World Health Organization (WHO)

About WHO

·       The World Health Organization (WHO) is the specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It provides global leadership on health issues, develops international health standards, supports countries with technical assistance and monitors health trends and disease outbreaks.

·       The WHO Constitution was adopted on 22 July 1946 and entered into force on 7 April 1948, which is observed annually as World Health Day.

·       The WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and currently works with 194 Member States across six regions.

·       The constitutional objective of WHO is “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.” The WHO Constitution also defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, rather than merely the absence of disease.

Objectives of WHO

·   Promoting Universal Health: WHO works towards ensuring that all people can attain the highest possible level of health, irrespective of their economic or social conditions.

·   Disease Prevention and Control: It supports countries in preventing, detecting and controlling communicable and non-communicable diseases, including through vaccination, surveillance and health-system interventions.

·   Universal Health Coverage: WHO promotes Universal Health Coverage (UHC) so that people can access essential health services without suffering financial hardship.

·   Global Health Emergency Preparedness: It strengthens international capacity for the prevention, preparedness, detection and response to epidemics, pandemics and other health emergencies.

·   Health Standards and Norms: WHO develops evidence-based international standards, guidelines, classifications and technical recommendations for health systems and public-health interventions.

Composition and Organisational Structure

WHO’s governance operates primarily through the World Health Assembly, Executive Board and Secretariat, supported by six regional organisations.

·   World Health Assembly

o   The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the supreme decision-making body of WHO and consists of delegations from all 194 Member States.

o   It determines the broad policies of WHO, approves the programme budget, elects members of the Executive Board and takes decisions on major global health issues.

·   Executive Board

o   The Executive Board consists of 34 technically qualified members, elected by the World Health Assembly for three-year terms.

o   It implements the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly and facilitates its work by preparing the agenda and resolutions for consideration by the Assembly.

·   Director-General

o   The Director-General is the chief technical and administrative officer of WHO and is appointed by the World Health Assembly on the nomination of the Executive Board. The current Director-General is Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose second five-year term began in August 2022.

·   Six Regional Offices

o   WHO operates through six regional offices covering Africa, the Americas, South-East Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific regions.

o   India is part of the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEARO).

Major Functions of WHO

·   Disease Surveillance: WHO monitors disease outbreaks and supports countries in developing systems for early detection, surveillance and rapid response to health threats.

·   International Health Standards: It develops international standards and guidelines covering areas such as medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, disease classification, health emergencies and public-health practices.

·   Technical Assistance: WHO provides technical expertise to Member States in areas such as health-system strengthening, disease control, maternal and child health, nutrition and health financing.

·   Health Emergency Response: WHO coordinates international health responses during epidemics, pandemics, humanitarian crises and other public-health emergencies.

·   Research and Evidence: It promotes health research, collects global health data and provides evidence-based policy recommendations to governments.

·   Universal Health Coverage: WHO supports countries in expanding access to affordable, quality and essential healthcare services.

·   Essential Medicines and Vaccines: It works towards improving access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and health technologies.

·   Global Health Coordination: WHO acts as a platform for coordinating governments, international organisations, scientific institutions and other stakeholders on major global health challenges.

Role of WHO During Pandemics and Major Health Emergencies

WHO’s role during pandemics primarily involves global surveillance, technical guidance, international coordination, risk communication and support to national health systems.

·   COVID-19 Pandemic

o   During COVID-19, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

o   WHO issued technical guidance on testing, surveillance, contact tracing, quarantine, isolation, infection prevention, treatment protocols and risk communication, while coordinating international efforts to contain the pandemic.

·   WHO and India During COVID-19

o   WHO India worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ICMR, NCDC, NDMA and NITI Aayog and supported India in areas including surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, hospital preparedness, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement.

o   WHO also supported India’s COVID-19 response through technical guidance, field-level assistance and capacity building, while helping maintain essential health services such as immunisation and maternal, newborn and child health services.

·   Ebola Outbreaks

o   During Ebola outbreaks, WHO has coordinated international surveillance, risk communication, clinical guidance, vaccination strategies and emergency response while working with affected countries and international partners.

