28 World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is one of a number of intergovernmental agencies which work in close relationship with each other and with the UN to which they are affiliated. Thus, by definition, and in line with the UN Charter, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the world's agency for international cooperation in improving the physical and menial health of all. It helps member nations in launching campaigns to stamp out mass diseases, coordinates efforts to prevent the spread of epidemics, trains health workers at all levels, and promotes international medical research.

The idea of having an international body to deal with problems of world health dates back to 1943, the year that saw the setting up of the United Nations as such. Already at that time, the founding members unanimously agreed that an "International health organization" should be set up. As a result, the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization came into being the following year and, on April 7, 1948, the permanent organization was formally constituted.

WHO has its headquarters in Geneva. Switzerland, and its policies are agreed upon of the annual meetings of the World Health Assembly.

WHO has achieved an impressive record in pursuing its main aim, especially in The battle against some of the world's most virulent diseases. Its most remarkable success has been the campaign against smallpox and malaria, the

former now completely eradicated from the earth.

Malaria has been eliminated or brought under control in many countries where n once spread debilitation and death.

Intensive campaigns are being waged against yellow fever, tuberculosis and leprosy. WHO is helping a total of more than twenty countries to fight trachoma, a preventable eye disease, which is known to have brought blindness to two million people. It has played a part of honour in the development and testing of poliomyelitis and measles vaccines, and it has kept a watch on cholera, plague, yellow fever, influenza and rabies to give a timely warning lo national health authorities.

In recent years, the emphasis has shifted to the long-term tasks of building tip permanent health services and improving environmental conditions to eliminate the causes of diseases, build up resistance and maintain the progress won. In other words, the stress is more on prevention than on cure,

The World Health Organization now gives extensive support to doctors' training, nursing services to mothers and children, family planning as a means of improving family health, water supply and waste disposal systems and lo health laboratories. More than ever before, WHO's efforts are aimed at environmental control on an international scale. WHO has a great task ahead of it coordinating the worldwide campaign against AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Cholera, thought to be under control in most

countries, suddenly spread and invaded areas where it had not been seen for fifty years. Insects began developing resistance to insecticides, thus foiling disease control programmer.

In spite of all this, WHO stands out as an indispensable international health effort-coordinating centre. There is good enough reason to celebrate the World Health Organization's anniversary on April 7-th as World Health Day.

1 Answer the following questions:

1 When was WHO founded and why? 2 What has been WHO’s part in the vaccination and inoculation campaigns? 3 What are the present-day objectives pursued by WHO? 4 Why are insects resistant to insecticides? 5 What about the case of cholera? 6 Why is WHO increasingly concerned with environmental problems? 7 Is WHO concerned with mental as well as physical health? 8 Where are the headquarters of WHO? 9 Do failures of any kind affect the image of WHO as a whole? 10 What is the significance of April 7th?

2 Write a plan of the text.

3 Now that you have read the text, answered the questions and written your plan, render the text.

Supplementary reading. World Health Organization. Definition of Health

As sciense has progressed, the definition of health has evolved. One of the most frequently quoted definitions is the one presented in 1947 by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO states that health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1947, p. 1). Thus, according to WHO, to be healthy, a person must be in a state of well-being physically, mentally, and socially. Health professionals have found this concept problematic because achieving a state of “health” seems to be an unrealistic goal. This definition does not allow for degrees of health or illness, and it fails to reflect the dynamic, ever-changing nature of health.

A concept related to health is homeostasis, or internal equilibrium or balance. When a person experiences a disturbance in homeostasis, he or she is considered to be “unhealthy”. Like the WHO definition of health, this concept is losing popularity because “stasis” implies an unchanging state and most theorists today believe that health is always changing.

Make a report about the health state of an individual, using the given scheme:

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