| WHO headquarters in Geneva Copyright: WHO/Pierre Virot |
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. WHO was established by the UN on April 7, 1948.
After years of fighting smallpox, WHO declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated. It is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years.
Other than actually curing already occurring diseases, the organization also put a lot of effort into producing articles on the cause of diseases. Leading to that they besides eradicating disease also, for instance, makes campaigns to boost consumption of vegetables world wide, take a negative stance towards tobacco, and research whether or not the electromagnetic field surrounding cell phones have a negative influence on health.
Members of the UN appoint delegations to the World Health Assembly, which votes for the WHO Director General -- currently, Jong-Wook Lee.
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