You’ve likely heard of the World Health Organisation (WHO) through various channels – news broadcasts, research papers, social media, or public health campaigns.
The organisation’s presence is felt globally, and its influence is undeniable. But have you ever wondered what role WHO plays in protecting our health or how it does it?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) works tirelessly across the globe, promoting health, preventing the spread of diseases, and protecting the most vulnerable populations.
Its relentless efforts are not limited to a specific region but are felt globally, connecting us all in the pursuit of better health.
“Our goal is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and well-being.”
World Health Organisation
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for global public health.
Established in 1948, its mission is to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable, with a strong emphasis on health equity, ensuring that everyone, including you, has a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential.
WHO sets global health standards, provides leadership on health matters, coordinates international health responses, and offers technical support to countries facing health crises.
The organisation works on a wide range of issues, from infectious diseases like COVID-19 to non-communicable diseases and mental health. It plays a critical role in advancing global health and well-being.
Universal Health Coverage
Universal health coverage (UHC) is a fundamental principle that ensures that all individuals can access comprehensive quality health services whenever needed without financial strain.
UHC encompasses essential health services that span the entire care continuum, including health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) actively promotes Universal Health Coverage to make these health services accessible to everyone.
They accomplish this vital task through:
- Focusing On Primary Health Care To Improve Access To Quality Essential Services: The WHO creates guidelines for primary health care services, ensuring efficient and equitable health systems that are rooted in the communities they serve.
- Working Towards Sustainable Financing And Financial Protection: It is not far-fetched that the cost of treatments and healthcare services can be financially destabilising, especially for those in low-income and developing regions. To reduce the financial burden of healthcare, the WHO promotes health insurance schemes and advocates for reducing out-of-pocket payments.
- Improving Access To Essential Medicines And Health Products: Essential medicines save lives, abort suffering, and improve overall health. But how much difference can it make if they are scarcely available, not affordable, wrongly used or of no good quality? WHO prevents these issues by developing policies and strengthening the pharmaceutical companies, strengthening the national regulatory systems and improving rational selection and use of medicines.
- Training The Healthcare Professionals And Advise On Labour Policies: The WHO helps to build capacity in countries to develop, retain and sustain a competent health workforce by focusing on education, training and continuing personal development.
- Supporting People’s Participation In National Health Policies: WHO encourages participatory governance, engaging populations, civil societies, and communities in national health policy decision-making.
- Improving Monitoring, Data And Information: By developing monitoring frameworks, providing data, analytics and evidence to inform health policy decisions, and leveraging its global health observatory and data platforms.
Responding To Healthcare Emergencies
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed to the world how important it is to have a solid global healthcare infrastructure.
With the help of WHO’s vast structure and network of resources, the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health emergency, was effectively managed.
The WHO coordinated international responses, provided critical medical supplies and equipment, and facilitated the rapid development and distribution of a vaccine in collaboration with other global health organisations. This successful response underscores the WHO’s crucial role in global health emergencies.
The WHO prepares for emergencies of any kind, whether global or regional, by:
- Identifying, Mitigating And Managing Risks: WHO conducts risk assessments to identify potential health hazards, such as infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and conflicts. They also support countries and strengthen their emergency preparedness and response capacities. This includes helping countries develop and update emergency response plans, conducting simulation exercises to test these plans, and supporting global surveillance systems like the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
- Identifying potential health hazards, such as infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and conflicts. They then support countries in developing and updating emergency response plans, which involve extensive research, consultation with experts, and simulation exercises to test these plans.
- Detecting And Responding To Acute Health Emergencies: When an emergency is detected, WHO deploys experts and emergency teams to affected areas, coordinates international responses, and provides critical medical supplies and equipment.
- Supports Delivery Of Essential Health Services In Fragile Settings: Countries that host fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings are posed with a high burden of disease and death. WHO supports delivering essential health services by working with governments, partners, and communities to strengthen health systems. They also provide technical assistance, guidance, and training to health professionals and facilitate access to essential medicines and health supplies.
Improving Global Health & Well-being
The World Health Organization is leading in enhancing global health and well-being. It achieves this through funding, collaboration with governments and organisations, and various other strategies to address healthcare challenges, particularly in areas and regions facing significant healthcare problems (LMIC, areas affected by war and natural disasters).
The WHO does this through:
- Addressing Social Determinants: Social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. The WHO is committed to addressing these factors to promote health equity. It does so by promoting policies and actions, supporting research and evidence, and strengthening health systems. By addressing social determinants of health, the WHO ensures that everyone has a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential.
- Promoting Intersectoral Approaches For Health: WHO’s approach is a fundamental tenet of the Alma Ata Declaration. This approach is not just about collaboration but about inclusivity. It invites other sectors, such as finance, education, agriculture, environment, housing, and transport, to join in analysing how their policies can help achieve health objectives. This inclusivity should make us all feel part of the global health community.
The World Health Organization (WHO) prioritises health in all policies and settings. These settings, which can be schools, workplaces, cities, or even entire countries, are designed to promote health and well-being. The WHO supports healthy settings by providing guidance and tools, promoting intersectoral collaboration, and advocating for health-prioritising policies.
By ensuring that health is a consideration in all policy decisions and settings, the WHO takes a comprehensive approach to health protection.
Conclusion
The World Health Organisation actively protects our health and makes a significant impact around the globe. It promotes universal health coverage and addresses social determinants of health. WHO’s extensive and comprehensive work covers all aspects of health protection. This thorough approach reassures us that we can trust the WHO to keep our health in good hands.
