World Health Organization (WHO), Structure, Funding

Table of Contents☰

World Health Organization Latest News

The World Health Organization chief recently asked global leaders to lean on Washington to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency.

About World Health Organization

It is the United Nations specialized agency for health.
It was established in 1948 with the objective of the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.
Each year WHO celebrates its date of establishment, April 7, 1948, as World Health Day.
Health, as defined in the WHO Constitution, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
WHO is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
It has 193 member countries and two associate members.
It has its administrative headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

World Health Organization Structure

The governance of WHO operates through the World Health Assembly, which meets annually as the general policy-making body, and through an Executive Board of health specialists elected for three-year terms by the assembly.
The agency is led by a director general nominated by the Executive Board and appointed by the World Health Assembly.

World Health Organization Funding

Roughly 16 percent of the budget comes from mandatory dues paid by members; the rest is made up of voluntary donations from governments and private partners.
In recent years, the top voluntary contributors have included the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.