World Health Organization - WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized UN Agency defined by its constitution as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work. The Organization was born on the 7th April 1948. WHOs objective is "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health". In support of its main objective it lists specifically a number of responsibilities. These include:

• to assist governments, upon re- quest, in strengthening health services
• to establish and maintain such administrative and technical services as may be required, including epidemiological and statistical services
• to provide information, counsel, and assistance in the field of health
• to stimulate the eradication of epidemic, endemic, and other diseases
• to promote improved nutrition, housing, sanitation, working conditions, and other aspects of environmental hygiene
• to promote cooperation among scientific and professional groups which contribute to the enhancement of health
• to propose international conventions and agreements on health matters
• to promote and conduct research in the field of health
• to develop international standards for food, biological and pharmaceutical products
• to assist in developing an in- formed public opinion among all peoples on matters of health.

WHO has its headquarters in Geneva Switzerland. As a "specialized agency" within the Charter of the United Nations, WHO has its own governing bodies, its own membership, and its own budget. WHO is funded by member states and also by voluntary contributions from governmental and non-governmental sources and individuals.

Currently WHO has a secretariat headed by Dr Gro Harlem Brudtland, the Director General assisted by six Regional Directors. The Regional Director of WHO for Africa is Dr Ebrahim Malik Samba. WHO Representatives in the countries represent both the Regional Director as well as the Director General. The current WHO Representative for Tanzania is Dr Wedson C. Mwambazi from Zambia.

Who Work in Tanzania

WHO has been assisting Tanzania since the pre-independence days. At that time Tanganyika was a British Protectorate and as such only qualified as an Associate Member of WHO. After independence (1962) Tanganyika was formally admitted to WHO as a full member state in 1963.

On 6th May 1963 the WHO office was inaugurated in Dar es Salaam and on 10th November of the same year the Government and WHO signed the Basic Agreement which until now governs the relationship between the two parties.
Following the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the latter Tanzania has been an important partner in the work of WHO. The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania has never defaulting in the annual payments of its assessed contribution to budget of WHO.

WHO support to the improvement of health in Tanzania can be cited in several achievements:

• 1976 the launching of the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

• Following the 1977 - 1978 Alma Ata Declaration and Health For All policy resolutions Tanzania embarked on a massive primary health care development programme; and the subsequent health sector reforms.

• In 1978 Tanzania was declared a small pox free country.

• Onchocerciasis (river blindness) and Leprosy are in the advanced stages of elimination from the list of major endemic diseases in Tanzania.
  
  Current Support To National Programmes

According to its mandate WHO supports all aspects of human health and responds to the Country Health needs appropriately. However, WHO supports the following main technical cooperation programmes in Tanzania:
National Health Systems Development (including Human Resources development), Disease Prevention and Control (Malaria, EPI Diseases, Onchocerciasis, Plague, TB/Leprosy, HIV/AIDS), Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses, Health Information and Promotion, Community Water Supply and Environmental Health (including Healthy Cities Programme), Drugs, Emergency and Humanitarian Action and Essential Health Interventions Project.

Better Health for Poor Children - A special report from the WHO/World Bank Working Group on child health and poverty

The WHO/World Bank Working Group on Child Health and Poverty was established in September 2001. This Special Report reflects the Working Group’s belief that child health and poverty should be a priority both across United Nations agencies and within governments. On behalf of our agencies, the Working Group is committed to provide technical guidance and leadership in redressing inequities in child nutrition, health and development. This report presents an overview of the situation, and a roadmap for further work that needs to be done.

Preface

 Every child -rich or poor -has the right to health and health care. Yet as we stand at the beginning of a new millennium, too many infants and children are dying prematurely and too many do not have a fair chance to develop to their full potential. We know what these children are dying of, and what prevents them from developing, and there are effective and affordable interventions that address the problem. So why does the problem persist?

It persists because current health service delivery strategies do not reach children most in need, especially the poor; because their families lack the knowledge or financial resources to provide good nutrition; because families do not have access to the solutions that can save lives; because governments and the international community have not made a sufficient and sustained commitment to the rights, health and survival of children.

What is the problem?

Health is a fundamental human right, universally recognized and agreed upon by states. Children’s right to health and health care has been particularly recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The burden of illhealth is greatest among the poor, whether in poor regions of the world, in poor countries, in poor communities or in poor households within communities. Poor children are therefore denied their fundamental right to health and development.

They do not have a fair chance of a healthy start in life. Children in poor families are more likely than their wealthier peers to die in the first month of life, in the first year of life, and before they reach the age of five. Children in poor families are sick more often, and more seriously, than children in better-off families. Poorer children are less well nourished than wealthier children, and are more likely to lag behind in growth and psychosocial development. The effects of these inequities are not only immediate. They also lead to low performance in school and on the job. A girl living in poverty today has a greater chance of dying in childbirth 15 or 20 years from now, and of giving birth to a baby who is premature, malnourished, or who becomes sick and dies in infancy. The effects of poverty begin even before birth, when negative influences on the fetus can increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in adulthood.

What can we do to improve the health and development of children living in poverty?

Child survival, health and development are influenced by families’ and communities’ ability to protect, care and provide for them. “Although disparities in health between social groups exist in all societies, it is imperative to emphasize that such disparities can be modified by specific policies: They are not inevitable” There are public health interventions that can support and sustain important changes in both the environment and inbehaviours, leading to better health for children.

What can we do to improve the health and development of children living in poverty?

Use the effective and affordable interventions we already have to improve children’s environments and the practices of their families and communities, while working to develop andevaluate additional effective interventions.

Sources:
http://www.unic.undp.org/who.htm
http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health/New_Publications/CHILD_HEALTH/GC/WHO_FCH_CAH_02.5.pdf

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