World Health Organization – April 15, 2020
For today’s Science Wednesday, we want to address the importance of the World Health Organization. The W.H.O. is a specialized agency of the United Nations, responsible for international public health. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, with 6 semi-autonomous regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide. It was established 72 years ago with the purposes of advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies and promoting human health and well being.
The W.H.O. has played a leading role in the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of an Ebola vaccine. Its current priorities include COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer; healthy diet, nutrition, and food security; occupational health; and substance abuse.
Take a look at the site (www.who.int) for all your informational needs. The COVID-19 situation dashboard provides the latest global numbers and numbers by country of COVID-19 cases on a daily basis. Have questions about the pandemic? They have a dedicated WhatsApp number you can text (https://www.who.int/…/who-health-alert-brings-covid-19-fact…). What about all the myths surrounding COVID-19? Take a look at a few of them busted down below and for more here: https://www.who.int/…/novel-…/advice-for-public/myth-busters
Now is NOT the time to defund the W.H.O. Now is the time to stop blaming, to band together globally, and to fight this pandemic with everything we have. Beware of “cures” that could be deadly: https://www.nytimes.com/…/chloroquine-coronavirus-trump.html
Now, more than ever, is the time to lead with science: the facts and the evidence.