Editing World Health Organization (section)

==History==

===Origin and founding===
The [[International Sanitary Conferences]] (ISC), the first of which was held on 23 June 1851, were a series of conferences that took place until 1938, about 87 years.<ref name="SanCon">{{Cite book |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |title=The scientific background of the International Sanitary Conferences, 1851–1938 |last=Howard-Jones |first=Norman |chapter=Introduction |pages=9–11 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=1974 |access-date=3 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820070452/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first conference, in Paris, was almost solely concerned with [[cholera]], which would remain the disease of major concern for the ISC for most of the 19th century. With the [[cause (medicine)|cause]], origin, and communicability of many epidemic diseases still uncertain and a matter of scientific argument, international agreement on appropriate measures was difficult to reach.<ref name="SanCon"/>
Seven of these international conferences, spanning 41 years, were convened before any resulted in a multi-state international agreement. The seventh conference, in Venice in 1892, finally resulted in a convention. It was concerned only with the sanitary control of shipping traversing the [[Suez Canal]], and was an effort to guard against importation of cholera.<ref name="SanCon7">{{Cite book |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |title=The scientific background of the International Sanitary Conferences, 1851–1938 |last=Howard-Jones |first=Norman |chapter=The seventh conference: Venice, 1892 |pages=58–65 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=1974 |access-date=3 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820070452/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|65}}

Five years later, in 1897, a convention concerning the [[bubonic plague]] was signed by sixteen of the nineteen states attending the Venice conference. While [[Denmark]], [[Sweden-Norway]], and the US did not sign this convention, it was unanimously agreed that the work of the prior conferences should be codified for implementation.<ref name="SanCon10">{{Cite book |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |title=The scientific background of the International Sanitary Conferences, 1851–1938 |last=Howard-Jones |first=Norman |chapter=The tenth conference: Venice, 1897 |pages=78–80 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=1974 |access-date=3 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820070452/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequent conferences, from 1902 until the final one in 1938, widened the diseases of concern for the ISC, and included discussions of responses to [[yellow fever]], [[brucellosis]], [[leprosy]], [[tuberculosis]], and [[typhoid]].<ref name="SanCon13">{{Cite book |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |title=The scientific background of the International Sanitary Conferences, 1851–1938 |last=Howard-Jones |first=Norman |chapter=The thirteenth and fourteenth conferences: Paris, 1926 and 1938 |pages=93–98 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=1974 |access-date=3 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820070452/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/62873/1/14549_eng.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In part as a result of the successes of the Conferences, the [[Pan-American Sanitary Bureau]] (1902), and the {{lang|fr|[[Office International d'Hygiène Publique]]|italic=no}} or "[[International Office of Public Hygiene|International office of Public Hygiene]]" in English (1907) were soon founded. When the [[League of Nations]] was formed in 1920, it established the Health Organization of the League of Nations. After [[World War II]], the [[United Nations]] absorbed all the other health organizations, to form the WHO.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McCarthy |first=Michael |date=October 2002 |title=A brief history of the World Health Organization. |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=360 |issue=9340 |pages=1111–1112 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11244-x|pmid=12387972 |s2cid=2076539}}</ref>

The WHO has played a crucial role in coordinating the global response to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, providing essential guidelines on preventive measures, supporting research on vaccines, and facilitating vaccine distribution through initiatives like COVAX.<ref>World Health Organization. (2021). "COVID-19 Dashboard." <nowiki>https://covid19.who.int/</nowiki></ref>

