WHO photo profile
Mandate/Overview
World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
WHO’s mission, set out in the Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
Regionalization is a special feature of WHO’s organizational structure. Geographic areas serve as a framework for six regional organizations, as provided in the WHO Constitution. Each such organization consists of a Regional Committee for regional decision-making and a Secretariat or Regional Office for carrying out decisions at the regional level.
The goal of the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO) is to support its 53 member states in developing their own health polices, health systems and public health programmes, preventing and overcoming threats to health, anticipating future challenges and advocating public health.
Current Programmes
The WHO Regional Office for Europe’s country strategy is “Matching Services to New Needs”, which has responded to repeated requests from Member States and WHO’s governing bodies to focus on country work in order to meet countries’ health needs and make WHO country programmes more effective.
WHO EURO operates in the country within the framework of Biennial Collaborative Agreements (BCAs) between the Regional Office for Europe and the respective Government. The BCA includes joint priority areas reflecting the main health and health system needs of the country.
WHO EURO’s support to the Member States is structured across the main functions of health system:
- Health policy and other stewardship elements (ST)
- Health system financing function (FN)
- Health system resource generation function (RG), and
- Health service delivery function (SD).
Defined as “all organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health”, the health system has multiple goals, such as improving health in an equitable way, achieving fairness of financial contributions, respecting the rights of patients, and making efficient use of human, financial and other resources in a sustainable way. Key elements in this regard are ensuring equal access by all citizens to quality and safe health services.
To reinforce the importance of the contribution of health systems to economic development and wealth of the populations and to discuss the ways to strengthen health systems, the Ministers of Health from 53 European Member States of the WHO met in Tallinn, Estonia in June 2008.
The Tallinn Charter “Health Systems for Health and Wealth” was signed to guide further health systems development throughout Europe.
WHO in Armenia
Armenia became a WHO member state in 1992. WHO Country Office for Armenia (WHO CO ARM) was established in 1994. The first head of the WHO Country Office in Armenia was Dr. Hrayr Aslanyan. Currently the CO is comprised of eight staff members and is led by Dr Elizabeth Danielyan.
WHO CO represents WHO in the country; supports the MoH in health system strategic needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the BCA; channels all WHO assistance to the country as well as the country requests to the appropriate units in EURO and Headquarters (HQ).
Medium-term priorities for 2008-2013
The following priorities for collaboration have been selected in response to current public health concerns and ongoing national efforts to improve the performance of the health system.
1. Health System Strengthening:
a) improving of drug regulatory system in Armenia;
b) strengthening health financing system, aimed at decreasing the level of informal payments and increasing the overall transparency of the system;
c) improving control of non-communicable diseases at the primary care level;
d) strengthening public health system in Armenia;
e) strengthening regulatory and policy making function of the Ministry of Health, through introducing health system performance assessment mechanisms;
f) strengthening disaster preparedness and response capacities of health system.
2. Improve Maternal and Child Health:
a) assessment of obstacles of the health system for effective implementation of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses;
b) supporting development of the National Child and Adolescent Health strategy;
c) supporting improvement of quality of reproductive health services.
3. Enhance surveillance and response to communicable diseases:
a) improving control, prevention, surveillance, and treatment of communicable diseases (tuberculosis, STI/HIV/AIDS, Malaria, vaccine-preventable diseases);
b) supporting the Country in meeting the obligations under International Health Regulations 2005.
Partners
WHO CO is a member of the UN family in Armenia. Even though the main facilities of the CO are not located in the UN house, the large number of joint initiatives and activities are undertaken in close collaboration with other UN agencies.
National Counterparts and stakeholders:
Ministry of Health, National Assembly, Yerevan State Medical University, Medical colleges, WHO Collaboration Centers, National NGOs
International Organizations:
AUA, DFID, ICRC, MSF, UN Agencies, USAID, VRF, WB, World Vision.
Contact
WHO Representative in Armenia: Dr. Elizabeth Danielyan
Contact Person: Ms. Lilit Dadikyan, Administrative Assistant
Address: AUA Business Center, Suitye 211, 9 Alek Manukyan str, Yerevan 0070, Armenia
Tel: (37410) 51 20 04
Fax: (37410) 51 20 13
E-mail: whoco@who.am
Links
Europe – www.euro.who.int
Global – www.who.int
