The Activities Of World Health Organization In Nigeria (1960-2012)

The Activities Of World Health Organization In Nigeria (1960-2012)

Chapter One

Preface

The United Nations, since its commencement, has been laboriously involved in promoting and guarding good health world wide. Leading that trouble within the United Nations system is the World Health Organisation( WHO); an transnational agency concerned with world wide health and weal. It’s one of the agencies of the United Nations whose purpose is to prop in the attainment of the loftiest possible position of health by all people. Programs include; education for current health issues, proper food force and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, motherly and child health immunization against major contagious conditions and forestallment and control of complaint. WHO is coordinating global strategies to control and help Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Its function include furnishing specialized backing, stimulating and advancing epidemiologic disquisition of conditions, recommending health regulation promoting cooperation among scientific and professional health groups and furnishing information and counsel to health matters. Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. 2

At the onset, it was decided that WHO’s top precedences would be malaria, women’s and children’s health, tuberculosis, venereal complaint, nutrition and environmental sanitation. numerous of those remain on WHO’s docket moment, in addition to similar fairly new complaint as HIV/ AIDS. 3

In 1948, WHO took over the responsibility for the transnational bracket of complaint, which has come the transnational standard for clinical and epidemiological purposes. Between 1952 and 1964, WHO’s sweats had reduced the global current of Yaws – a crippling and disfiguring complaint that tormented some 50 million people in 1950 – by further than 95 percent. Between 1967 and 1979, WHO’s trouble led to the eradication of small spell the only time a major infections complaint has been fully canceled . Since its global polio eradication action was launched in 1988, through 2008, the number of cases was reduced by further than 99 percent – from 350,000 per time to lower than 2,000. 4

WHO staff are at work on the ground in 147 countries worldwide. They advise ministries of health on specialized issues and give backing on forestallment, treatment and care services throughout the health sector. Six indigenous office match and support these sweats, while giving special attention to conforming global HIV/ AIDS programs to fit the specific requirements of their region – for illustration insub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic is largely spread by heterosexual coitus, as compare with eastern Europe, where edging in medicine use is the primary mode of transmission. 5

In short WHO intervention cover all areas of the global health – care diapason, including extremity interventional and the response to philanthropic extremities; establishing transnational health regulations, which countries must follow to identify conditions outbreaks and stop them from spreading; precluding habitual complaint and working to achieve the health – related renaissance development pretensions( MDGs). In the lead up to the renaissance development pretensions peak, the clerk – General launched a global trouble convening 40 keys leaders to define a collaborative strategy of accelerating progress on women’s and children’s health.

But it would be misleading to suggest that the entire work of the UN system in support of global health rests with the WHO. On the negative, numerous members of the UN family are engaged in the critical task. numerous health related matters addressed directly by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social council, as well as through the sweats of the common United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS( UNAIDS); the work of the United Nations Population Fund( UNFPA) in support of reproductive, adolescent and material health, and the health related conditioning of the United Nations Children’s Fund( UNICEF).

In addition similar members of the UN, system as the International Labour Organisation( ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation( FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency( IAEA), the United Nations Environment Programmes( UNEP), the United Nations Office on medicines and Crime( UNODC), and the World Bank, among others, all play a crucial part in promoting global health.

Health – related decades now being observed internationally, as declared by the General assembly include the decade to roll back Malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa( 2001 – 2010) and the transnational Decade for action, “ water for life ”( from 22 march, 2005).

Annual International observance relating to health, as placarded by the General Assembly, include World Water Day( 22 March), World Autism mindfulness Day( 2 April), World Health Day( 7 April), World No- Tobacco Day( 31 May), the transnational Day against medicine Abuse and lawless Trafficking( 26 June), World Mental Day( 10 October), World diabetes day( 14 November) and World Aids Day( 1 December).6

The World Health Organisation( WHO) is a special agency of the United Nations( UN) that’s concerned with transnational public health. 7 It was launched to totally ameliorate health condition throughout the world. Some of the conditioning of WHO have been dramatic and have relieved well – justified sun. For illustration, the prompt action in dealing with the cholera epidemic in Egypt and the typhus outbreak in Afghanistan in 1949; others have been less spectacular though inversely important. 8