===Establishment===
During the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization, [[Szeming Sze]], a delegate from China, conferred with Norwegian and Brazilian delegates on creating an international health organization under the auspices of the new United Nations. After failing to get a resolution passed on the subject, [[Alger Hiss]], the secretary general of the conference, recommended using a declaration to establish such an organization. Sze and other delegates lobbied and a declaration passed calling for an international conference on health.<ref name="Pitt ULS">{{Cite web |title=Request Rejected |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead;cc=ascead;q1=Szeming%20Sze;rgn=main;view=text;didno=US-PPiU-ua90f141 |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=digital.library.pitt.edu}}</ref> The use of the word "world", rather than "international", emphasized the truly global nature of what the organization was seeking to achieve.<ref name="bmj1948">{{cite journal |title=World Health Organization |journal=[[The British Medical Journal]] |volume=2 |number=4570 |date=7 August 1948 |pages=302–303 |jstor=25364565 |doi=10.1136/bmj.2.4570.302 |pmc=1614381}}</ref> The constitution of the World Health Organization was signed by all 51 countries of the United Nations, and by 10 other countries, on 22 July 1946.<ref name=chronicle_1947>{{cite journal|title=The Move towards a New Health Organization: International Health Conference |journal=Chronicle of the World Health Organization |volume=1 |issue=1–2 |pages=6–11 |url=http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hist/chronicles/chronicle_1947.pdf |year=1947 |access-date=18 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809031008/http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hist/chronicles/chronicle_1947.pdf}}</ref> It thus became the first specialized agency of the United Nations to which every member subscribed.<ref name="shimkin">{{cite journal |title=The World Health Organization |first=Michael B. |last=Shimkin |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=104 |number=2700 |date=27 September 1946 |pages=281–283 |jstor=1674843 |doi=10.1126/science.104.2700.281 |pmid=17810349 |citeseerx=10.1.1.1016.3166 |bibcode=1946Sci...104..281S}}</ref> Its constitution formally came into force on the first [[World Health Day]] on 7 April 1948, when it was ratified by the 26th member state.<ref name=chronicle_1947/> The WHO formally began its work on September 1, 1948.<ref name="Ascher-1952" />

The first meeting of the [[World Health Assembly]] finished on 24 July 1948, having secured a budget of {{US$|5 million}} (then {{GBP|1250000}}) for the 1949 year. [[G. Brock Chisholm]] was appointed director-general of the WHO, having served as executive secretary and a founding member during the planning stages,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nUWR85ThEfAC&pg=PA151 |isbn=9780802082596 |title=Normalizing the Ideal: Psychology, Schooling, and the Family in Postwar Canada |date=January 1999|publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164809/https://books.google.com/books?id=nUWR85ThEfAC&pg=PA151 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bmj1948" /> while [[Andrija Štampar]] was the assembly's first president. Its first priorities were to control the spread of [[malaria]], [[tuberculosis]] and [[sexually transmitted infection]]s, and to improve [[maternal health|maternal]] and [[child health]], nutrition and environmental hygiene.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Origins, history, and achievements of the World Health Organization |journal=[[BMJ]] |pmc=1985854 |pmid=4869199 |volume=2 |issue=5600 |year=1968 |first=Charles |last=J |pages=293–296 |doi=10.1136/bmj.2.5600.293}}</ref> Its first legislative act was concerning the compilation of accurate statistics on the spread and morbidity of disease.<ref name="bmj1948" /> The logo of the World Health Organization features the [[Rod of Asclepius]] as a symbol for healing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.who.org.ph/ |title=World Health Organization Philippines |publisher=WHO |access-date=27 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235921/http://www.who.org.ph/ |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1959, the WHO signed Agreement WHA 12–40 with the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA), which says:<ref name="Independence-for-WHO" />

{{Cquote
| quote = whenever either organization proposes to initiate a programme or activity on a subject in which the other organization has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view to adjusting the matter by mutual agreement.
}}

