WHO - World Health Organization

Published purpose

The World Health Organization (WHO) works with countries and partners to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from hazards that create health emergencies, including disasters, disease outbreaks (including Ebola) and conflicts. During health emergencies, WHO also leads and coordinates the international health response to contain disease outbreaks and provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. With the support of GAC and other donors, WHO’s emergency operations aim to rapidly assess the threat of infectious disease outbreaks and initiate urgent activities to prevent and reduce morbidity and mortality caused by infectious disease outbreaks, and to prevent escalation of outbreaks. Project activities include: (1) deploying experts to rapidly assess outbreak threat; (2) delivering essential medicines, supplies and equipment; (3) training health personnel; (4) coordinating and implementing vaccination campaigns; and (5) strengthening health sector coordination and health information systems.