The World Health Organization was established
On this day · 7 April 1948
On April 7, 1948, the WHO's constitution took effect, creating the UN's global health agency and the date now marked as World Health Day.
On April 7, 1948, the Constitution of the World Health Organization entered into force, bringing the United Nations’ specialized health agency to life. The document had been adopted at an International Health Conference in New York in 1946 and signed by representatives of 61 States, but it could not take effect until enough governments ratified it.
Under Article 80, the constitution required ratification by 26 of the UN’s members. When the 26th government signed off in the spring of 1948, the WHO officially existed, charged with a famously sweeping goal: the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
“WHO’s Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 — a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day.”
That anniversary became World Health Day, first observed in 1950 and held every April 7 since to spotlight a pressing global health concern.
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