The nature of this statement has led some groups and activists including [[Women in Europe for a Common Future]] to claim that the WHO is restricted in its ability to investigate the [[Acute radiation syndrome|effects on human health of radiation]] caused by the use of [[nuclear power]] and the continuing effects of [[Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents|nuclear disasters]] in [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]] and [[Fukushima nuclear disaster|Fukushima]]. They believe WHO must regain what they see as independence.<ref name="Independence-for-WHO">{{cite web |last=Independence for WHO |title=Appeal by Health Professionals for Independence of the World Health Organization |url=http://www.ippnw-europe.org/commonFiles/pdfs/Atomenergie/appeal_healthprofessionals.pdf |access-date=19 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726185407/http://www.ippnw-europe.org/commonFiles/pdfs/Atomenergie/appeal_healthprofessionals.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Women in Europe for a Common Future |title=Open letter on the WHO/IAEA Agreement of 1959 |url=http://www.wecf.eu/download/2010/04/letterIAEA-WHO.pdf |access-date=19 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720173738/http://www.wecf.eu/download/2010/04/letterIAEA-WHO.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.activistmagazine.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=703 |title=World Health Organization Accommodates Atomic Agency |date=3 June 2007 |work=Activist Magazine |access-date=27 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928232353/http://www.activistmagazine.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=703 |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> Independent WHO held a weekly vigil from 2007 to 2017 in front of WHO headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://independentwho.org/en/ |title=The World Health Organisation (WHO) is failing in its duty to protect those populations who are victims of radioactive contamination. |date=2020 |website=IndependentWHO |language=en-US |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323034159/http://independentwho.org/en/ |archive-date=23 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, as pointed out by Foreman<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Foreman |first=Mark R. St J. |date=2018-01-01 |editor-last=Slawin |editor-first=Alexandra Martha Zoya |title=Reactor accident chemistry an update |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23312009.2018.1450944 |journal=Cogent Chemistry |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1450944 |doi=10.1080/23312009.2018.1450944|doi-access=free }}</ref> in clause 2 it states:

{{Cquote
| quote = In particular, and in accordance with the Constitution of the World Health Organization and the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its agreement with the United Nations together with the exchange of letters related thereto, and taking into account the respective co-ordinating responsibilities of both organizations, it is recognized by the World Health Organization that the International Atomic Energy Agency has the primary responsibility for encouraging, assisting and co-ordinating research and development and practical application of atomic energy for peaceful uses throughout the world without prejudice to the right of the World Health Organization to concern itself with promoting, developing, assisting and co-ordinating international health work, including research, in all its aspects.
}}

The key text is highlighted in bold, the agreement in clause 2 states that the WHO is free to perform any health-related work.

=== Operational history ===
1947: The WHO established an [[Epidemiology|epidemiological]] information service via [[telex]].<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|5}}

1949: The [[Soviet Union]] and its constituent republics quit the WHO over the organization's unwillingness to share the [[penicillin]] recipe. They would not return until 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2024 |script-title=ru:"Больше не считает себя членом Всемирной организации здравоохранения" |title="Bol'she ne schitayet sebya chlenom Vsemirnoy organizatsii zdravookhraneniya" |trans-title="No longer considers itself a member of the World Health Organization" |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6507677 |access-date=11 February 2024 |website=[[Коммерсантъ]] |language=ru |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211063710/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6507677 |url-status=live}}</ref>

1950: A mass [[tuberculosis]] inoculation drive using the [[BCG vaccine]] gets under way.<ref name="WHO-2" />{{rp|8}}

1955: The malaria eradication programme was launched, although objectives were later modified. (In most areas, the programme goals became control instead of eradication.)<ref name="WHO-2">{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/who60/media/exhibition_brochure.pdf |title=WHO at 60 |publisher=WHO |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617063811/http://www.who.int/who60/media/exhibition_brochure.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|9}}

