FA

CT

SH

EE

T

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)

Mandate

In 1945 the United Nations Organization wasformed. One of the things Heads of Statesdiscussed in 1945 was setting up a global healthorganization. Subsequently, the World HealthOrganization's (WHO) Constitution came intoforce on 7 April 1948, which is celebrated eachyear as World Health Day.

WHO is the directing and coordinating authorityfor health within the United Nations system. It isresponsible for providing leadership on globalhealth matters, shaping the health research agenda,setting norms and standards, articulatingevidence-based policy options, providing technicalsupport to countries and monitoring and assessinghealth trends.

WHO's mission, set out in the WHO Constitution, isthe attainment by all peoples of the highest possiblelevel of health. Health is defined as "a state ofcomplete physical, mental, and social wellbeingand not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Regionalization is a special feature of WHO'sorganizational structure. Geographic areas serveas a framework for six regional organizations.

The goal of the WHO Regional office for Europe(WHO EURO) is to support 53 Member States indeveloping their own health policies, health

systems and public health programmes, preventingand overcoming threats to health, anticipatingfuture challenges and advocating public health.

In order to reinforce the importance of thecontribution of health systems to the economicdevelopment and wealth of the populations, andto discuss ways to strengthen health systems, theMinisters of Health from 53 European MemberStates of the WHO met in Tallinn, Estonia in June2008. The Tallinn Charter "Health Systems forHealth and Wealth" was signed to further guidethe development of health systems throughoutEurope.

WHO in Armenia

The Republic of Armenia became a WHOMember State in 1992. The WHO Country Office(WHO CO) for Armenia was established in 1994.

The WHO Country Office represents the WHO inthe country. It supports the Ministry of Health(MoH) in health system strategic needsassessment, planning, implementation andevaluation of the Biennial CollaborativeAgreements (BCA), and channels all WHOassistance to the country, as well as the countryrequests, to the appropriate units in EURO andHeadquarters.

The main WHO partner in Armenia is the Ministry

of Health. However, the CO is also engaged inongoing dialogue and activities with other nationalkey counterparts, such as the ParliamentaryCommission on Health, various sector Ministriesand leading educational and research institutionsof health in Armenia.

Major international partners include the WorldBank, USAID, Center for Disease Control Atlanta,International Committee of the Red Cross,Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Vision, OXFAM,Global Fund, GAVI and others.

Priority areas for cooperation for 2008-2013

The following priorities for cooperation for2008-2013 have been selected in response topublic health concerns and ongoing nationalefforts to improve the performance of the healthsystem: • Continuous improvement of maternal and child

health along with a decrease in mortality rates;• Establishment of Integrated Surveillance as well

as overall public health system to combatinfections, prevent and control Non-Communicable Diseases and prevent andreduce the impact of environmental health riskfactors;

• Contribution to the development of efficienthealth system responding to the needs of the

Armenian population through provision ofhealth facilities at various levels of the systemwith qualified human resources and health per-sonnel;

• Development of the system of rational druguse (such as enforcement of essential drugsin cooperation with pharmaceutical compa-nies, introduction of the integrated protocolsand schemes, monitoring side effects, provi-sion of valid information), quality assuranceand control (including control measuresagainst counterfeit drugs) and improvement ofthe mechanisms of drug supply;

• Contribution to the establishment of the sustain-able and effective health financing system;decrease in the informal payments' share andtheir formalization, as well as increase of thediversity of financing sources;

• Further development of the primary health caresystem as the most affordable medical care forthe population;

• Strengthening State (MoH) stewardship andregulatory role in health sector for policydevelopment and implementation andincreased access to quality services; strength-ening of the MoH leadership role in inter-sectoralcollaboration, promoting involvement of othergovernment and non-government organizationsin the protection of population health and over-all health system reinforcement.

CONTACT:World Health Organization

9 Alek Manukyan St.Yerevan 007, Armenia

Tel: (374 10) 51 20 04Fax: (374 10) 51 20 13E-mail: whoco@who.amURL: http://euro.who.int

http://www.un.am