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Initiative 1

The role of the World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) can help mobilize the partners and develop the policies that will prevent and control infectious diseases. There is still a window of opportunity to make dramatic progress against the diseases that have been with us for thousands of years and to establish an early warning system to protect from new and unexpected diseases.

WHO was created in 1948 and today, with over 190 Member States, it is the lead agency in international health. WHO's goal is to foster the attainment by all peoples – especially the poor and most vulnerable – of the highest possible standards of health. The guiding principles of WHO are:

  • "We can't do it alone, so we work in partnership with others."
  • "We can't do it all at once so we set priorities. Priority setting helps focus the world's attention, resources and actions on innovative and cost-effective public health action with specific goals and measurable results."
  • "WHO is the health conscience of the world."

General WHO information can be accessed at www.who.int

© World Health Organization 1999
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