CINXE.COM
World Health Organization - Wikiquote
<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>World Health Organization - Wikiquote</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikiquotemwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat": "dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"44b597b0-0698-4d03-9799-76a8c22284a5","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"World_Health_Organization","wgTitle":"World Health Organization","wgCurRevisionId":3392391,"wgRevisionId":3392391,"wgArticleId":202852,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Organizations established by the United Nations","Health","Switzerland"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"World_Health_Organization","wgRelevantArticleId":202852,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikiquote","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":true,"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true, "wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":true,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q7817","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"wgSiteNoticeId":"2.3"};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready", "ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready","ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","wikibase.sidebar.tracking","ext.dismissableSiteNotice"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/1200px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="800"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/800px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="533"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/640px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="427"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="World Health Organization - Wikiquote"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikiquote.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikiquote (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikiquote.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikiquote Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-World_Health_Organization rootpage-World_Health_Organization skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Community_Portal" title="About the project, what you can do, where to find things"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-Village-pump" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Village_pump"><span>Village pump</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random page [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random page</span></a></li><li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="The place to find out"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-Contact-Wikiquote" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Contact_us"><span>Contact Wikiquote</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-Wikiquote_links" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-Wikiquote_links" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Wikiquote links </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-People" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_by_name"><span>People</span></a></li><li id="n-Literary-works" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_works"><span>Literary works</span></a></li><li id="n-Proverbs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Proverbs"><span>Proverbs</span></a></li><li id="n-Films" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_films"><span>Films</span></a></li><li id="n-TV-shows" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_television_shows"><span>TV shows</span></a></li><li id="n-Themes" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Themes"><span>Themes</span></a></li><li id="n-Categories" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Categories"><span>Categories</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikiquote.svg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikiquote" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikiquote-wordmark-fr.svg" style="width: 4.8125em; height: 2.5em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikiquote" aria-label="Search Wikiquote" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=World+Health+Organization" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=World+Health+Organization" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="More options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=World+Health+Organization" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=World+Health+Organization" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"><div id="mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace"></div><script>(function(){var node=document.getElementById("mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace");if(node){node.outerHTML="\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-close\"\u003E[\u003Ca tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"\u003Ehide\u003C/a\u003E]\u003C/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-body\"\u003E\u003C!-- CentralNotice --\u003E\u003Cdiv id=\"localNotice\" data-nosnippet=\"\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"anonnotice\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"position:absolute; z-index:100; right:100px; top:-0px;\" class=\"metadata\" id=\"donate\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align:right; font-size:80%\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EYour \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising\" class=\"extiw\" title=\"wikimedia:Fundraising\"\u003Econtinued donations\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E keep Wikiquote running!\u003C/i\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E";}}());</script></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">Beginning</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Quotes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quotes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes_about" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes_about"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Quotes about</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quotes_about-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">World Health Organization</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 4 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-4" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">4 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-as mw-list-item"><a href="https://as.wikiquote.