When was the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) established?
- (a)5 May 1951
- (b)10 June 1950
- (c)07 April 1948
- (d)10 July 1949
Correct — C, 07 April 1948. The WHO's constitution — adopted at the 1946 International Health Conference in New York — came into force on 7 April 1948, the date the organisation formally came into being as the United Nations' specialized agency for international public health. That same date is observed every year afterwards as World Health Day.
- (a)5 May 1951 — Not WHO's founding date; picking a plausible nearby year is the trap here.
- (b)10 June 1950 — Not WHO's founding date.
- (d)10 July 1949 — Not WHO's founding date — WHO was already established the previous year, in April 1948.
WHO is the UN's specialized agency directing and coordinating international public health, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It succeeded earlier international health bodies — the Health Organisation of the League of Nations and the Office International d'Hygiène Publique — after its constitution was signed in 1946 and took effect on 7 April 1948.
Exams frequently test the founding years and headquarters of UN specialized agencies as quick factual recall. The safest anchor for WHO is that its founding date (7 April) is itself a globally observed day — World Health Day — which makes the fact self-reinforcing.
- WHO's constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 — the date it was formally established
- 7 April is observed every year as World Health Day
- Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland
- A specialized agency of the United Nations for international public health
- Confusing WHO's founding year (1948) with the United Nations' own founding year (1945)
- Mixing up WHO with other Geneva-based bodies such as ILO or UNHCR
MPPSC and UPSC frequently ask founding years and headquarters of UN specialized agencies — anchor WHO to World Health Day (7 April) so the date is never forgotten.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Where is the headquarters of the World Health Organization located?
- (a)New York
- (b)Geneva
- (c)Paris
- (d)Vienna
Answer(b) Geneva, Switzerland.
- practice — not a real PYQ
World Health Day is observed every year on:
- (a)24 October
- (b)7 April
- (c)5 June
- (d)8 March
Answer(b) 7 April — the date WHO's constitution came into force in 1948.