1958: [[Viktor Zhdanov]], Deputy Minister of Health for the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], called on the [[World Health Assembly]] to undertake a global initiative to [[Eradication of infectious diseases|eradicate]] smallpox, resulting in Resolution WHA11.54.<ref name="fenner3">{{cite book |last1=Fenner |first1=Frank |last2=Henderson |first2=Donald A |last3=Arita |first3=Isao |last4=Jezek |first4=Zdenek |last5=Ladnyi |first5=Ivan Danilovich |title=Smallpox and its eradication |date=1988 |publisher=World Health Organization |location=Geneva |isbn=92-4-156110-6 |page=vii |url=https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39485 |chapter=Foreword |hdl=10665/39485 |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526044554/https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39485 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= Fenner2>{{cite book |last1=Fenner |first1=Frank |last2=Henderson |first2=Donald A |last3=Arita |first3=Isao |last4=Jezek |first4=Zdenek |last5=Ladnyi |first5=Ivan Danilovich |author1-link=Frank Fenner |author2-link=Donald Henderson |author3-link=Isao Arita |title=Smallpox and its eradication |date=1988 |publisher=World Health Organization |location=Geneva |isbn=92-4-156110-6 |pages=364–419 |url=https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39485 |chapter=Development of the global smallpox eradication programme, 1958-1966 |hdl=10665/39485 |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526044554/https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39485 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|366–371, 393, 399, 419}}<!--Really, the entire chapter is a discussion of this, so, to be fair, page range was NOT too broad. FWIW, though, noting the pp. with substantive points here. It looks a bit strange and cluttered.-->

1965: The first report on [[diabetes mellitus]] and the creation of the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer]].<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|10–11}}

1966: The WHO moved its headquarters from the Ariana wing at the [[Palace of Nations]] to a newly constructed headquarters elsewhere in Geneva.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/archives/exhibits/galleries/building/en/|title=Construction of the main WHO building|year=2016|website=who.int|publisher=WHO|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611011659/http://www.who.int/archives/exhibits/galleries/building/en/|archive-date=11 June 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="WHO-2"/>

1967: The WHO intensified the global [[smallpox]] eradication campaign by contributing $2.4&nbsp;million annually to the effort and adopted a new [[disease surveillance]] method,<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www1.szu.cz/svi/cejph/archiv/2010-1-10-full.pdf |first=Vladimír |last=Zikmund |title=Karel Raška and Smallpox |journal=Central European Journal of Public Health |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=55–56 |date=March 2010 |pmid=20586232 |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011215018/http://www1.szu.cz/svi/cejph/archiv/2010-1-10-full.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www1.szu.cz/svi/cejph/archiv/2010-1-11-full.pdf |last1=Holland |first1=Walter W. |title=Karel Raška – The Development of Modern Epidemiology. The role of the IEA |journal=Central European Journal of Public Health |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=57–60 |date=March 2010 |pmid=20586233 |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011215323/http://www1.szu.cz/svi/cejph/archiv/2010-1-11-full.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> at a time when 2 million people were dying from smallpox per year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenspan |first1=Jesse |title=The Rise and Fall of Smallpox |url=https://www.history.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-smallpox |website=History |access-date=26 January 2021 |date=7 May 2015 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121122259/https://www.history.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-smallpox |url-status=live}}</ref> The initial problem the WHO team faced was inadequate reporting of smallpox cases. WHO established a network of consultants who assisted countries in setting up surveillance and containment activities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Orenstein |first1=Walter A. |last2=Plotkin |first2=Stanley A. |title=Vaccines |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=smallpox&rid=vacc.section.45#47 |publisher=W.B. Saunders Co |location=Philadelphia |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7216-7443-8 |access-date=18 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212062827/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=smallpox&rid=vacc.section.45#47 |archive-date=12 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The WHO also helped contain the last European [[1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak|outbreak in Yugoslavia in 1972]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Colette |last=Flight |date=17 February 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/smallpox_03.shtml |title=Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge |work=BBC History |access-date=24 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214152400/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/smallpox_03.shtml |archive-date=14 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> After over two decades of fighting smallpox, a Global Commission declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated – the first disease in history to be eliminated by human effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/2010/smallpox_20100618/en/ |title=Anniversary of smallpox eradication |website= WHO Media Centre |date=18 June 2010 |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617073353/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/2010/smallpox_20100618/en/ |archive-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