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A5%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A5%E0%A6%BE" title="বিশ্ব স্বাস্থ্য সংস্থা – Assamese" lang="as" hreflang="as" data-title="বিশ্ব স্বাস্থ্য সংস্থা" data-language-autonym="অসমীয়া" data-language-local-name="Assamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>অসমীয়া</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sv%C4%9Btov%C3%A1_zdravotnick%C3%A1_organizace" title="Světová zdravotnická organizace – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Světová zdravotnická organizace" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Organizaci%C3%B3n_Mundial_de_la_Salud" title="Organización Mundial de la Salud – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Organización Mundial de la Salud" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C5%9Awiatowa_Organizacja_Zdrowia" title="Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q7817#sitelinks-wikiquote" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/World_Health_Organization" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:World_Health_Organization" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/World_Health_Organization"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/World_Health_Organization"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/World_Health_Organization" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/World_Health_Organization" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&oldid=3392391" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=World_Health_Organization&id=3392391&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FWorld_Health_Organization"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FWorld_Health_Organization"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-create_a_book" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator&referer=World+Health+Organization"><span>Create a book</span></a></li><li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=World_Health_Organization&action=show-download-screen"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organisation" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikinews mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Category:World_Health_Organization" hreflang="en"><span>Wikinews</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikipedia mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" hreflang="en"><span>Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q7817" title="Link to connected data repository item [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikiquote</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_WHO.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/220px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/330px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_WHO.svg/440px-Flag_of_WHO.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>The flag of the World Health Organization.</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" class="extiw" title="w:World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a></b> (<b>WHO</b>) is a specialised agency of the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> that is concerned with international <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_health" class="extiw" title="w:public health">public health</a>. It was established in 1948 and is based in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Geneva">Geneva</a>, <a href="/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes">Quotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Quotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf"><i>Constitution of World Health Organization</i></a></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Infectious diseases do not employ multinational public relations firms. There are no front groups to promote the spread of cholera. Mosquitoes have no lobbyists. The evidence presented here suggests that <b>tobacco is a case unto itself, and that reversing its burden on global health will be not only about understanding addiction and curing disease, but, just as importantly, about overcoming a determined and powerful industry</b>. <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.who.int/tobacco/publications/industry/who_inquiry/en/"><i>Tobacco Company Strategies to Undermine Tobacco Control Activities at the World Health Organization</i></a>, report of the Committee of Experts on Tobacco Industry Documents, July 2000, page 20.</li> <li>Cited by Deborah Arnott, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/15/smoking.guardiananalysispage">"The killer's lobbyists "</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian" class="extiw" title="w:The Guardian"><i>The Guardian</i></a>, 15 May 2003.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li><b>Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.</b> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.who.int/globalchange/global-campaign/cop21/en/">"WHO calls for urgent action to protect health from climate change"</a>, 2015.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Disease_X" title="Disease X">Disease X</a> represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease, and so the R&D Blueprint explicitly seeks to enable cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown “Disease X” as far as possible. <ul><li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://origin.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/en/">2018 annual review of the Blueprint list of priority diseases</a></i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In the past two weeks, the number of cases of <a href="/wiki/COVID-19" class="mw-redirect" title="COVID-19">COVID-19</a> outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled. [...] Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals. In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher. [...] <b>We have therefore made the assessment that <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" title="COVID-19 pandemic">COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic</a>.</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tedros_Adhanom" title="Tedros Adhanom">Tedros Adhanom</a> on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization%27s_response_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic" class="extiw" title="w:World Health Organization's response to the COVID-19 pandemic">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">"WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19"</a>, 11 March 2020.