WHO turns 75 and calls for...

Seventy-five years ago, in the aftermath of World War II, the Constitution of the World Health Organization came into force: a treaty between nations that recognized that health is not only a basic human right, but is also fundamental to peace and security.

The past 75 years have seen remarkable progress in protecting humanity from disease. The complete eradication of smallpox, a 99% reduction in the incidence of polio, the saving of millions of lives through childhood vaccinations, the decline in maternal mortality - these are just some of the major achievements in public health.

- The history of WHO shows what is possible when nations unite in a common goal. We have much to be proud of, but also much work ahead of us to realize our founding vision of the highest attainable standard of health for all people. We still face huge inequalities in access to health services, major gaps in the world's defenses against health emergencies, threats from harmful products and climate disasters. We can only meet global challenges through global cooperation," stresses Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

To meet these challenges, WHO is calling on member countries to take urgent action to support the health workforce. Investment in education and decent remuneration for health work must be prioritized to meet rapidly growing demand and prevent a projected shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030.

A commitment to building health equity will be key to meeting future global challenges, the WHO website reads.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that health care is fundamental to our economies, societies, security and stability of countries. Learning from the worst pandemic in recent history, WHO stands ready to support countries in negotiating mutual agreements, revising international health regulations and other financial, management and operational initiatives to better prepare the world for future pandemics.

Source: WHO