The World Health Organization (WHO) was formed in 1948 by the United Nations to focus on international public health. The agency provides leadership on global health matters, shapes policy and research agendas, sets norms and standards, supports countries, and monitors and assesses health trends. As of 2013, the WHO has 194 member states, including the United States, of course.
Unfortunately, like its parent the United Nations, the WHO also advocates gun control policies, as a so-called public health matter — but the organization’s shortsightedness on this is outside the scope of this article. Its work on communicable diseases, however, is truly commendable. Similarly, within the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, focuses on public health issues…