World Health Organization
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. WHO was established by the UN on April 7, 1948.
The constitution of WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and does not consist only of the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO is a global organization that promotes this concept of health.
After years of fighting smallpox, WHO declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated. It is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years.
Other than actually curing already occurring diseases, the Organization also puts great effort into producing articles on the cause of diseases. In addition to their work in eradicating disease, the WHO also carries out campaigns — for example, to boost consumption of vegetables worldwide, or adopting a negative stance towards tobacco – and conducts research: for instance, into whether or not the electromagnetic field surrounding cell phones has a negative influence on health.
Members of the UN appoint delegations to the World Health Assembly, which votes for the WHO Director General. The current Director General is Jong-Wook Lee.
The WHO is financed as a Public-Private Partnership.
Having a good diet is very important to stay fit and healthy. In the field of nutrition, excesses are as dangerous as deprivations and quantity must always be combined with quality.
The importance of good nutrition dates back to 400 years BC J. Hippocrates once said that « diet was our first medicine », and according to Chinese medicine of the millennium, food is also a cure!
In order to stay healthy, the body needs a certain proportion of macro-nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins as well as micronutrients: vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, the current drifts due to our lifestyle lead to a certain imbalance and have disrupted our way of eating.