History & Civics

Project 2020-21
Name: Prarthana Nayak
Class: 10th D
Acknowledgement
I'd like to express my gratitude to my History teacher for giving me the opportunity
and guidance to do this project. I'd also like to thank my parents and friends for their
endless support in everything I do. 
Table of Contents
1. Contributions of the WHO
How has the WHO helped the world so far?
How has the WHO been dealing with the current Coronavirus disease?
2.   Contributions of the UNESCO
What has the UNESCO done to help the world?
Achievements of the UNESCO so far
Contributions of the WHO
Introduction:
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the UN agency charged with
spearheading international public health efforts. In its seventy-year life, the WHO
has logged both successes, such as eradicating smallpox, and perceived failures,
such as its delayed response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014.
Created in 1948 as part of the United Nations, the WHO has a broad mandate to
guide and coordinate international health policy. Its primary activities include
developing partnerships with other global health initiatives, conducting research,
setting norms, providing technical support, and monitoring health trends around the
world. Over the decades, the WHO’s remit has expanded from its original focus on
women’s and children’s health, nutrition, sanitation, and fighting malaria and
tuberculosis.
How has the WHO helped the world so
far?
Today, the WHO monitors and coordinates activities concerning
many health-related issues, including genetically modified foods,
climate change, tobacco and drug use, and road safety. The WHO is
also an arbiter of norms and best practices. Since 1977, the
organization has maintained a list of essential medicines it
encourages hospitals to stock. The WHO has since made a similar
diagnostic tests , and it has plans to add devices, such as X-ray and
ultrasound machines.
Some of the WHO's most lauded successes include its
child vaccination programs, which contributed to the
eradication of smallpox in 1979 and a 99 percent
reduction in polio infections in recent decades, and its
leadership during the 2003 severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS) epidemic. The agency has the
exclusive authority to declare global health
emergencies, which it has done several times since its
members granted it the power in 2007. At present, the
WHO’s work includes combating emergencies, such
as the worldwide outbreak of a new coronavirus
disease known as COVID-19 and promoting refugees’
health.

WHO Headquarters at
Geneva, Switzerland
In its 2019 strategy, the WHO identified three
priorities for its work over the next several years:
providing health coverage to one billion more people;
protecting one billion more people from health
emergencies such as epidemics; and
ensuring another one billion people enjoy better health
and well-being, including protection from non-
infectious diseases such as cancer.
The WHO’s strategic priorities are rooted in the
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a set
of seventeen objectives for ending poverty by 2030.

