World Health Organization Timeline of Events

Home / Timelines / World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which was an agency of the League of Nations...

Timeline of Events

1948

4.7.1948

The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.

1977

10.26.1977

The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.

1980

5.8.1980

The eradication of smallpox is endorsed by the World Health Organization.

1990

5.17.1990

The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.