World Health Organization

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The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is
concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, with its headquarters
in Geneva, Switzerland. WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor,
the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations.
The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by all 61 countries of the United
Nations by 22 July 1946, with the first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948. It
incorporated the Office International d'Hygine Publique and the League of Nations Health Organization.
Since its creation, it has been responsible for playing a leading role in the eradication of smallpox. Its
current priorities includecommunicable diseases, in particular, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; the
mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development,
and aging; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and drive the
development of reporting, publications, and networking. WHO is responsible for the World Health Report,
a leading international publication on health, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health
Day (7th-April of every Year).
Its links with the International Atomic Energy Agency and distribution of contraception have both proved
controversial, as have guidelines on healthy

History[edit source | editbeta]

Establishment[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Establishment of the World Health Organization
The use of the word "world", rather than "international", emphasized the truly global nature of what the
organization was seeking to achieve.[1] The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed
by all 61 countries of the United Nations by 22 July 1946. It thus became the first specialised agency of
the United Nations to which every member subscribed.[2] Its constitution formally came into force on the
first World Health Day on 7 April 1948, when it was ratified by the 26th member state. [3] The first meeting
of the World Health Assembly finished on 24 July 1948, having secured a budget of US$5 million (then
GBP1,250,000) for the 1949 year. Andrija Stampar was the Assembly's first president, and G. Brock
Chisholm was appointed Director-General of WHO, having served as Executive Secretary during the
planning stages.[1] Its first priorities were to control the spread of malaria, tuberculosis and sexually
transmitted infections, and to improvematernal and child health, nutrition and environmental hygiene. Its
first legislative act was concerning the compilation of accurate statistics on the spread and morbidity of
disease.[1] The logo of the World Health Organization features the Rod of Asclepius as a symbol for
healing.[4]

Operational history[edit source | editbeta]

Three former directors of the Global Smallpox Eradication Programme read the news that smallpox had been globally
eradicated, 1980

WHO established an epidemiological information service via telex in 1947, and by 1950 a
mass tuberculosis inoculation drive (using the BCG vaccine) was under way. In 1955, the malaria
eradication programme was launched, although it was later altered in objective. 1965 saw the first report
ondiabetes mellitus and the creation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. WHO moved
into its headquarters building in 1966. TheExpanded Programme on Immunization was started in 1974, as
was the control programme into onchocerciasis an important partnership between theFood and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and World Bank.
In the following year, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases was also
launched. In 1976, the World Health Assembly voted to enact a resolution on Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation, with a focus on community-driven care. The first list of essential medicines was drawn up
in 1977, and a year later the ambitious goal of "health for all" was declared. In 1986, WHO started it
global programme on the growing problem of HIV/AIDS, followed two years later by additional attention
on preventing discrimination against sufferers and UNAIDS was formed in 1996. The Global Polio
Eradication Initiativewas established in 1988.[5]
In 1958, Viktor Zhdanov, Deputy Minister of Health for the USSR, called on the World Health Assembly to
undertake a global initiative to eradicatesmallpox, resulting in Resolution WHA11.54.[6] At this point, 2
million people were dying from smallpox every year. In 1967, the World Health Organization intensified
the global smallpox eradication by contributing $2.4 million annually to the effort and adopted a
new disease surveillancemethod.[7][8] The initial problem the WHO team faced was inadequate reporting of
smallpox cases. WHO established a network of consultants who assisted countries in setting up
surveillance and containment activities.[9] The WHO also helped contain the last European outbreak
in Yugoslavia in 1972.[10] After over two decades of fightingsmallpox, the WHO declared in 1980 that the
disease had been eradicated the first disease in history to be eliminated by human effort. [11]
In 1998, WHO's Director General highlighted gains in child survival, reduced infant mortality, raised life
expectancy and reduced rates of "scourges" such as smallpox and polio on the fiftieth anniversary of
WHO's founding. He, did, however, accept that more had to be done to assist maternal health and that

progress in this area had been slow.[12] Cholera and malaria have remained problems since WHO's
founding, although in decline for a large part of that period. [13] In the twenty-first century, the Stop TB
Partnership was created in 2000, along with the UN's formulation of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Measles initiative was formed in 2001, and credited with reducing global deaths from the disease by
68% by 2007. In 2002, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was drawn up to
improve the resources available.[5] In 2006, the organization endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS
Toolkit for Zimbabwe, which formed the basis for a global prevention, treatment and support plan to fight
the AIDS pandemic.[14]