As a technical agency of the United Nations, WHO is the central commanding and collaboration authority in transnational health work. It also provides premonitory and pubic health services to member countries( 124 countries were members in 1963), and central specialized services. It has given major backing to numerous countries in the fight against malaria, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, venereal complaint, influenza, small spell, leprosy, trachoma( an eye complaint), filariasis( a complaint caused by parasitic worms), bilharziasis( a complaint communicated to man by water draggers), and other transmissible complaint. In some cases, the results of the common sweats have been most emotional. Malaria has been nearly wiped out in Europe and North America, and in numerous countries where it was formerly a high killer, it has been reduced spectacularly. WHO in cooperation with UNICEF, has launched a long term program aimed at its total eradication. 9

WHO has also given backing to numerous countries in Public health administration, motherly and child health, nursing, social and occupational health, public health education and training, internal health, nutrition, sanitation, dental health, the development of community water inventories, the recuperation of physically hindered children and Grown-ups and medical exploration. It administers health and aseptic regulations, maintains a medical library and an transnational center for the compendium and analysis of medical and health statistics from all countries, established transnational norms of chastity in drugs in current use, and issues a number of publications. 10

In its duty, the UN is charged with promoting “ result of transnational profitable, social, health and affiliated problems ”. therefore, the UN is vitally concerned with headway of mortal weal social justice, and the bournes of men for a better lot in life. The world Health Organisation( WHO) has given enormous totalities to develop health services in colorful countries and to fight complaint. By 1966, WHO had helped over twelve hundred systems in 152 different countries. 11

In order of the United Nations to achieve its ideal of world peace and security, it has to attend to situations that could spark extremity. In fighting of the conservation of peace, the UN’s job is to produce the conditions of social stability and mortal satisfaction essential to a lasting peace. According to the United Nations Educational, scientific and artistic organisation( UNESCO), “ since wars begin in the mind of men, it’s in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed ”.

Health is a state of complete physical and social well being, and not simply the absence of conditions or infirmity. The enjoyment of the loftiest attainable norms of health is one of the abecedarian right of every human being without destruction of race, religion, political belief, profitable or social condition. The health of all peoples is abecedarian to the attainment of peace and security and is dependence upon the fullest cooperation of individualities and countries. The achievement of any state in the creation and protection of health is of value of all. 12

WHO is an reality under the authority of the UN with a charge to promote the stylish possible health care for all the world’s citizens. 13 In the 21st century, health is a participated responsibility, involving indifferent access to essential care and collaborative defense against international pitfalls. The organisation develops and promotes the use of substantiation- grounded tools morals and norms to support member countries to inform health policy options. It oversees the perpetration of the transnational Health Regulations, and publishes a series of medical bracket, of these, there are over reaching “ reference bracket ” the International Bracket of Functioning, Disability and Health( ICF) and the International Bracket of Health Intervention( ICHI), other transnational policy fabrics produced by WHO include the transnational law of marketing of bone milk cover( espoused in 1981), frame convention on Tobacco control( espoused in 2003) and the Global law of practice on the International Recruitment of Health labor force( espoused in 2010). The WHO regularly publishes a World Health Report, its leading publication including an expert assessment of a specific global health content. Other publications of WHO include the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal( overseen by EMRO), the Human coffers for health and the Pan American journal of Public Health( Overseen by PAHO – Pan American Health Organisation/ AMPO).

WHO runs the alliance for health policy and systems exploration, targeted at perfecting health policy and systems. WHO aims to ameliorate access to health exploration and literature in developing countries similar as through the HINARI network. The organisation has published tools for covering the capacity of public health system and health work forces.

The organisation relies on the moxie and experience of numerous world famed scientist and professionals to inform its work, similar as the WHO study group on inter professional education and cooperative practice.

The WHO also promotes the development of capacities in member countries to use and produce exploration that addresses public requirements, by bolstering public health exploration system and promoting knowledge restatement platforms similar as the substantiation informed policy Network( EVIPNET), WHO and its indigenous services are working to develop indigenous polices on exploration for health – the first on being the Pan American Health Organisation/ Regional Office for the Americas( PAHO/ AMRO) that had its policy on Research for Health approved in September 2009 by its 49th commanding council document.

In addition, the WHO has also promoted road safety. Each time, the organisation marks World Health Day fastening on a specific Health creation content.

The WHO’s suite of health studies is working to give the demanded health and well being substantiation through a variety of data collection platforms, including the World Health Survey Covering nearly 400,000 repliers from 70 countries, and the study on global geriatric and Adult Health( savant) covering over 50, 000 person over 50 times old in 23 countries.

