Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
World Health Organization (WHO)
"The UN specialised agency for international public health, founded April 7, 1948, headquartered in Geneva, with 194 member states (though US and Argentina have withdrawn)."
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations specialised agency responsible for international public health. It was established on April 7, 1948 when its Constitution came into force — this date is commemorated annually as World Health Day. WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. WHO's core functions include: directing and coordinating international health, setting norms and standards (ICD classification, essential medicines list), providing technical support to countries, monitoring health trends, shaping the research agenda, and leading emergency response during epidemics and pandemics. Governance: The supreme decision-making body is the World Health Assembly (WHA), which meets annually in May in Geneva. All 194 member states have one vote each. The Executive Board (34 members, elected for 3-year terms) implements WHA decisions. The Director-General is elected by the WHA for a 5-year term; the current DG is Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (since July 2017, re-elected May 2022). Funding: WHO's budget for 2024-25 biennium is approximately $6.83 billion. Only 16% comes from mandatory assessed contributions (based on GDP and population); the rest is voluntary and often earmarked for specific programmes, limiting WHO's operational flexibility. The US was the largest single contributor at ~22% before its withdrawal. The US withdrew from WHO effective January 2026 (executive order signed January 20, 2025). Argentina announced withdrawal in March 2026 (effective March 2027 after 1-year notice period). These withdrawals threaten WHO's funding, legitimacy, and operational capacity.
Core topic for Prelims (founding date, HQ, DG, World Health Day, member count) and Mains GS2 (international institutions, global health governance, India's multilateral engagement). WHO membership and withdrawal rules, funding structure, and the Pandemic Treaty are current hot topics.
- 1 Founded: April 7, 1948; HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
- 2 Member states: 194 (pre-withdrawals); DG: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
- 3 World Health Day: April 7
- 4 Governing body: World Health Assembly (WHA); meets annually in May
- 5 Budget (2024-25): ~$6.83 billion; assessed contributions: only 16%
- 6 US withdrawal: Effective January 2026; Argentina: March 2027
- 7 COVAX: WHO co-led vaccine equity initiative; 2 billion+ doses distributed
- 8 Pandemic Treaty: Under negotiation since December 2021
- 9 IHR (2005): International Health Regulations — binding on all members
- 10 India: ~0.9% assessed contribution; world's largest vaccine manufacturer
Argentina's March 2026 withdrawal from WHO — the second country after the US — signals a growing 'health sovereignty' movement that threatens the multilateral health architecture and could weaken global pandemic preparedness at a time when coordinated response is most needed.