Current projects[edit source | editbeta]

Overall focus[edit source | editbeta]
The WHO's Constitution states that its objective "is the attainment by all people of the highest possible
level of health".[15]
WHO fulfils its objective through its functions as defined in its Constitution: (a) to act as the directing and
co-ordinating authority on international health work; (b) to establish and maintain effective collaboration
with the United Nations, specialized agencies, governmental health administrations, professional groups
and such other organizations as may be deemed appropriate; (c) to assist Governments, upon request, in
strengthening health services; (d) to furnish appropriate technical assistance and, in emergencies,
necessary aid upon the request or acceptance of Governments; (e) to provide or assist in providing, upon
the request of the United Nations, health services and facilities to special groups, such as the peoples of
trust territories; (f) to establish and maintain such administrative and technical services as may be
required, including epidemiological and statistical services; (g) to stimulate and advance work to eradicate
epidemic, endemic and other diseases; (h) to promote, in co-operation with other specialized agencies
where necessary, the prevention of accidental injuries; (i) to promote, in co-operation with other
specialized agencies where necessary, the improvement of nutrition, housing, sanitation, recreation,
economic or working conditions and other aspects of environmental hygiene; (j) to promote co-operation
among scientific and professional groups which contribute to the advancement of health; (k) to propose
conventions, agreements and regulations, and make recommendations with respect to international
health matters and to perform.
WHO currently defines its role in public health as follows:[16]

providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action
is needed;

shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation and dissemination of
valuable knowledge;

setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation;

articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options;

providing technical support, catalyzing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity; and

monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.

The 20122013 budget further identified thirteen areas among which funding was distributed. [17]

Communicable diseases[edit source | editbeta]

Two of those thirteen areas related to communicable diseases: the first, to reduce the "health, social and
economic burden" of communicable diseases in general; the second to
combatHIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in particular.[17]
In terms of HIV/AIDS, WHO works within the UNAIDS network and considers it important that it works in
alignment with UNAIDS objectives and strategies. It also strives to involve sections of society other than
health to help deal with the economic and social effects of the disease. [18] In line with UNAIDS, WHO has
set itself the interim task between 2009 and 2015 of reducing the number of those aged 1524 years who
are infected by 50%; reducing new HIV infections in children by 90%; and reducing HIV-related deaths by
25%.[19]
Although WHO dropped its commitment to a global malaria eradication campaign in the 1970s as too
ambitious, it retains a strong commitment to malaria control. WHO's Global Malaria Programme works to
keep track of malaria cases, and future problems in malaria control schemes. WHO is to report, likely in
2015, as to whether RTS,S/AS01, currently in research, is a viablemalaria vaccine. For the time
being, insecticide-treated mosquito nets and insecticide sprays are used to prevent the spread of malaria,
as are antimalarial drugs particularly to vulnerable people such as pregnant women and young children.
[20]

WHO's help has contributed to a 40% fall in the number of deaths from tuberculosis between 1990 and
2010, and since 2005, it claims that over 46 million people have been treated and an estimated 7 million
lives saved through practices advocated by WHO. These include engaging national governments and
their financing, early diagnosis, standardising treatment, monitoring of the spread and impact of
tuberculosis and stabilising the drug supply. It has also recognised the vulnerability of victims of HIV/AIDS
to tuberculosis.[21]
WHO aims to eradicate polio. It has also been successful in helping to reduce cases by 99% since the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988, which partnered WHO with Rotary International,
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Childrens
Fund (UNICEF), as well as smaller organizations. It works to immunize young children and prevent the reemergence of cases in countries declared "polio-free".[22]

Non-communicable diseases[edit source | editbeta]

Another of the thirteen areas is aimed at the prevention and reduction of "disease, disability and
premature from chronic noncommunicable diseases, mental disorders, violence and injuries andvisual
impairment".[17][23]

