181 countries, protects present and future generations from the devastating impacts of tobacco use. As of 2021, tobacco use was decreasing in 150 countries thanks to implementation of the FCTC.
These are just two examples of this core mandate of WHO. Every day, WHO’s experts are on call to compile the best available scientific evidence on health issues – from anaemia to transfats, hepatitis and hypertension. They rigorously assess the evidence, consulting with networks of experts, policy-makers, practitioners and civil society, to create the standards and guidelines to shape better policies to improve our health.
Image: Guido (L) and Livia (R) participate in an anti-tobacco workshop called "Agent 00 Cigarettes, LILT Mission," with volunteer Alice (Center). The workshop is part of a campaign by LILT (Italian League For The Fight Against Cancer) to educate kids about the dangers of smoking and encourage them to make healthy, tobacco-free life choices on 9 March 2021 in Milan, Italy. © WHO / Blink Media - Francesca Volpi
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Preventing diseases through vaccinations
WHO has played a pioneering role in delivering vaccinations to prevent diseases. The Organization established its Expanded Programme on Immunization in 1974, to support the introduction of childhood vaccines across the world, targeting multiple diseases at the same time, leaving no one behind. We now have vaccines protecting us from more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives.
Immunization currently prevents 3.5-5 million deaths every year from diseases like tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles. As diseases like polio and diphtheria fall out of living memory, people are increasingly vaccinated against diseases they have never seen, making it harder to understand how devastating they can be. Vaccines against Ebola, monkeypox, yellow fever and cholera can help prevent the spread of these diseases.
In 2021, a new malaria vaccine – the very first against a parasite – was introduced with the promise of saving thousands of young lives each year. Furthermore, WHO is working with countries to implement the Immunization Agenda 2030 to build a world where everyone, everywhere fully benefits from vaccines for good health and well-being.
Image: Six months old Lordina receives the new malaria vaccine at the Breman-Amanfopong community clinic in Ghana. WHO recommends the ground-breaking malaria vaccine for children living in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission. The long-awaited malaria vaccine is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control. It is the first vaccine against a parasite and could save tens of thousands of young lives each year. © WHO / Francis Kokoroko
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Addressing climate-related health challenges
Climate change is the biggest health threat facing humanity today. It impacts air quality, drinking water, food supply, sanitation, shelter, and the environment as a whole. WHO promotes better data, science, policy and governance for improved management of environmental health risks and their impacts.
WHO has been at the forefront of addressing the increasing risks of climate-related health challenges, establishing a Climate change and Health Programme in 1990s. The Programme supports countries in developing comprehensive action plans to tackle the health effects of climate change, building more resilient, carbon-free and sustainable health systems and facilities. In 2021, WHO launched the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) to build climate resilient and sustainable health systems, using the collective power of WHO Member States and other stakeholders to drive this agenda forward at pace and scale; and promote the integration of climate change and health nexus into respective national, regional, and global plans. As of January 2023, more than 62 countries have committed to the Alliance.
Image: On 20 September 2022, Intore (left) is screened for malnutrition by a member of a mobile health team in Korr, Marsabit. Millions in the greater Horn of Africa are facing acute hunger as the region faces one of the worst droughts in recent decades. Many people have left their homes in search of food and water, and pasture for animals. Large-scale displacement is often accompanied by a deterioration in hygiene and sanitation. Outbreaks of infectious diseases are a major concern, especially when combined with low existing vaccination coverage and health service availability. © WHO / Billy Miaron
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Saving the lives of mothers and children
One of the greatest public health achievements of the past decades related to the health of women and children.
Resulting from dramatic increases in skilled births attendants, childhood vaccinations and introduction of methods such as the WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI), more mothers and children survive today than ever before. Between 2000 and now, mortality among children under five and pregnant mothers has halved – impressive progress in protecting the health of the most vulnerable.
More pressing concerns such as mental health, obesity, impact of COVID-19 pose increasing challenges requiring new solutions and renewed energy.
Image: Lilty brings her two-year-old daughter Hermela for a follow-up appointment with Dr Mohamed. Hermela was born in Um Rakuba Refugee Camp shortly after her mother’s arrival at the end of 2021. The vitamin C that was prescribed to Hermela during the visit was provided by WHO. © WHO / Ala Kheir
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Caring for those who take care of us
Public health achievements have been made possible thanks to the tireless efforts of generations of health workers around the world. WHO has been promoting the work of health workers, who have made all these health landmarks happen, from the eradication of smallpox to dramatic progress in delivering HIV treatments.
