World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is an international organization with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and regional offices around the world. The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. As defined by the WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The organization has a wide range of functions including acting as the directing and coordinating authority on international health; assisting governments, upon request, in strengthening health services; furnishing appropriate technical assistance and, in emergencies, necessary aid; and stimulating and advancing work on the prevention and control of epidemic, endemic, and other diseases. WHO is also committed to promoting, in cooperation with other agencies, the improvement of nutrition, housing, and sanitation; coordinating biomedical research; and promoting improved standards of teaching health-related professions. The World Health Organization also establishes and stimulates the establishment of international standards for biological, pharmaceutical, and similar products and standardizes diagnostic procedures; fosters activities in the field of mental health, particularly those activities affecting the harmony of human relations; proposes conventions, agreements, and regulations and makes recommendations about international nomenclature of diseases, causes of death, and public health practices; and develops, establishes, and promotes international standards concerning foods and biological, pharmaceutical, and similar substances.