Life and lifestyle[edit source | editbeta]

WHO also works to "reduce morbidity and mortality and improve health during key stages of life,
including pregnancy, childbirth, the neonatal period, childhood and adolescence, and
improvesexual and reproductive health and promote active and healthy aging for all individuals". [17][24]
It also tries to prevent or reduce risk factors for"health conditions associated with use
of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and other psychoactive substances, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity
andunsafe sex".[17][25][26]
WHO works to improve nutrition, food safety and food security and to ensure this has a positive effect
on public health and sustainable development.[17]

Emergency work in the world[edit source | editbeta]

When any sort of disaster or emergency occurs, it is WHO's stated objective to reduce any consequences
it may have on world health and its social and economic implications. [17]

Health policy[edit source | editbeta]

WHO also addresses government health policy with two aims: firstly, "to address the underlying social
and economic determinants of health through policies and programmes that enhance health equity and
integrate pro-poor, genderresponsive, and human rights-based approaches" and secondly "to promote a
healthier environment, intensify primary prevention and influence public policies in all sectors so as to
address the root causes of environmental threats to health". [17]
In terms of health services, WHO looks to improve "governance, financing, staffing and management" and
the availability and quality of evidence and research to guide policy making. It also strives to "ensure
improved access, quality and use of medical products and technologies". [17]

Governance and support[edit source | editbeta]

The remaining two of WHO's thirteen identified policy areas relate to the role of WHO itself: firstly, "to
provide leadership, strengthen governance and foster partnership and collaboration with countries,
the United Nations system, and other stakeholders in order to fulfill the mandate of WHO in advancing the
global health agenda" and secondly "to develop and sustain WHO as a flexible, learning organization,
enabling it to carry out its mandate more efficiently and effectively". [17]

Other work[edit source | editbeta]

The WHO and the World Bank constitute the core team responsible for administering the International
Health Partnership (IHP+). The IHP+ is a group of partner governments, development agencies, civil
society and others committed to improving the health of citizens in developing countries. Partners work
together to put international principles for aid effectiveness and development cooperation into practice in
the health sector.[27]

In addition, the WHO has also promoted road safety.[28] Each year, the organization marks World Health
Day focusing on a specific health promotion topic, timed to match the anniversary of WHO's founding.
Recent themes have been drug resistance (2011) and ageing (2012).[29] As part of the United Nations, the
World Health Organization supports work towards the Millennium Development Goals.[30] Of the eight
Millennium Development Goals, three reducing child mortality by two-thirds, to reduce maternal deaths
by three-quarters, and to halt and begin to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS relate directly to WHO's
scope; the other five inter-relate and have an impact on world health. [31]

Data handling and publications[edit source | editbeta]

The organization relies on contributions from renowned scientists and professionals to inform its work,
such as the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization,[32] the WHO Expert Committee on
Leprosy,[33] and the WHO Study Group on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice.[34] WHO
has also worked on global initiatives in surgery, including emergency and essential surgical care,
[35]
trauma care,[36] and safe surgery.[37] The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist is in current use worldwide in
the effort to improve patient safety.[38]
WHO runs the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, targeted at improving health
policy and systems.[39] WHO aims to improve access to health research and literature in developing
countries such as through the HINARI network.[40] The organization has published tools for monitoring the
capacity of national health systems[41] and health workforces.[42] 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.[43] The World Health Organization works to provide the
needed health and well-being evidence through a variety of data collection platforms, including the World
Health Survey covering almost 400,000 respondents from 70 countries, [44] and the Study on Global
Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) covering over 50,000 persons over 50 years old in 23 countries. [45] The
Country Health Intelligence Portal (CHIP), has also been developed to provide an access point to
information about the health services that are available in different countries. [46] The information gathered
in this portal is utilized by the countries to set priorities for future strategies or plans, implement, monitor,
and evaluate it. The WHO Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS), the WHO
Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL), and the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA)
provide guidance for data collection.[47] Collaborative efforts between WHO and other agencies, such as
through the Health Metrics Network, also aim to provide sufficient high-quality information to assist
governmental decision making.[48] 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).[49] The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/AMRO) became the first
region to develop and pass a policy on research for health approved in September 2009. [50]
The organization develops and promotes the use of evidence-based tools, norms and standards to
support member states to inform health policy options. It oversees the implementation of theInternational
Health Regulations, and publishes a series of medical classifications; of these, three are overreaching
"reference classifications": the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD), the International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Health
Interventions (ICHI).[51] Other international policy frameworks produced by WHO include the International
Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (adopted in 1981),[52] Framework Convention on Tobacco