1974: The [[Expanded Programme on Immunization]]<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|13}} and the control programme of [[onchocerciasis]] was started, an important partnership between the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO), the [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP), and the [[World Bank]].<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|14}}

1975: The WHO launched the [[Tropical disease#Health programmes|Special Programme for Research and Training]] in [[Tropical disease]]s (the TDR).<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|15}} Co-sponsored by [[UNICEF]], UNDP, and the World Bank, it was established in response to a 1974 request from the WHA for an intensive effort to develop improved control of tropical diseases. The TDR's goals are, firstly, to support and coordinate international research into diagnosis, treatment and control of tropical diseases; and, secondly, to strengthen research capabilities within endemic countries.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=WHO Division of Control of Tropical Diseases (CTD) |journal=Tropical Diseases |title=UNDP – World Bank – WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) |url=http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/001-614/001-614.html |via=Columbia.edu |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=11 July 2021 |location=Geneva |id=TDR-CTD/HH 90.1 |date=1990 |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423152944/http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/001-614/001-614.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

1976: The WHA enacted a resolution on [[disability]] prevention and [[Physical medicine and rehabilitation|rehabilitation]], with a focus on community-driven care.<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|16}}

1977 and 1978: The first list of [[essential medicines]] was drawn up,<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|17}} and a year later the ambitious goal of "[[Health For All]]" was declared.<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|18}}

[[File:Directors of Global Smallpox Eradication Program.jpg|thumb|Three former directors of the [[Smallpox#Eradication|Global Smallpox Eradication Programme]] read the news that smallpox had been globally eradicated, 1980.]]

1986: The WHO began its global programme on [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|20}} Two years later preventing discrimination against patients was attended to<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|21}} and in 1996 the [[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS]] (UNAIDS) was formed.<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|23}}

1988: The [[Global Polio Eradication Initiative]] was established.<ref name="WHO-2" />{{rp|22}}

1995: The WHO established an independent International Commission for the Certification of [[Eradication of dracunculiasis|Dracunculiasis Eradication]] (Guinea worm disease eradication; ICCDE).<ref name="WHO-2" />{{rp|23}} The ICCDE recommends to the WHO which countries fulfil requirements for certification. It also has role in advising on progress made towards elimination of transmission and processes for verification.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Division of Control of Tropical Disease |title=Criteria for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication |date=1996 |publisher=World Health Organization |location=Geneva |page=2 |edition=Revised |url=https://www.who.int/dracunculiasis/resources/Criteria_for_certification_dracunculiasis_1996.pdf |id=[WHO reference:WHO/FIL/96.187 Rev.1] |access-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020231617/https://www.who.int/dracunculiasis/resources/Criteria_for_certification_dracunculiasis_1996.pdf |archive-date=20 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

1998: The WHO's director-general highlighted gains in child survival, reduced [[infant mortality]], increased [[life expectancy]] and reduced rates of "scourges" such as smallpox and [[polio]] on the fiftieth anniversary of WHO's founding. He, did, however, accept that more had to be done to assist maternal health and that progress in this area had been slow.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1998/WHD_98.1-13.pdf |title=World Health Day: Safe Motherhood |date=7 April 1998 |publisher=WHO |page=1 |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617063313/http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1998/WHD_98.1-13.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

2000: The [[Stop TB Partnership]] was created along with the UN's formulation of the [[Millennium Development Goals]].<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|24}}

2001: The [[measles]] initiative was formed, and credited with reducing global deaths from the disease by 68% by 2007.<ref name="WHO-2"/>{{rp|26}}

2002: [[The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria]] was drawn up to improve the resources available.<ref name="WHO-2" />{{rp|27}}