Emblem of the WHO

How has the WHO been dealing with
the current Coronavirus disease?
China alerted WHO officials of a growing outbreak in the city of Wuhan on
December 31, 2019. In March, after the virus had spread to more than one
hundred countries, the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic.
As it has done in past health crises, the WHO is providing medical and
technical guidance as its experts continue to investigate and learn more about
the virus, as well as coordinating with world leaders on their national
responses. It is also distributing critical supplies to member states, including
millions of diagnostic tests and personal protective equipment for health-care
workers, and taking part in global efforts to develop a vaccine.
Health as defined by the WHO is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity.
The stated goal of the WHO is “to ensure that a billion more
people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more
people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion
people with better health and well-being.” The WHO has been
striving to reach this goal since its creation in 1948.
Contributions of the UNESCO
Introduction: UNESCO, acronym for United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that was
outlined in a constitution signed November 16, 1945. The constitution, which
entered into force in 1946, called for the promotion of international collaboration
in education, science and culture. The agency’s permanent headquarters are
in Paris, France.
UNESCO’s initial emphasis was on rebuilding schools, libraries, and museums
that had been destroyed in Europe during World War II. Since then its activities
have been mainly facilitative, aimed at assisting, supporting, and complementing
the national efforts of member states to eliminate illiteracy and to extend free
education. UNESCO also seeks to encourage the free exchange of ideas and
knowledge by organizing conferences and providing clearinghouse and exchange
services.
What has the UNESCO done to help the
world?
The main goals of the organization are to ensure lasting stability and peace within
realms of humanity, culture, and education through unification of many nations. The
main functions of UNESCO are to ensure that every child has access to a proper
education, promoting cultural acceptance between nations while protecting historical
sites, improving technology to aid in the distribution of resources and energy, and
secure the safety of individual expression and basic human rights. The organization
continues to develop new and existing programs and policies to ensure the
advancement of social, economic, and environmental aspects of human life. These
operations are possible through the use of intercultural communication, a common
understanding of environmental conditions and their impact of humanity through
research and education and promoting the development of fundamental rights.
In order to ensure that every person has access to education, UNESCO must
serve as a leader to communities and aid in strengthening the infrastructure
needed for a proper school system. This includes pre-school through higher
education while putting emphasis on equality for all students as well as
access to quality educational institutions. NESCO also promotes the
practice of free speech by using print and visual media to enhance the
message of peace and allow people to have expressive freedom.  The
preservation and acknowledgment of different cultures is another important
part of the organization’s work. UNESCO states that a strong and ethical
culture is the foundation for a prosperous society. This is accomplished
through mutual respect and understanding, as well as maintaining
relationships between nations and governments, and creating policies and
laws agreed upon by all.
These movements toward a universal peace are only attainable through
education and the exchange of knowledge. A better-educated community is
prosperous due to developed communication and skills, that aid in creating
strong societies and economies. UNESCO strives to make all knowledge
and valuable information accessible universally in order to ensure the
education of every person and the spread of cultural awareness and
acceptance.  All of this progress towards peaceful coexisting cultures is
crucial to another goal of UNESCO, which is to promote peace and the
moral treatment of others within common daily life. A shared
understanding and respect among people from different cultures creates
stronger cohesion and benefits the common good by eliminating things
such as prejudice and violence. 
Besides its support of educational and science programs, UNESCO is also involved in
efforts to protect the natural environment and humanity’s common cultural heritage. For
example, in the 1960s UNESCO helped sponsor efforts to save ancient Egyptian
monuments from the waters of the Aswan High Dam, and in 1972 it sponsored an
international agreement to establish a World Heritage List of cultural sites and natural
areas that would enjoy government protection. In the 1980s a controversial study by
UNESCO’s International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, headed
by the Irish statesman and Nobel Peace laureate Seán MacBride, proposed a New World
Information and Communication Order that would treat communication and freedom of
information as basic human rights and seek to eliminate the gap in communications
capabilities between developing and developed countries.

Headquarters of the
UNESCO at Paris,
France
As well as preserving and protecting aspects of human life, the organization also
makes strides to protect the oceans and environment. While enhancing education,
UNESCO spreads awareness of the critical state of the Earth’s ecosystems and
encourages new developments and technologies to be created to put more
sustainable methods into practice. Scientific advancement is crucial to creating a
more economically, environmentally, and psychologically stable global population.
UNESCO maintains relationships between nations to aid in the continual
development of science and create policies to protect the common good. As with
many aspects of UNESCO’s work, education is vital for creating a more science-
literate public, which can then find solutions to issues like loss of biodiversity and
the preservation of fresh water. 
Here is a list of everything the UNESCO has achieved so far:
•UNESCO preserves 1073 World Heritage sites in 167 countries
•UNESCO coordinates Tsunami early warning systems all over the globe
•UNESCO leads global efforts to reach quality education for all
•UNESCO led the reconstruction of the Mausoleums in Timbuktu
•UNESCO launched the SESAME world-class research laboratory in the
Middle East
•UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression and condemns the killing of
journalists
•Angkor Temple was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger
•UNESCO published General Histories of Humanity, Africa, Asia, Islamic
Culture and the Caribbean
•UNESCO builds Youth networks across 9 Mediterranean countries
•UNESCO designated sites represent 10 million km2, equivalent to the size
of China