Control (adopted in 2003)[53] and the Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health
Personnel (adopted in 2010).[54] The WHO regularly publishes a World Health Report, its leading
publication, including an expert assessment of a specific global health topic.[55] Other publications of WHO
include the Bulletin of the World Health Organization,[56] the Eastern Mediterranean Health
Journal (overseen by EMRO),[57] the Human Resources for Health (published in collaboration with BioMed
Central),[58] and the Pan American Journal of Public Health (overseen by PAHO/AMRO).[59]

Structure[edit source | editbeta]

The World Health Organization is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[60]

Membership[edit source | editbeta]

Countries by World Health Organization membership status

As of 2013, the WHO has 194 member states: all Member States of the United Nations except
Liechtenstein, as well as the Cook Islands and Niue.[61](A state becomes a full member of WHO by
ratifying the treaty known as the Constitution of the World Health Organization.) As of 2013, it also had
two associate members, Puerto Rico and Tokelau.[62] Several other entities have been granted observer
status. Palestine is an observer as a "national liberation movement" recognised by the League of Arab
States under United Nations Resolution 3118. The Holy See also attends as an observer, as does
the Order of Malta.[63] In 2010, Taiwan was invited under the name of "Chinese Taipei".[64]
WHO Member States appoint delegations to the World Health Assembly, WHO's supreme decisionmaking body. All UN Member States are eligible for WHO membership, and, according to the WHO web
site, "other countries may be admitted as members when their application has been approved by a simple
majority vote of the World Health Assembly".[61]
In addition, the UN observer organizations International Committee of the Red Cross and International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have entered into "official relations" with WHO and
are invited as observers. In the World Health Assembly they are seated along the other NGOs.[63]

Assembly and Executive Board[edit source | editbeta]

WHO Headquarters in Geneva

The World Health Assembly is the legislative and supreme body of WHO. Based in Geneva, it typically
meets yearly in May. It appoints the Director-General every five years, and votes on matters of policy and
finance of WHO, including the proposed budget. It also reviews reports of the Executive Board and
decides whether there are areas of work requiring further examination. The Assembly elects 34 members,
technically qualified in the field of health, to the Executive Board for three-year terms. The main functions
of the Board are to carry out the decisions and policies of the Assembly, to advise it and to facilitate its
work.[65]

Regional offices[edit source | editbeta]

Regional offices and regions of the WHO:

Africa; HQ: Brazzaville, Congo
Americas; HQ: Washington, DC, USA
Eastern Med.; HQ: Cairo, Egypt
Europe; HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark
South East Asia; HQ: New Delhi, India
Western Pacific; HQ: Manila, Philippines

The regional divisions of WHO were created between 1949 and 1952, and are based on article 44 of
WHO's constitution, which allowed the WHA to "establish a [single] regional organization to meet the
special needs of [each defined] area". Many decisions are made at regional level, including importance
discussions over WHO's budget, and in deciding the members of the next assembly, which are
designated by the regions.[66]
Each region has a Regional Committee, which generally meets once a year, normally in the autumn.
Representatives attend from each member or associative member in each region, including those states
that are not fully recognised. For example, Palestine attends meetings of the Eastern Mediterranean
Regional office. Each region also has a regional office.[66] Each Regional Office is headed by a Regional
Director, who is elected by the Regional Committee. The Board must approve such appointments,
although as of 2004, it had never overruled the preference of a regional committee. The exact role of the
board in the process has been a subject of debate, but the practical effect has always been small.
[66]
Since 1999, Regional Directors serve for a once-renewable five-year term. [67]
Each Regional Committee of the WHO consists of all the Health Department heads, in all the
governments of the countries that constitute the Region. Aside from electing the Regional Director, the
Regional Committee is also in charge of setting the guidelines for the implementation, within the region, of
the health and other policies adopted by the World Health Assembly. The Regional Committee also
serves as a progress review board for the actions of WHO within the Region.
The Regional Director is effectively the head of WHO for his or her Region. The RD manages and/or
supervises a staff of health and other experts at the regional offices and in specialized centers. The RD is
also the direct supervising authorityconcomitantly with the WHO Director-Generalof all the heads of
WHO country offices, known as WHO Representatives, within the Region.