2005: The WHO revises [[International Health Regulations]] (IHR) in light of emerging health threats and the experience of the [[2002–2004 SARS outbreak|2002/3 SARS epidemic]], authorizing WHO, among other things, to declare a health threat a [[Public Health Emergency of International Concern]].<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1177/0967010614535833|title = WHO decides on the exception? Securitization and emergency governance in global health|year = 2014|last1 = Hanrieder|first1 = Tine|last2 = Kreuder-Sonnen|first2 = Christian|journal = Security Dialogue|volume = 45|issue = 4|pages = 331–348|s2cid = 53580076|doi-access = free|hdl = 10419/190829|hdl-access = free}}</ref>

2006: The WHO endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit for Zimbabwe, which formed the basis for global prevention, treatment, and support the plan to fight the [[AIDS pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |editor-first=Mu |editor-last=Xuequan |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/04/content_5167991.htm |title=Zimbabwe launches world's 1st AIDS training package |publisher=chinaview.cn |agency=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |date=4 October 2006 |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005041107/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/04/content_5167991.htm |archive-date=5 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Zimbabwe Launches First Official HIV Prevention, Treatment, Support Toolkit |url=https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/dr00040239/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=KFF Health News |language=en-US}}</ref>

2006: The WHO launches the [[Global action plan for influenza vaccines]]

2016: The [[Global action plan for influenza vaccines]] ends with a report which concludes that ''while substantial progress has been made over the 10 years of the Plan, the world is still not ready to respond to an [[influenza pandemic]].''

2016: Following the perceived failure of the response to the [[Western African Ebola virus epidemic|West Africa Ebola outbreak]], the World Health Emergencies programme was formed, changing the WHO from just being a "normative" agency to one that responds operationally to health emergencies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ebola then and now: Eight lessons from West Africa that were applied in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/ebola-then-and-now |access-date=12 October 2021 |website=World Health Organization |language=en |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024161023/https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/ebola-then-and-now |url-status=live}}</ref>

2020: the World Health Organization announced that it had classified the [[COVID-19 pandemic|novel coronavirus outbreak]] as a public health emergency of international concern. The [[novel coronavirus]] was a new strain of [[coronavirus]] that had never been detected in humans before. The WHO named this new coronavirus "[[COVID-19]]" or "[[SARS-CoV-2|2019-nCov]]".

2022: The WHO suggests formation of a Global Health Emergency Council, with a new global health emergency workforce, and recommends revision of the International Health Regulations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strengthening the Global Architecture for Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience |url=https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/strengthening-the-global-architecture-for-health-emergency-preparedness-response-and-resilience |access-date=13 May 2022 |publisher=World Health Organization |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513233126/https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/strengthening-the-global-architecture-for-health-emergency-preparedness-response-and-resilience |url-status=live}}</ref>

2024: WHO has declared the spread of [[mpox]] (formerly monkeypox) in several African countries a [[Public health emergency of international concern|public health emergency]] of international concern, marking the second such declaration in the last two years due to the virus's transmission.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Branswell |first=Helen |date=14 August 2024 |title=WHO declares mpox outbreak a global health emergency |url=https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/14/who-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-global-health-emergency/ |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=STAT |language=en-US |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814200147/https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/14/who-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-global-health-emergency/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--Lo3IayMbqmClQ3ftlWpD_vCc7zY58cK2aPYEsfY1vLSBJhWxLv9n_pi_jUqcQkZY-Ts6igSZCp8pUj_f_agSEq7asDQ&_hsmi=320109701&utm_content=320109701&utm_source=hs_email |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-14 |title=WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spreads |url=https://apnews.com/article/who-mpox-africa-health-emergency-cc9bdf31b49d06bec5efd44fb55d5e42 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=16 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816004320/https://apnews.com/article/who-mpox-africa-health-emergency-cc9bdf31b49d06bec5efd44fb55d5e42 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=WHO declares Mpox global health emergency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg35w27gzno |access-date=14 August 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814200751/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg35w27gzno |url-status=live}}</ref>