Question

WHO stands for World Health Organization.

A. True

B. False

Answer 1

Hint: The headquarters of WHO is situated in Geneva, Switzerland with six regional centers.

Complete answer:
WHO or the World Health Organization is a specialized semi-autonomous body which regulates and maintains the standards and looks after international health matters. It was formed on 7th April 1948. This day is celebrated as World Health Day to commemorate the establishment of WHO. The motto of WHO is “the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health".

Additional Information:
- WHO is governed by WHA (World Health Agency). It keeps all the supreme decision-making rights and also assigns the head or the director-general of WHO every 5 years.
- Till 2020, WHO has a total of 194 members. To become the full member the state has to sign a treaty known as the Constitution of the World Health Organization.
- WHO states health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.

The functions of WHO is as follows:
> It holds the power to direct and coordinate on international health work programs, biomedical research, and surveys.
> It stimulates and conducts measures regarding the prevention of epidemic, endemic, and other diseases.
> It stimulates and establishes standard parameters regarding drugs, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic procedures, etc.
> It regulates and maintains teaching standards in the health and medical sector.
> It also proposes recommendations, conventions, and regulations regarding the nomenclature of disease, cause of death, and health practices.

So, the correct answer is option (A): ‘True'.

Note:
- India is a permanent member state of the WHO. The WHO representative for India is Dr. Henk Bekedam.
- Some of the landmarks achieved by WHO is the eradication of smallpox, near-eradication of polio, development of a vaccine against Ebola virus, etc.
- In 1988, the ‘Global Polio Eradication Initiative was established by the WHO.
- The current director-general of WHO is Dr. Tedros Adnahom, elected in 2017.