Regional Offices of WHO

Region

Headquarters

Notes

Websit
e

Africa

AFRO includes most of Africa, with the exception

Brazzaville, Republic of of Egypt, Sudan, South
Congo
Sudan, Tunisia,Libya, Somalia and Morocco (all fall
under EMRO).[68][69]

AFRO

Europe

Copenhagen, Denmark
EURO includes most of Europe and Israel.[69]
.

EURO

South-East
Asia

North Korea is served by SEARO.[70]

SEARO

Eastern
Cairo, Egypt
Mediterranean

Eastern Mediterranean Regional office includes the

countries of Africa that are not included in AFRO, as
well as the countries of the Middle East, except for
Israel. Pakistan is served by EMRO.[71]

EMRO

Western
Pacific

Manila, Philippines.

WPRO covers all the Asian countries not served by

SEARO and EMRO, and all the countries in
Oceania. South Korea is served by WPRO.[72]

WPRO

The Americas

Washington D.C., USA.

Also known as the Pan American Health

Organization (PAHO), and covers the Americas.[73]

AMRO

New Delhi, India

People[edit source | editbeta]

Former Directors-General of WHO[74]

Name

Years of tenure

Brock Chisholm

19481953

Marcolino Gomes Candau

19531973

Halfdan T. Mahler

19731988

Hiroshi Nakajima

19881998

Gro Harlem Brundtland

19982003

Lee Jong-wook

20032006

Anders Nordstrm*

2006

*Acting Director-General following the death of Lee Jong-wook while in

office

The head of the organization is the Director-General, appointed by the World Health Assembly.[65] The
current Director-General isMargaret Chan, who was appointed on 9 November 2006.[75] On 18 January
2012, Chan was nominated by the WHO's Executive Board for a second term. If confirmed by the World
Health Assembly in May 2012, Dr Chan will remain Director-General until the end of June 2017. [76]
WHO employs 8,500 people in 147 countries.[77] In support of the principle of a tobacco-free work
environment the WHO does not recruit cigarette smokers. [78] The organization has previously instigated
the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003.[79]
The WHO operates "Goodwill Ambassadors", members of the arts, sport or other fields of public life
aimed at drawing attention to WHO's initiatives and projects. There are currently five Goodwill
Ambassadors (Jet Li, Nancy Brinker, Peng Liyuan, Yohei Sasakawaand the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra) and a further ambassador associated with a partnership project (Craig David).[80]

Country and liaison offices[edit source | editbeta]

The World Health Organization operates 147 country offices in all its regions. [81] It also operates several
liaison offices, including those with the European Union, United Nations and a single office covering
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It also operates the International Agency for Research
on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the WHO Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan.[82]Additional
offices include those in Pristina; the West Bank and Gaza; the USMexican Border Field Office in El
Paso; the Office of the Caribbean Program Coordination in Barbados; and Northern Micronesia office.
[83]
There will generally be one WHO country office in the capital, occasionally accompanied by satelliteoffices in the provinces or sub-regions of the country in question.
The country office is headed by a WHO Representative (WR). As of 2010, the only WHO Representative
outside Europe to be a national of that country was for the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya("Libya"); all other staff
were international. Those in the Region for the Americas, they are referred to as PAHO/WHO
Representatives. In Europe, WHO Representatives also serve as Head of Country Office, and are
nationals with the exception of Serbia; there are also Heads of Country Office in Albania, the Russian
Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.[83] The WR is member of the UN system country team
which is coordinated by the UN System Resident Coordinator.
The country office consists of the WR, and several health and other experts, both foreign and local, as
well as the necessary support staff.[81] The main functions of WHO country offices include being the
primary adviser of that country's government in matters of health and pharmaceutical policies. [84]