WHO has also worked on global enterprise in surgery, including exigency and essential surgical care trauma care and safe surgery. The WHO surgical safety roster is in current use worldwide in the trouble to ameliorate safety in surgical cases. Also, the UN bystander associations International Committee of the Red Cross and International confederation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have entered into “ sanctioned relations ” with WHO. 14

The World Health Assembly( WHA) is the legislative and supreme body of WHO. Grounded in Geneva, it generally meets yearly in May. It appoints their Director General every five times, and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget. It also reviews reports of the superintendent board and decides whether there are areas of work taking farther examination.

The indigenous division of WHO were created between 1949 and 1952, and are grounded on Composition 44 of WHO’s constitution, which allowed World Health Assembly( WHA) to “ establish a single indigenous organisation to meet the special requirements of each defined area ”. Each region has a indigenous commission, which generally meet formerly a time, typically in the afterlife. Each indigenous office is headed by a indigenous director, who’s tagged by the Regional commission. Since 1999, Regional Directors serve for a formerly renewable five time term.

Each indigenous commission of the WHO consists of all the Health department heads, in all the governments of the countries that constitute the region. Away from taking the Regional Director, the indigenous commission is also in charge of setting the guideline for the perpetration, within the region of the health and other programs espoused by the World Health assembly. The indigenous commission also serves as a progressive review board for the conduct of WHO within the region.

The Regional office of WHO in Africa has its headquarters in Brazzaville, democracy of Congo which includes utmost of Africa with the exception of Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Somalia and Morocco which fall under East Mediterranean Regional Office( EMRO).

The WHO operates 148 country and liaison services in all its regions. The presence of a country office is generally motivated by a need, stated by the member state. There will generally be one WHO country office in the capital sometimes accompanied by satellite services in the businesses or sub regions of the country in question.

The country office is headed by a WHO representative( WR), who’s an internationally endured physical or other health professional, not a public of that country who holds politic rank and is due boons and impunity analogous to those of an minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary. In utmost countries, the WR( like representative of other UN agencies) is de facto/ or de jure treated like an Ambassador. The distinction have being that rather of being an minister or one autonomous country to another; the WR is a elderly UN civil menial, who serves as the “ Ambassador ” of the WHO to the country to which he or she’s accredited.15

The main functions of the WHO country services include being the primary counsel of that country’s government in matters of health and pharmaceutical programs. 16

According to the World Health Organisation report 1996, “ the WHO is geared towards fighting complaint, fostering development ”.

The charge of the WHO Nigeria country office is to promote the attainment of the loftiest sustainable position of health by all people living in Nigeria through collaboration with the government and other mates in health development and the provision of specialized and logistic support to country programmes.

Nigeria came a member of the World Health Organization in 1960 and inked the Basic Agreement in 1962. Over the last four decades thus, WHO has worked in close collaboration with the Nigerian Government, substantially with the civil ministry of health, to establish a wide array of cooperative programmes.

The main WHO country office is located in the United Nations House, Abuja the Civil capital home( FCT). In addition, a network of services has been established in each of the 36 countries of the country and the FCT, to give applicable and accessible specialized support to countries and original government areas( LGA). This has bettered collaboration with stakeholders and mates as well as the visibility of WHO at those situations.

Endnotes

www.un.org. “ world Health Organisation, ” penetrated May 6, 2012, 200 pm

Mosby, Medial Dictionary “ World Health Organisation ”,( 8th Edition, 2009) p 12 –713.

www.un.org. penetrated May 6, 2012.

Ibid

Ibid

Ibid

, penetrated April 12, 2012, 12 32 am

The United Nations Economic, Social and Organizational issues in NorwanD. Palmer and HowardC. Perkins, Internationals relations 3rd Revised Edition(A.I.T.B.S, Publishers, India),P. 366

Ibid

Ibid

The United Nations, 1945 – 1970, in “ a history of ultramodern Europe 1789 – 1970 ” by HerbertL. Peacocks( Heinemann Educational books, 1976),P. 436.

Mosby, Medical Dictionary, penetrated May 7, 2012, 3 30 pm

Ibid

Ibid

. WHO. Int. “ WHO as an agency of the United Nations, ” penetrated April 12, 2012.

“ world Health Organisation ”, The British Medical Journal( BMJ Publishing Group, 1948)