Executive summary
The evolution of WHO
The first World Health Assembly, held in June 1948 and attended by 53 delegates from WHO's 55 Member States, approved a programme of work that listed its top priorities as malaria, maternal and child health, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, nutrition and environmental sanitation.
Today, 47 years later, in spite of significant improvements in human health, great burdens of suffering and disease are still with us. Half a century of lessons learned in eradicating and controlling diseases, expanding health care coverage and making the best use of available resources have guided the world community, including WHO, on the way to further progress.