·   Polio Eradication

o   WHO has played a major role in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, supporting surveillance, vaccination and laboratory networks across countries.

·   Pandemic Agreement

o   The COVID-19 experience led WHO Member States to negotiate a new framework for pandemic preparedness. The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the 78th World Health Assembly on 20 May 2025, with the objective of strengthening international cooperation on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

·   Triple Billion Targets

o   Under its 13th General Programme of Work (GPW 13), WHO adopted the Triple Billion targets, seeking to ensure that by 2023 1 billion more people benefited from universal health coverage, 1 billion more people were better protected from health emergencies and 1 billion more people enjoyed better health and well-being.

·   Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance

o   WHO coordinates global efforts to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by promoting responsible antimicrobial use, surveillance, infection prevention and research into new medicines and diagnostics

·   End TB Strategy

o   WHO’s End TB Strategy, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2014, aims to end the global tuberculosis epidemic by reducing TB deaths, incidence and catastrophic costs faced by affected households.

·   Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs

o   WHO’s global action on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) focuses on reducing premature deaths from conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases through prevention and stronger health systems.

WHO and India

·       India became a party to the WHO Constitution on 12 January 1948 and is a Member State of the WHO South-East Asia Region. The first session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia was held in India in October 1948.

·       The WHO Country Office for India is headquartered in New Delhi and has a country-wide presence. WHO works with India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other national and state institutions on a wide range of public-health priorities.

·   Disease Eradication and Control

o   WHO has been an important partner in India’s efforts against polio, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases and other communicable diseases.

o   The National Polio Surveillance Project, supported by WHO, played an important role in strengthening surveillance that contributed to India’s interruption of wild poliovirus transmission in 2011 and its subsequent polio-free certification in 2014.

·   COVID-19 Response

o   During COVID-19, WHO India worked with the Government of India on surveillance, laboratory testing, contact tracing, infection prevention, case management, hospital preparedness and risk communication.

·   Pandemic Preparedness

o   India and WHO have also worked together under the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative, and India operationalised its national respiratory-pandemic preparedness planning in cooperation with WHO in December 2023.

·   Health-System Strengthening

o   WHO supports India in areas such as Universal Health Coverage, primary healthcare, health-system preparedness, essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, health data and innovation.

Challenges Faced by WHO

·       Limited financial and institutional resources constrain WHO’s ability to respond effectively to the growing number of global health emergencies and long-term health challenges.

·       Dependence on Member States for funding can create concerns regarding the flexibility and independence of the organisation’s priorities and operations.

·       Geopolitical divisions among Member States can make consensus-based decision-making difficult during international health emergencies.

·       Unequal access to vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and health technologies continues to create major disparities between developed and developing countries.

·       Weak health systems and inadequate surveillance capacity in some countries can delay the detection and containment of emerging infectious diseases.

·       The increasing frequency of pandemics, climate-related health risks, antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases has expanded the demands placed on WHO.

·       Misinformation and disinformation during health emergencies can undermine public trust and make risk communication more difficult.

·       The COVID-19 experience exposed weaknesses in global pandemic preparedness and highlighted the need for stronger international coordination, transparency and equitable access to medical countermeasures.

Conclusion

Global health security is indivisible; an outbreak that begins in one part of the world can rapidly become a global threat. Strengthening WHO’s authority, resources and coordination capacity, while ensuring equity and national ownership, is therefore essential for building a resilient global health architecture.

FAQs

1. When did WHO come into existence?

The WHO Constitution was adopted on 22 July 1946 and entered into force on 7 April 1948, marking the formal establishment of WHO.

2. How many Member States does WHO have?

WHO currently has 194 Member States organised across six regions.

3. Which is the supreme decision-making body of WHO?

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the supreme decision-making body of WHO.

4. How many members are there in the WHO Executive Board?

The WHO Executive Board consists of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms.

5. When was COVID-19 declared a pandemic by WHO?

WHO characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, after declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020.