The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the sixteen United Nations (UN) specialized agencies, with a mission to promote world health. The organization's broad conception of health as including politicized issues such as poverty, apartheid, and environmental quality has aroused controversy over the years.

Organization and History

The WHO was conceived at the 1945 San Francisco conference at which the United Nations was formed. It came into being on April 7, 1948, after its constitution was ratified by twenty-six of the original sixty-one members. WHO is based in Geneva and has six regional offices: Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific. Governance is provided by the World Health Assembly, with representatives from (as of 2005) 192 member states. The assembly selects an executive board, which in turn nominates a director general, who is elected by the assembly for a five-year term.

The original top WHO...