Financing and partnerships[edit source | editbeta]

The WHO is financed by contributions from member states and outside donors. As of 2012, the largest
annual assessed contributions from member states came from the United States ($110 million), Japan
($58 million), Germany ($37 million), United Kingdom ($31 million) and France ($31 million).[85] The
combined 20122013 budget has proposed a total expenditure of $3,959 million, of which $944 million
(24%) will come from assessed contributions. This represented a significant fall in outlay compared to the
previous 20092010 budget, adjusting to take account of previous underspends. Assessed contributions
were kept the same. Voluntary contributions will account for $3,015 million (76%), of which $800 million is
regarded as highly or moderately flexible funding, with the remainder tied to particular programmes or
objectives.[86]
In recent years, the WHO's work has involved increasing collaboration with external bodies. [87] As of 2002,
a total of 473 NGOs had some form of partnership with WHO. There were 189 partnerships with
international non-governmental organization (NGO) in formal "official relations" the rest being
considered informal in character.[88] Partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation[89] and
the Rockefeller Foundation.[90]

Controversies[edit source | editbeta]

IAEA Agreement WHA 1240[edit source | editbeta]

Demonstration on Chernobyl disaster day near WHO in Geneva

In 1959, the WHO signed Agreement WHA 1240 with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The agreement states that the WHO recognises the IAEA as having responsibility for peaceful nuclear
energy without prejudice to the roles of the WHO of promoting health. However, the following paragraph
adds: "whenever either organization proposes to initiate a programme or activity on a subject in which the
other organization has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view
to adjusting the matter by mutual agreement".[91] The nature of this statement has led some pressure
groups and activists (including Women in Europe for a Common Future) to believe that the WHO is
restricted in its ability to investigate the effects on human health of radiation caused by the use of nuclear
power and the continuing effects of nuclear disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima. They believe WHO
must regain what they see as "independence".[92][93][94]

Roman Catholic Church and AIDS[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Roman Catholic Church and AIDS
In 2003, the WHO denounced the Roman Curia's health department's opposition to the use of condoms,
saying: "These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global
pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least
42 million."[95] As of 2009, the Catholic Church remains opposed to increasing the use of contraception to
combat HIV/AIDS.[96] At the time, the World Health Assembly President, Guyana's Health Minister Leslie
Ramsammy, condemnedPope Benedict's opposition to contraception, saying he was trying to "create
confusion" and "impede" proven strategies in the battle against the disease. [97]

Intermittent preventive therapy[edit source | editbeta]

The aggressive support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for intermittent preventive
therapy of malaria which included the commissioning of a report from the Institute of Medicine triggered a
memo from the former WHO malaria chief Akira Kochi.[98]

Diet and sugar intake[edit source | editbeta]

Some of the research undertaken or supported by WHO to determine how people's lifestyles and
environments are influencing whether they live in better or worse health can be controversial, as
illustrated by a 2003 joint WHO/FAO report on nutrition and the prevention of chronic non-communicable
disease,[99] which recommended that sugar should form no more than 10% of a healthy diet. This report
led to lobbying by the sugar industry against the recommendation, to which the WHO/FAO responded by
including in the report the statement "The Consultation recognized that a population goal for free sugars
of less than 10% of total energy is controversial", but also stood by its recommendation based upon its
own analysis of scientific studies.[100]

2009 influenza pandemic[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: 2009 flu pandemic
In 2007, the WHO organized work on pandemic influenza vaccine development through clinical trials in
collaboration with many experts. A pandemic involving the H1N1 influenza virus was declared by DirectorGeneral Margaret Chan in April 2009.
By the post-pandemic period critics claimed the WHO had exaggerated the danger, spreading "fear and
confusion" rather than "immediate information".[101] Industry experts countered that the 2009 pandemic
had led to "unprecedented collaboration between global health authorities, scientists and manufacturers,
resulting in the most comprehensive pandemic response ever undertaken, with a number of vaccines
approved for use three months after the pandemic declaration. This response was only possible because
of the extensive preparations undertaken in during the last decade". [102]