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia, announced today a collaboration to expand the public’s access to the latest and most reliable information about COVID-19. The collaboration will make trusted, public health information available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license at a time when countries face continuing resurgences of COVID-19 and social stability increasingly depends on the public’s shared understanding of the facts...Wikipedia volunteer editors, many of whom are from the medical community, have been creating, updating, and translating Wikipedia articles with information from reliable sources about the pandemic. As one of the top ten sites in the world, studies have shown that Wikipedia is one of the most frequently viewed sources for health information. <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.who.int/news/item/22-10-2020-the-world-health-organization-and-wikimedia-foundation-expand-access-to-trusted-information-about-covid-19-on-wikipedia%7CThe">World Health Organization and Wikimedia Foundation expand access to trusted information about COVID-19 on Wikipedia, WHO</a>, (22 October 2020)</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes_about">Quotes about</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Quotes about"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_health" class="extiw" title="w:Global health">global</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_crisis" class="extiw" title="w:Health crisis">health</a>, social and economic crisis. Historical comparisons are few, particularly in recent decades. This tragedy constitutes nothing less than a trial for all <a href="/wiki/Humanity" title="Humanity">humanity</a>. [...] The WHO has been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization#Financing_and_partnerships" class="extiw" title="w:World Health Organization">financially weakened</a> for the past several decades, and is now largely dependent on private donors, with 80 percent of its funding coming from private businesses or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_foundation" class="extiw" title="w:Private foundation">foundations</a>. But despite its weakened condition, the WHO could have still provided an initial framework for global <a href="/wiki/Cooperation" title="Cooperation">cooperation</a> in the fight against the pandemic, not only because of the reliable information it had gathered since the beginning of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_January_2020" class="extiw" title="w:Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020">January</a>, but also because its recommendations for radical and early <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infection_prevention_and_control" class="extiw" title="w:Infection prevention and control">control</a> of the epidemic were ultimately correct. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christian_Laval" title="Christian Laval">Christian Laval</a> and Pierre Dardot, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://roarmag.org/essays/dardot-laval-corona-pandemic/">The pandemic as political trial: the case for a global commons</a></i> (March 28, 2020), <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROAR_Magazine" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:ROAR Magazine">ROAR Magazine</a></i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>According to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director-General_of_the_WHO" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Director-General of the WHO">Director-General of the WHO</a>, the choice to abandon systematic <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_testing" title="COVID-19 testing">testing</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_surveillance" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 surveillance">contract tracing</a>, which were effective in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_South_Korea" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea">Korea</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Taiwan" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan">Taiwan</a>, was a major mistake that contributed to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019#Transmission" class="extiw" title="w:Coronavirus disease 2019">spread of the virus</a> in virtually every country. The ultimate cause of this alarming delay were strategic choices. Italy was quickly forced to adopt a strategy of absolute <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdown_in_Italy" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy">confinement</a> in order to halt the epidemic, as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdown_in_Hubei" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Hubei">China</a> had previously done. Other countries waited far too long to react, largely on the basis of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fatalist" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:fatalist">fatalist</a> and crypto-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism" class="extiw" title="w:Social Darwinism">Darwinian</a> strategy of "<a href="/wiki/Herd_immunity" title="Herd immunity">herd immunity</a>." <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a>'s <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> was entirely passive in its initial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom#Government_response" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom">approach</a>, and other countries equivocated and delayed their restrictive measures, such as France and Germany, not to mention the <a href="/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States">United States</a>. By adopting a strategy of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic_prevention#Prevention_versus_mitigation" class="extiw" title="w:Pandemic prevention">mitigation</a>," or epidemic delay by "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/flattening_the_curve" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:flattening the curve">flattening the curve</a>," these countries have de facto renounced any serious attempt to keep the virus under control from the start through the use of systematic screening and general confinement of the population, as was done in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Wuhan">Wuhan</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Hubei" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei">Hubei</a> province. According to the forecasts of the German and French governments, the strategy of collective immunity necessitates 50 to 80 percent contamination across the entire population. This amounts to accepting the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic#Deaths" class="extiw" title="w:COVID-19 pandemic">deaths</a> of hundreds of thousands — even millions — of people who are supposedly the "most fragile." All the while, the WHO's recommendations were very clear: states must not abandon systematic screening and contact tracing of anyone who tests positive for the virus. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christian_Laval" title="Christian Laval">Christian Laval</a> and Pierre Dardot, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://roarmag.org/essays/dardot-laval-corona-pandemic/">The pandemic as political trial: the case for a global commons</a></i> (March 28, 2020), <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROAR_Magazine" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:ROAR Magazine">ROAR Magazine</a></i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Why have states placed so little confidence in the WHO, and why have they not accorded the WHO a central role in coordinating the global response to the pandemic? <a href="/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Mainland_China" class="mw-redirect" title="2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Mainland China">In China</a>, the epidemic effectively paralyzed the country both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_politics#China" class="extiw" title="w:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics">politically</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic#Mainland_China" class="extiw" title="w:Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic">economically</a>. Freezing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_China" class="extiw" title="w:Economy of China">economic</a> production and trade has never been practiced on such a scale, and the outcome has been a very serious <a href="/wiki/Coronavirus_recession" class="mw-redirect" title="Coronavirus recession">economic and financial crisis</a> in China. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany" class="extiw" title="w:Economy of Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_France" class="extiw" title="w:Economy of France">France</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States" class="extiw" title="w:Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States">United States</a> most of all, thus largely hesitated in order to keep their economies running as long as possible — or, more precisely, to balance off economic and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_health" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:public health">public health</a> imperatives based on how the situation unfolds from "day to day," rather than heeding the more dire, long-term forecasts. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christian_Laval" title="Christian Laval">Christian Laval</a> and Pierre Dardot, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://roarmag.org/essays/dardot-laval-corona-pandemic/">The pandemic as political trial: the case for a global commons</a></i> (March 28, 2020), <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROAR_Magazine" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:ROAR Magazine">ROAR Magazine</a></i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The delays the WHO experienced in declaring a public health emergency cost valuable time tremendous amounts of time; more time was lost in the delay it took to get a team of international experts and to examine the outbreak which we wanted to do which they should have done. The inability of the WHO to obtain virus samples to this date has deprived the scientific community of essential data. New data that emerges across the world on a daily basis points to the unreliability of the initial reports and the world received all sorts of false information about transmission and mortality. The silence of the WHO on the disappearance of scientific researchers and doctors and new restrictions on the sharing of research into the origins of COVID-19 in the country of origin is deeply concerning especially when we put up by far the largest amount of money, not even close. Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained as a source with very little death, very little death, and certainly very little death by comparison. This would have saved thousands of lives and avoided worldwide economic damage. Instead the WHO willingly took China's assurances to face value, and they took it just at face value and defended the actions of the Chinese government, even praising China for its so-called transparency. I don't think so. The WHO pushed China's misinformation about the virus, saying it was not communicable, and there was no need for travel bans. They told us when we put on our travel ban a very strong travel ban, there was no need to do it. Don't do it; they actually fought us. The WHO's reliance on China's disclosures likely caused a 20-fold increase in cases worldwide, and it may be much more than that. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>, White House coronavirus task force briefing (April 14, 2020), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/04/14/trump_halts_who_funding_full_accountability_for_pushing_chinas_misinformation_about_coronavirus.html">transcript online</a> at <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealClearPolitics" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:RealClearPolitics">RealClearPolitics</a></i> <ul><li>Note: Trump addressed China's transparency during the <a href="/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic_in_mainland_China" class="mw-redirect" title="2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in mainland China">2019–20 coronavirus pandemic</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/22/cnbc-transcript-president-donald-trump-sits-down-with-cnbcs-joe-kernen-at-the-world-economic-forum-in-davos-switzerland.html">in an interview</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNBC" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:CNBC">CNBC</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kernen" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Joe Kernen">Joe Kernen</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:World Economic Forum">World Economic Forum</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davod,_Switzerland" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Davod, Switzerland">Davod, Switzerland</a>, January 22, 2020:</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd><dl><dd><b>Joe Kernen</b>: Okay. And <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" class="extiw" title="w:President of the People's Republic of China">President</a> <a href="/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping">Xi</a>-- there's just some-- talk in China that maybe the transparency isn't everything that it's going to be. Do you trust that we're going to know everything we need to know from China?</dd> <dd><b>Donald Trump</b>: I do. I do. I have a great relationship with President <a href="/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping">Xi</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_trade_war#2020" class="extiw" title="w:China–United States trade war">We just signed</a> probably the biggest deal ever made. It certainly has the potential to be the biggest deal ever made. And-- it was a very interesting period of time time.