What is the World Health Organization? Thanks for asking!

The World Health Organization is a United Nations agency that is responsible for international public health. In the case of a global health pandemic, such as the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, the WHO has a central role in coordinating the response plan. However, some people have called into question its effectiveness.

When the World Health Organization was created?

The United Nations created the WHO in the aftermath of the Second World War, on April 7th 1948 to be exact. Its headquarters are located close to Geneva, Switzerland, and the agency has 7,000 employees around the world. Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom has been Director General since 2017. Due to its role as an international leader, the organization has to increase public awareness on health threats, fight illnesses and improve access to healthcare, especially in the world’s poorer countries.

One of the key principles in the WHO’s constitution reads as follows: “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

In the case of emergencies, especially international epidemics, the WHO has to coordinate the action plan to prevent the illness from spreading. They do that by making official recommendations, based on the information they get from countries affected by the disease. 

So is it down to the WHO that half the world’s population is under lockdown? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

For other questions about the coronavirus pandemic, you can click here:

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