Further promoting the role of health workers, particularly nurses, in achieving Health For All, WHO appointed a Chief Nursing Officer as part of its leadership team in 2017. WHO’s Global strategy on human resources for health: workforce 2030 led
to a nearly 30% increase in global health workforce between 2016 and 2020. The Strategy focuses on the projected shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, which poses a critical challenge to the attainment of the health-related SDGs.
Image: It’s 1960, Ziagul, a 17-year old girl of Kabul, graduated as an auxiliary nurse midwife. The helping hand of medical assistance reaches further out into the villages of Afghanistan with the completion of training of the country's first group of auxiliary nurse midwives. This training programme which is assisted by WHO is one of several destined to help improve the nursing services of Afghanistan. Ziagul (right) and her friend Roafza, who also graduated as an auxiliary nurse midwife, set out for the clinic in the village of Charasiab. © WHO / Homer Page
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Tackling noncommunicable diseases and mental health
Enjoying good health means not merely living without disease but also achieving a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. WHO has been working to protect people from key risks that lead to chronic diseases, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets. These risks lead to diseases and conditions such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, and associated trauma and suffering, accounting for 74% of all deaths worldwide.
WHO’s pioneering work, including the first global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in 2000, the first World Health report on mental health in 2001 “New Understandings, New Hope”, the Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP) in
2008, and the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative in 2018, to mention a few examples, provide life-saving guidance to countries so that millions more people live longer in good health.
Image: Early morning exercises in the Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines. © WHO / Yoshi Shimizu
+4
Addressing antimicrobial resistance
Over the decades, we have seen both misuse and overuse of modern medicine. As a result, our common defence against diseases has weakened. This has led to the appearance of new microbes resistant to the known medicines and they threaten the progress we have made in better health and a longer lifespan. Antimicrobial resistance is a development and global health threat.
WHO has developed a global action plan in 2015, alerting the world about antimicrobial resistance and mobilizing countries to detect, prevent and manage this crisis. Together with the Food and Agricultural Organisation, United Nations Environmental Programme
and World Organization for Animal Health, WHO set up the “One Health” alliance committed to combatting antimicrobial resistance worldwide. The agencies signed a ground-breaking agreement in 2022 to strengthen cooperation to sustainably
balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. The agreement provides a legal framework to tackle the human, animal, plant and ecosystem challenges in countries and internationally, contributing to global health security.
Image: Pediatricians Dr Ghazaryan and Dr Harutyunyan examine the lungs of 9-month-old Nare who has bronchiolitis, at Wigmore Clinic in Yerevan, Armenia on 8 November 2021. Like many countries, Armenia is confronted with the public health challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, the country is taking steps to curtail the overuse of antimicrobials (antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics). © WHO / Nazik Armenakyan
+5
Guided by science and innovation
Image: Examination of bacteria culture taken from throat-washings from a case of influenza pneumonia. Most deaths attributed to influenza are in fact due to the complication of bacterial pneumonia. Identification of the responsible bacteria is necessary
so that appropriate antibiotic therapy can be given. © WHO / Eric Schwab
Health successes of the past decades would not have been possible without WHO’s focus and commitment to science and innovation. In 1972, WHO established the Special Programme of Research and Training in Human Reproduction “HRP” dedicated to research into sexual and reproductive health and rights.
In 1975, WHO founded and started hosting the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases “TDR”, a global programme of scientific collaboration that helps facilitate, support and influence efforts to combat diseases of poverty.
In the technology-driven 21st century, WHO ensures that science remains the ultimate guide in its work. As part of its transformation agenda in 2019, WHO established a new Science Division working across public health areas.
The establishment of the Science Division proved timely to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in rapidly responding with rigorous scientific data and helping coordinate the development and distribution of vaccines against the disease with a focus on equity. In addition, in 2021, WHO established a Science Council, a consultative body involving top scientists in the world, to provide advice about emerging, high-priority scientific issues and technologies that could directly impact or advance global health.
With these initiatives, WHO is making sure that it stays at the forefront of science, ensuring that new tools and products can benefit all people who need them.
