Extracts below. Read online: https://hq_who_departmentofcommunications.cmail20.com/t/d-e-wqqld-hlddyk...
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Friday, 24 July 2026
This commentary was originally published by Dr Tedros on his social media accounts: X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
80 years strong: the WHO Constitution
24 July 2026 -- Eighty years ago this week – in July 1946 – nations emerging from the devastation of the Second World War chose cooperation over division. They signed the Constitution of the WHO, founded on a bold and radical idea: that health is key to peace and security, and that health is a human right.
Eight decades later, in a troubled and divided world, that vision matters more than ever.
The Constitution remains our compass. WHO remains the place where countries come together to confront health challenges that none of us can solve alone...
Building WHO required more than vision. It required drafting every principle, every article and every commitment...
Dr Brock Chisholm did not draft the Constitution. He brought it to life. As WHO's first Director-General, he transformed its founding vision into action, leading the Organization through its earliest years and helping establish the institution we know today...
The WHO Constitution was never the work of one nation. It was built through international collaboration and signed by representatives from every region of the world.
Different cultures. Different political systems. Different histories.
United by one belief: health is a fundamental human right...
Happy 80th anniversary, to the World's Health Organization!
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Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org