WHO - A Brief history
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United
Nations responsible for international public health. It was established by
constitution on 7 April 1948, which is commemorated as World Health Day.
The first meeting of the World Health Assembly finished on 24 July 1948,
having secured a budget of US$5 million for the 1949 year. Its first priorities
were to control the spread of malaria, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted
infections, and to improve maternal and child health, nutrition and
environmental hygiene. In 1948, the WHO established an epidemiological
information service via telex, and by 1950 a mass tuberculosis inoculation
drive using the BCG vaccine was under way. In 1955, the malaria eradication
program was launched, although it was later altered in objective. 1955 saw
the first report on diabetes mellitus and the creation of the International
Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2006, the organization also endorsed the
world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit for Zimbabwe, which formed the basis
for global prevention, treatment, and support the plan to fight the AIDS
pandemic.
PANDEMIC
Definition: A pandemic is a disease outbreak that spreads
across countries or continents. It affects more people and takes
more lives than an epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO)
declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic when it became clear that the
illness was severe and that it was spreading quickly over a wide
area.
HOW IT’S DIFFERENT FROM AN EPIDEMIC: An
epidemic is an early stage of a pandemic where the infection is still
at the community level or is limited to a certain section of the
population. If it affects the entire population of a country or crosses
the boundary and start spreading at a face in other countries then it
is termed as a pandemic. Not all epidemics turn into a pandemic.
OUTBREAK OF 5 WORST PANDEMICS IN HISTORY:
HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC: SIXTH CHOLERA
FLU PANDEMIC:
PANDEMIC:
TIMELINE: 2005-2012 (PEAK) TIMELINE: 1968
TIMELINE: 1910-1911
DEATH TOLL: 36 MILLION DEATH TOLL: 1 MILLION
CAUSE: HIV/AIDS
DEATH TOLL: 800,000+
CAUSE: INFLUENZA CAUSE: CHOLERA
THE BLACK DEATH: THIRD CHOLERA
TIMELINE: 1346-1353 PANDEMIC:
DEATH TOLL: 75-200 TIMELINE: 1852-1860
MILLION DEATH TOLL: 1 MILLION
CAUSE: BUBONIC PLAGUE CAUSE: CHOLERA
COVID-19
In 2019, a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of a disease outbreak
that originated in China. The virus is now known as the severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease it causes is
called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In March 2020, the World
Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may appear
two to 14 days after exposure. Some people may have only a few symptoms,
and some people may have no symptoms at all. Some people may
experience worsened symptoms, such as worsened shortness of breath and
pneumonia, about a week after symptoms start. People who are older have a
higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and the risk increases with age.
People who have existing chronic medical conditions also may have a higher
risk of serious illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given
emergency use authorization for two COVID-19 vaccines, the Pfizer/BioNTech
COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
ROLE OF WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s health agency, has
played a crucial role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, ever since the
first cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
With partners, WHO set up the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, to
ensure patients get the care they need, and frontline workers get
essential supplies and information; and to accelerate research and
development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them. The
internet is awash with information about the pandemic, some of it
useful, some of it false or misleading. In the midst of this “infodemic”,
WHO is producing accurate, useful guidance that can help save lives.
WHO has shipped more than two million items of personal protective
equipment to 133 countries. WHO is aiming to train millions of health
workers, via its OpenWHO platform. Thanks to this online tool, life-
saving knowledge is being transferred to frontline personnel by the
Organization, and its key partners. In an attempt to corral these efforts,
WHO brought together 400 of the world’s leading researchers in
February, to identify research priorities. The agency launched a
“Solidarity Trial”, an international clinical trial, involving 90 countries, to
help find effective treatment.
