 Part of the government structure (federal, state,

tribal and/or territorial, or local)

 Funded primarily by tax and managed by
government officials
 Each is designated as having authority over some
geographic area
 Exist at the 4 governmental levels:
1. international 3. state
2. national 4. local
 World Health Organization
- the most widely recognized international
governmental health organization today

- headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland

- there are 6 regional offices around the world

 World Health Organization
- 6 regional offices around the world
1. AFRO – Brazzaville, Congo (Africa)
2. PAHO – Washington, D.C., United States
(Americas)
3. EMRO – Cairo, Egypt (Eastern Mediterranean)
4. EURO – Copenhagen, Denmark (Europe)
5. SEARO – New Delhi, India (Southeast Asia)
6. WPRO – Manila, Philippines (Western Pacific)
 World Health Organization
- now the largest international health
organization, but not the oldest

organizations that predate WHO:

1. International D’Hygiene Publique (1907)
- absorbed by the WHO
2. Health organization of the League of Nations
(1919)
- dissolved when WHO was cretaed
 World Health Organization
- now the largest international health
organization, but not the oldest

organizations that predate WHO:

3. United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration (1943)
- dissolved in 1946
- its work is carried out today by the
Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
(1950)
 World Health Organization
- now the largest international health
organization, but not the oldest

organizations that predate WHO:

4. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
(1946)
- formerly known as the United Nations
International Children’s Emergency
Fund
 World Health Organization
- now the largest international health
organization, but not the oldest

organizations that predate WHO:

5. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
(1920)
- still an independent organization but is
integrated with WHO in a regional office
History of the WHO
- planning for the WHO began when a charter
of the United Nations was adopted at an
international meeting in 1945.
- contained in the charter was an article calling
for the establishment of a health agency with
wide powers.
- 1946 – at the International Health Conference
- representatives from all of the
countries in the United Nations
succeeded in creating and ratifying
the constitution of the WHO.
History of the WHO
- April 7, 1948 – the constitution went into
force and the organization officially
began its work
- April 7 - commemorated each year as
WORLD HEALTH DAY.

2008 – 60TH anniversary of WHO.

Organization of the WHO

“WHO is a United nations specialized agency

concentrating exclusively on health by providing technical
cooperation, carrying out programmes to control and eradicate
disease and striving to improve the quality of human life.”
Organization of the WHO

2016 – 194 country members

*Membership in the WHO is open to any

nation that has ratified the WHO constitution
and receives a majority vote of the World
Health Assembly.
Organization of the WHO

WHO is administered by a staff that includes:

1. appointed director–general
2. deputy director-general
3. 7 assistant directors-general
4. 6 regional directors
Purpose and Work of the WHO
primary objective:

“shall be the attainment by all peoples of the

highest possible level of health”
Purpose and Work of the WHO
6 core functions:
1. providing leadership on matters critical to
health and engaging in partnerships where
joint action is needed

2. Shaping the research agenda and

stimulating the generation, translation,
and dissemination of valuable knowledge.
Purpose and Work of the WHO
6 core functions:
3. Setting norms and standards, and
promoting and monitoring their
implementation
4. Articulating ethical and evidence-based
policy options
5. Providing technical support, catalyzing
change, and building sustainable
institutional capacity
Purpose and Work of the WHO
6 core functions:

6. monitoring the health situation and

assessing health trends
Purpose and Work of the WHO
- financed by its member states with
assessed and voluntary contributions
- each member state is assessed according
to its ability to pay (wealthiest countries
contribute the most)
- voluntary contributions also come from the
member states and account for more than 3
quarters of the budget financing
Purpose and Work of the WHO
*eradication of smallpox
2015 – marked the 35th anniversary of
this eradication
Oct. 26, 1977 – the last known natural
case of smallpox was diagnosed
in Somalia
1978 – a laboratory accident in
Birmingham, England resulted in
1 death and a limited outbreak of
smallpox
Purpose and Work of the WHO
*eradication of smallpox
1979 – World Health Assembly declared
the global eradication of smallpox
Purpose and Work of the WHO
*containment of the Ebola outbreaks
- there are now 6 rapid diagnostic tools
that can detect the Ebola virus in a
matter of hours, 24 worldwide testing
laboratories, an Ebola vaccine, registered
foreign medical teams, and thousands of
trained responders who can rapidly
deploy to outbreaks.
Purpose and Work of the WHO
“general programme of work”
- a document where the work of WHO is
outlined
- a requirement of the WHO constitution
- “provides a vision and is used to guide
the work of the organization during a
pre-determined period of time.”
Purpose and Work of the WHO
“Twelfth General Programme of Work”
- covers the 6 years from 2014-2019
- includes:
communicable diseases
non-communicable diseases
health throughout the life cycle
health systems
preparedness
surveillance
response
corporate services and enabling
functions
Purpose and Work of the WHO
United Nations Millennium Declaration
- much of the recent work of WHO is
outline here
- adopted at the Millennium Summit in
2003
Purpose and Work of the WHO
United Nations Millennium Declaration
- set out principles and values in 7
areas:
1. peace, security, and disarmament
2. development and poverty eradication
3. protecting our common environment
4. human rights, democracy, and good
governance
5. protecting the vulnerable
Purpose and Work of the WHO
United Nations Millennium Declaration
- set out principles and values in 7
areas:
6. meeting special needs of Africa
7. strengthening the United Nations
Purpose and Work of the WHO
Road Map
- established goals and targets to be
reached by 2015 in each of the 7 areas
- the resulting 8 goals in the area of
development and poverty eradication
were referred to as the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs)
Purpose and Work of the WHO
Road Map
MDGs – were aimed at reducing poverty and
hunger, tackling ill health, gender
inequality, lack of education, lack of
access to improved dinking water, and
environmental degradation
Purpose and Work of the WHO
Road Map
* Although much progress has been made,
there is still much more work to be done.
* Moving forward, challenges will be
addressed through a new universal and
transformative post -2015 development
agenda of MDGs supported by a set of 17
goals referred to as the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Purpose and Work of the WHO
Road Map
* SDGs are not considered legally binding;
however, they do seek improved availability,
quality, and timeliness of data, national
level analyses, and global level outcome.
• Each national government has a department or
agency that has the primary responsibility for the
protection of the health and welfare of its
citizens.

• These national health agencies meet their

responsibilities through the development of
health policies, the enforcement of health
regulations, the provision of health services and
programs, the funding of research, and the
support of their respective state and local health
agencies.
U.S.: Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
- the primary national health agency
- the United States government’s
principal agency for protecting the
health of all Americans and providing
essential human services, especially
for those who are least able to help
themselves.
U.S.: other federal agencies also contribute tot eh
betterment of the nation’s health:
1. Department of Agriculture
- inspects meat and dairy products
- coordinates the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC food assistance
program)
U.S.: other federal agencies also contribute tot eh
betterment of the nation’s health:
2. Environmental Protection Agency
- regulates hazardous wastes
3. Department of Labor
- houses the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)
- concerned with safety and health in
the workplace
U.S.: other federal agencies also contribute tot eh
betterment of the nation’s health:
4. Department of Commerce
- includes the Bureau of the Census
- collects much of the national data that
drive the nation’s health programs
5. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- deals with the aspects of terrorism
within the U.S.
DHHS
- headed by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, who is appointed by the
president and is a member of his or her
cabinet.
- was formed in 1980 (during the
administration of Pres. Jimmy Carter) when
the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare (HEW) was divided into 2 new
departments: HHS and Department of
Education.
DHHS
- the department most involved with the
nation’s human concerns
- literally a department of people serving
people, from newborn infants to persons
requiring health services t the most elderly
citizens
- the largest department in the federal
government.