what is the primary function of constitution in the field of health
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The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent on the fullest co-operation of individuals.
Answer:
What are the main functions of the World Health Organization? How effectively has it performed these functions when dealing with maternal health?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the body of the United Nations (UN) responsible for directing and coordinating health. As such WHO has come to play a vital role as an actor in the field of international public health and international public health policy. Since its inception in 1947 WHO has been at the forefront of many breakthroughs in the field including, most notably, what has come to be described as one of the greatest humanitarian achievements of the 20th century, the elimination of Smallpox in 1979. However WHO’s inability to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in Africa has cast doubt on its effectiveness. Though much of the media attention given to WHO concentrates on its role in controlling and ultimately eliminating infectious disease, WHO’s mandate is far broader. The details of WHO’s mandate will be examined in detail throughout this paper but put simply this mandate is to ensure the attainment of the highest possible level of all forms of health by all human beings. This paper will focus on the area of maternal health. Maternal health is an important indicator, alongside life expectancy, of development. This is reflected by the inclusion of maternal health in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) however the area of maternal health is often ignored by international relations (IR) scholars who tend to focus analysis of WHO on its role in dealing with infectious disease. This focus on infectious disease by IR scholars is understandable in light of globalization. Due to globalization and the related transport revolution of the 20th century it is now possible for infectious diseases to spread around the globe in a matter of days. The threat of infectious disease brings with it a number of traditional, hard security issues that put bluntly other health issues do not. However in light of the development of the human security paradigm from the late 1990s onwards it is now becoming increasingly apparent that IR scholars will need to expand their examination of the ways in which WHO functions beyond the realm of infectious disease.
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This paper will examine the ways in which WHO functions in relation to maternal health. It will do this by first examining the history, structure and functions of WHO and the role that the MDGs have come to play in influencing WHO’s operations. The paper will then focus on maternal health as a concept before detailing what role WHO plays in the field of maternal heath at an international, regional and national level. The final section of the paper will critique WHO’s functioning in the area of maternal health with a focus on WHO’s operations at the international level. The paper will conclude by asking if it is fair or even possible to pass judgement on the functioning of an organization as complex and multifaceted as WHO by focusing on only one, narrow section of its overall mandate.
The History, Functions and Structures of the World Health Organization
In order to understand how WHO functions when dealing with the area of maternal health it is first necessary to understand something of the history, functions and structures of WHO. These three areas are closely interrelated. It is important to examine all three in order to paint a complete picture of WHO’s functioning in relation to maternal Health.
The constitution of the World Health Organization entered into force on the 7th April 1948; however the idea of an international (or at least transnational) approach to dealing with matters of health had existed since the middle of the 19th century with efforts centred on combating infectious disease[1]. As the 20th century progressed, the focus of international health policy broadened[2].
The constitution of WHO indicates that, by the middle of the 20th century nations were willing to cooperate in a broad range of health-related policy matters. Chapter II, Article 2 of WHO’s constitution lists the twenty-two functions of WHO[3]. In addition to a continuing focus on infectious disease there are also functions that specifically deal with areas including research, assistance to government and addressing non-infectious disease that had previously been given little attention on the international health policy sta