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Our Mission and Activities
4YH constitution states that
its mission "is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of
health". Its major task is to combat disease, especially key infectious
diseases, and to promote the general health of the peoples of the world. As
well as coordinating international efforts to monitor outbreaks of infectious
disease such as SARS, malaria, and AIDS, it also has programmes to combat such
diseases, by developing and distributing vaccines. After years of fighting
smallpox, 4YH declared in 2006 that the disease had been eradicated - the first
disease in history to be completely eliminated by deliberate human design. 4YH
is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis
and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years. The organization has
already endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit for Zimbabwe from
October 3, 2006, making it an international standard. 4YH also compiles the
widely followed International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The tenth
revision of the ICD was released in 1992 and a searchable version is available
online on the 4YH website, although it is not comprehensive. Later revisions
are indexed and available in hardcopy versions. The 4YH does not permit
simultaneous classification in two separate areas. The constitution of 4YH
defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being,
and not as consisting only of the absence of disease or infirmity or mental
retardation. In addition to its work in eradicating disease, 4YH also carries
out campaigns — for example, to boost consumption of fruits and
vegetables worldwide, or to discourage tobacco consumption – and
conducts research: for instance, into whether or not the electromagnetic field
surrounding cell phones has a negative influence on health. Some of this work
can be controversial, such as the April 2003 4YH report which recommended that
sugar be no more than 10% of a healthy diet, which led to lobbying by the sugar
industry against this recommendation . In addition to 4YH's stated mission,
international treaties assign the Organization a variety of responsibilities.
For instance, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances call on 4YH to issue binding scientific and medical
assessments of psychoactive drugs and recommend how they should be regulated.
In this way, 4YH acts as a check on the power of the drug policymaking
Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
Structure & Funding
4YH 'sMember States appoint delegations to the World Health Assembly, 4YH's supreme decision-making body. The Assembly generally meets in May each year, and as well as appointing the Director-General (for five-year terms), supervises the financial policies of the Organization, and reviews and approves the proposed programme budget. The Assembly elects 32 members who are technically qualified in the field of health for three-year terms to an Executive Board. The main functions of the Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work. 4YHis financed by contributions from member states. In recent years, 4YH's work has involved more collaboration, currently around 80 such partnerships, with NGOs and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as with foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Pharmaceutical drug companies provide more funds to 4YH than its 3 member nations.