</dd></dl></dd></dl></dd></dl> <ul><li>President Trump announced at the White House coronavirus news briefing in the Rose Garden on Tuesday that the United States will immediately halt all funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it had put "political correctness over lifesaving measures." Also at the briefing, the president said plans to ease the national economic shutdown were being finalized, and that he would be "authorizing governors to reopen their states to reopen as they see fit." At the same time, Trump made clear that he was not going to put "any pressure" on governors to reopen. <ul><li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-funding-to-world-health-organization-who-halted">Trump announces US will halt funding to World Health Organization over coronavirus response</a> Fox News, Gregg Re, April 15 2020</i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Oxfam has urged all three vaccine manufacturers to share their technical know-how with the World Health Organization (WHO) to leverage the world’s full manufacturing capacity and support regionally based production as a means to increase the overall supply, reduce on-the-ground distributional challenges, and respond to the desire of low- and middle-income countries to produce doses for their own citizens. “If <a href="/wiki/Moderna" title="Moderna">Moderna</a> worked with us, we could submit the WHO’s <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine" title="COVID-19 vaccine">COVID-19 Vaccine</a> mRNA Technology Transfer hub’s vaccine for approval at least one year sooner, which would save lives, decrease the risk of variants, and reduce the pandemic’s economic toll,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in his unprecedented presentation of the Oxfam resolution to Moderna shareholders via a pre-recorded statement. “We urge Moderna to share technology and know-how with the WHO hub and commit to not enforcing patents for COVID-19 and other essential vaccines in countries hosting the WHO hub and spokes. We also urge them to offer training to scientists working on those efforts through the Moderna mRNA access program.” <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tedros_Adhanom" title="Tedros Adhanom">Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/dr-tedros-barkan-seyoum-present-oxfam-shareholder-resolutions-urge-moderna-pfizer-and">Dr. Tedros, Barkan, Seyoum present Oxfam shareholder resolutions to urge Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson to address Covid-19 vaccine inequity, <i>reliefweb</i>, 29 April 2022</a></li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Disease_X" title="Disease X">Disease X</a></li></ul> <p><b>People</b> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brock_Chisholm" title="Brock Chisholm">Brock Chisholm</a> (director-general from 1948 to 1953)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gro_Harlem_Brundtland" title="Gro Harlem Brundtland">Gro Harlem Brundtland</a> (director-general from 1998 to 2003)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Chan" title="Margaret Chan">Margaret Chan</a> (director-general from 2006 to 2017)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tedros_Adhanom" title="Tedros Adhanom">Tedros Adhanom</a> (director-general from 2017)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="noprint" style="clear: right; border: solid #aaa 1px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 90%; background: #f9f9f9; width: 250px; padding: 4px; spacing: 0px; text-align: left; float: right;"> <div style="float: left;"><figure class="mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wikipedia"><img alt="Wikipedia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/50px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="46" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/75px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/100px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="103" data-file-height="94" /></a><figcaption>Wikipedia</figcaption></figure></div> <div style="margin-left: 60px;"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> has an article about: <div style="margin-left: 10px;"><i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a></b></i></div> </div> </div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.codfw.main‐84d8f4b96‐np4m7 Cached time: 20241117134127 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [show‐toc] CPU time usage: 0.032 seconds Real time usage: 0.054 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 253/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 1607/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 498/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 5/100 Expensive parser function count: 0/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 0/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 0/5000000 bytes Number of Wikibase entities loaded: 0/400 --> <!-- Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template) 100.00% 8.840 1 -total 52.77% 4.665 1 Template:Wikipedia 37.51% 3.315 14 Template:W 30.68% 2.712 1 Template:Sisterproject --> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwikiquote:pcache:idhash:202852-0!canonical and timestamp 20241117134127 and revision id 3392391. Rendering was triggered because: page-view --> </div><!--esi <esi:include src="/esitest-fa8a495983347898/content" /> --><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&oldid=3392391">https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&oldid=3392391</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Organizations_established_by_the_United_Nations" title="Category:Organizations established by the United Nations">Organizations established by the United Nations</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Health" title="Category:Health">Health</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Switzerland" title="Category:Switzerland">Switzerland</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 2 November 2023, at 14:11.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy Policy.</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:About">About Wikiquote</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikiquote.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=World_Health_Organization&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-svl76","wgBackendResponseTime":201,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.032","walltime":"0.054","ppvisitednodes":{"value":253,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":1607,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":498,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":5,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":0,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 8.840 1 -total"," 52.77% 4.665 1 Template:Wikipedia"," 37.51% 3.315 14 Template:W"," 30.68% 2.712 1 Template:Sisterproject"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-84d8f4b96-np4m7","timestamp":"20241117134127","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"World Health Organization","url":"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/World_Health_Organization","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7817","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7817","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2018-03-16T16:53:12Z","dateModified":"2023-11-02T14:11:11Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/8\/89\/Flag_of_WHO.svg","headline":"specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health"}</script> </body> </html>