THE ROLE OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IN UNIVERSAL HEALTH SECURITY

  • Unique Paper ID: 190343
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 8
  • PageNo: 1335-1344
  • Abstract:
  • The World Health Organization (WHO), established in 1948 as a United Nations specialized agency, plays an important role in advancing Universal Health Security through proactive and reactive global public health strategies. WHO's contributions to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), defined as access to quality essential health services without financial hardship, amid escalating threats like pandemics (e.g., COVID-19), antimicrobial resistance, urbanization, and climate change impacts. Headquartered in Geneva with six regional offices, World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates through the World Health Assembly, Executive Board, and Secretariat, setting standards, monitoring trends, and providing technical assistance to 194 member states, including partnerships with India on disease control, traditional medicine, and digital health. World Health Organization has concentrated on eradicating Small Pox, Polio reduction, Health Systems strengthening in low-income countries, and UHC progress. Service Coverage Index rose from 54 to 71 (2000-2023), with impoverishing out-of-pocket payments declining from 34% to 26% (2012-2022). WHO facilitated COVID-19 responses, essential medicines access, and initiatives like the India Country Cooperation Strategy (2019-2023) and Jamnagar Global Centre for Traditional Medicine are the key achievements that encompasses global Health Security. Challenges persist, including limited funding (reliant on assessed and voluntary contributions), bureaucratic delays (e.g., 2014-2016 Ebola response), political interference, transparency deficits, and emerging diseases, hindering SDG 3.8 targets by 2030. Drawing on literature from International Labor Organization (ILO), World Bank, and UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025, the analysis underscores needs for redefined objectives, binding pandemic treaties, increased PHC investments, and multi stake holder governance to foster equitable, resilient health systems. The aim of this article is to explore the role of World Health Organization in Universal Health Security and objective is to evaluate World Health Organization’s leadership in fostering Global Public Health Governance through Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and security measures against threats like pandemics and climate hazards. WHO making efforts in Universal Health Coverage (UHC), set standards for essential services, monitor health trends, and provide technical assistance to member states for equitable access without financial hardship WHO main functions to encompass emergency coordination, research promotion, and capacity building, supporting Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 through primary health care (PHC) integration.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{190343,
        author = {C.L. Avadhani},
        title = {THE ROLE OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IN UNIVERSAL HEALTH SECURITY},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {1335-1344},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190343},
        abstract = {The World Health Organization (WHO), established in 1948 as a United Nations specialized agency, plays an important role in advancing Universal Health Security through proactive and reactive global public health strategies. WHO's contributions to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), defined as access to quality essential health services without financial hardship, amid escalating threats like pandemics (e.g., COVID-19), antimicrobial resistance, urbanization, and climate change impacts. Headquartered in Geneva with six regional offices, World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates through the World Health Assembly, Executive Board, and Secretariat, setting standards, monitoring trends, and providing technical assistance to 194 member states, including partnerships with India on disease control, traditional medicine, and digital health.
World Health Organization has concentrated on eradicating Small Pox, Polio reduction, Health Systems strengthening in low-income countries, and UHC progress. Service Coverage Index rose from 54 to 71 (2000-2023), with impoverishing out-of-pocket payments declining from 34% to 26% (2012-2022). WHO facilitated COVID-19 responses, essential medicines access, and initiatives like the India Country Cooperation Strategy (2019-2023) and Jamnagar Global Centre for Traditional Medicine are the key achievements that encompasses global Health Security. Challenges persist, including limited funding (reliant on assessed and voluntary contributions), bureaucratic delays (e.g., 2014-2016 Ebola response), political interference, transparency deficits, and emerging diseases, hindering SDG 3.8 targets by 2030. Drawing on literature from International Labor Organization (ILO), World Bank, and UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025, the analysis underscores needs for redefined objectives, binding pandemic treaties, increased PHC investments, and multi stake holder governance to foster equitable, resilient health systems. The aim of this article is to explore the role of World Health Organization in Universal Health Security and objective is to evaluate World Health Organization’s leadership in fostering Global Public Health Governance through Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and security measures against threats like pandemics and climate hazards.
WHO making efforts in Universal Health Coverage (UHC), set standards for essential services, monitor health trends, and provide technical assistance to member states for equitable access without financial hardship WHO main functions to encompass emergency coordination, research promotion, and capacity building, supporting Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 through primary health care (PHC) integration.},
        keywords = {World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, Universal Health Coverage, Global Health Security, United Nations Organization, Intergovernmental Organizations},
        month = {January},
        }

Cite This Article

Avadhani, C. (2026). THE ROLE OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IN UNIVERSAL HEALTH SECURITY. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(8), 1335–1344.

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