World Health Organization

THE WORLD HEALTH Organization (WHO), established in 1948 by the United Nations (UN), has a mission to promote international cooperation for improved health conditions of all peoples. The headquarters for WHO are in Geneva, Switzerland. Operations fall under the World Health Assembly (the policymaking body holds annual meetings), an executive board of health (specialists elected for three-year terms by the assembly) and a secretariat with regional offices and staff throughout the world. Financing for the services provided by WHO comes from member governments based on ability to pay and, since 1951, from an allocation from the technical assistance program of the UN.

The auspices of the WHO include providing a central clearinghouse for information and research as relates to health, sponsoring measures for the control of disease, and strengthening and expanding the public health administrations of member nations.

Overall health depends on potable water for drinking and washing, sufficient nutrition, and shelter and protection from weather extremes. Increased temperatures, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns are factors affecting food, water, and shelter. Excellent health services and living conditions would have a protective or palliative effect on those populations. Substandard health services and living conditions would have a negative effect on populations in poverty or in disaster situations.

For prevention and preparedness, the WHO coordinates review of scientific evidence on the links between climate, climate change, and health. On the basis of the information available, WHO established a list of possible health effects resulting from rapid climate change, especially in vulnerable populations. The effect of warmer temperatures would increase the incidence of heat-related illnesses and lead to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution, causing respiratory illnesses (diminished lung function, asthma, and respiratory inflammation). Flooding associated with storms and rising sea levels could increase the risk of contracting certain infectious diseases from water contamination or disease-carrying vectors, especially for the malnourished.