World Health Organization (Who) General Knowledge MCQs 1


1. The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed in ____
(a) 22 July 1946 ✓
(b) 22 June 1946
(c) 22 August 1946
(d) 22 April 1946

2. The first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948
(a) Public Health
(b) Social Justice
(c) Child Health
(d) Women Health

3. The International Sanitary Conferences, originally held on _______ , were the first predecessors of the WHO.
(a) 23 June 1851  ✓
(b) 23 June 1845
(c) 23 June 1850
(d) 23 June 1857

4. The WHO employs _____ people in 147 countries to carry out its principles.
(a) 8,500 ✓
(b) 8,000
(c) 7,000
(d) 9,000



Operational history of The WHO





  • 1947: The WHO established an epidemiological information service via telex, and by 1950 a mass tuberculosis inoculation drive using the BCG vaccine was under way.

  • 1955: The malaria eradication programme was launched, although it was later altered in objective. 1965 saw the first report on diabetes mellitus and the creation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

  • 1958: Viktor Zhdanov, Deputy Minister of Health for the USSR, called on the World Health Assembly to undertake a global initiative to eradicate smallpox, resulting in Resolution WHA11.54. At this point, 2 million people were dying from smallpox every year.

  • 1966: The WHO moved its headquarters from the Ariana wing at the Palace of Nations to a newly constructed HQ elsewhere in Geneva.

  • 1967: The WHO intensified the global smallpox eradication by contributing $2.4 million annually to the effort and adopted a new disease surveillance method. The initial problem the WHO team faced was inadequate reporting of smallpox cases. WHO established a network of consultants who assisted countries in setting up surveillance and containment activities. The WHO also helped contain the last European outbreak in Yugoslavia in 1972. After over two decades of fighting smallpox, the WHO declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated – the first disease in history to be eliminated by human effort.

  • 1967: The WHO launched the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and the World Health Assembly voted to enact a resolution on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation, with a focus on community-driven care.

  • 1974: The Expanded Programme on Immunization and the control programme of onchocerciasis was started, an important partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank.

  • 1977: The first list of essential medicines was drawn up, and a year later the ambitious goal of "Health For All" was declared.

  • 1986: The WHO began its global programme on HIV/AIDS. Two years later preventing discrimination against sufferers was attended to and in 1996 UNAIDS was formed.

  • 1988: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was established.

  • 1998: WHO's Director-General highlighted gains in child survival, reduced infant mortality, increased life expectancy and reduced rates of "scourges" such as smallpox and polio on the fiftieth anniversary of WHO's founding. He, did, however, accept that more had to be done to assist maternal health and that progress in this area had been slow.

  • 2000: The Stop TB Partnership was created along with the UN's formulation of the Millennium Development Goals.

  • 2001: The measles initiative was formed, and credited with reducing global deaths from the disease by 68% by 2007.

  • 2002: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was drawn up to improve the resources available.

  • 2006: The organization endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit for Zimbabwe, which formed the basis for global prevention, treatment, and support the plan to fight the AIDS pandemic.




As of 2012, the WHO has defined its role in public health as follows:




  • providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed;

  • shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation, and dissemination of valuable knowledge;

  • setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation;

  • articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options;

  • providing technical support, catalysing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity; and

  • monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.

  • CRVS (Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) to provide monitoring of vital events (birth, death, wedding, divorce).







Regional Offices of WHO


Region: Africa
Headquarters: WHO Regional office of Africa, Citè du Djoué ,Republic of Congo
Notes: AFRO includes most of Africa, with the exception of Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Tunisia, Libya, Somalia and Morocco (all fall under EMRO).[87] The Regional Director is Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, a Botswanan national. (Tenure: -Present).

Region: Europe
Headquarters: WHO Region of Europe, Centre of Primary Health, Amaty, Kazakhstan
Notes: EURO includes all of Europe (except Liechtenstein) Israel, and all of the former USSR.[89] The Regional Director is Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, a Hungarian national (Tenure: 2010 – present).

Region: South-East Asia
Headquarters: WHO Region of South-East Asia, World Health House , New Delhi , India
Notes: North Korea is served by SEARO. The Regional Director is Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, an Indian national (Tenure: 2014 – present).

Region: Eastern Mediterranean
Headquarters: WHO Region of Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Notes: The Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office serves the countries of Africa that are not included in AFRO, as well as all countries in the Middle East except for Israel. Pakistan is served by EMRO. The Regional Director is Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, an Omani national (Tenure: 2018 – present).

Region: Western Pacific
Headquarters: WHO Region of western pacific, Manila, Philippines.
Notes: WPRO covers all the Asian countries not served by SEARO and EMRO, and all the countries in Oceania. South Korea is served by WPRO. The Regional Director is Dr. Shin Young-soo, a South Korean national (Tenure: 2009 – present).

Region: The Americas
Headquarters: PAHO,523, 23 Street, NW , Washington , DC
Notes: Also known as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and covers the Americas. The WHO Regional Director is Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, a Dominican national (Tenure: 2013 – present).