World Health Organization

Name

World Health Organization

Legal name

World Health Organization

Website

https://who.int

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The World Health Organization is a UN specialized agency that coordinates international public health for 194 member states through normative guidance, disease surveillance, emergency response, and capacity building across six regional and 150+ country offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Public Health

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), International Affairs (928120), Administration of Public Health Programs (92312), Public Administration (92)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Foreign Governments (8888), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Multilateral Global Health Agencies (UN/IFIs) (HLAJAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA), Global Health & Population Intergovernmental Bodies (BPADAAAD), Public Health Governance, Interagency Coordination & Partnerships (HLAJAMAD)

Keywords

• Global public health
• Health policy guidance
• Disease surveillance systems
• Emergency health response
• Health system strengthening

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Assessed Contributions from Member States: WHO is primarily funded through mandatory contributions from its 194 member states, based on a scale of assessment. These assessed contributions form the core predictable financing for WHO's base programmes.
2. Voluntary Contributions: Member states and other partners provide voluntary contributions for specific health programmes and initiatives. These flexible funds support priority health areas identified by donors and WHO.
3. WHO Foundation and Partnership Funding: WHO works with the WHO Foundation and various partnerships to mobilize additional resources for global health initiatives, including the Pandemic Fund and other thematic funding mechanisms.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WHO is the United Nations specialized agency for international public health, serving 194 member states through setting international health norms and standards, providing technical cooperation and capacity building to national health systems, coordinating international responses to health emergencies and disease outbreaks, and maintaining global disease surveillance and health data systems. It develops evidence-based guidelines, disseminates open-access research, runs the Emergency Use Listing procedure for diagnostics and vaccines during emergencies, and operates the WHO Academy for public health workforce learning.

Product overview

WHO is an international health organization that operates primarily as a public health agency rather than a software product company. Its digital offerings include the main WHO website and TDR Gateway publishing platform for tropical disease research. Key initiatives include the Global Research Agenda on Knowledge Translation with 19 priority research areas, the NAVIS Andes virus research initiative across 21 countries, and the first open-access global STI prevalence database. WHO provides the HeRAMS system for monitoring health resources, operates the Health Inequality Monitoring Network across 24 institutions, and maintains the WHO Academy for professional development. The organization also publishes multiple open-access journals and manages the Emergency Use Listing procedure for diagnostics during health emergencies. All WHO publications are available through its Institutional Repository (IRIS) under open-access licenses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WHO Academy: A state-of-the-art learning institution providing new learning opportunities for WHO staff and public health professionals globally.
• WHO Foundation
• Hinari Access to Research for Health Programme

Products and services

• WHO Website and Digital Platforms
• TDR Gateway
• Global STI Prevalence Database
• HeRAMS (Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System)
• Emergency Use Listing (EUL)
• Hinari Access to Research for Health Programme
• WHO Academy
• WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (IRIS)
• Health Inequality Monitoring Network
• WHO Open Access Journals
• NAVIS (Andes Virus Research Initiative)
• WHO Pandemic Agreement
• Assistive Technology Repair and Recycling Guidance
• Global Research Agenda on Knowledge Translation
• R&D Blueprint

Quantifiable outcome

• Global health emergencies responded to including Ebola, COVID-19, mpox, cholera, and other disease outbreaks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FAO - Food and Agriculture OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2026WHO and FAO jointly inform the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which adopted new international guidelines on precautionary allergen labelling (PAL). Seven joint FAO/WHO expert consultations informed these guidelines, establishing a harmonized science- and risk-based approach for 'may contain' statements as a voluntary international benchmark.
• IPU - Inter-Parliamentary UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2026WHO and IPU held their annual Global Parliamentary Forum during the 79th World Health Assembly, gathering parliamentarians to discuss implementing the WHO Pandemic Agreement and securing sustainable financing for healthcare systems.
• INRB - Institut National pour la Recherche Biomédicale (DRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026WHO sponsors the PARTNERS clinical trial for Bundibugyo Ebola treatments, coordinated by INRB (DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research), Oxford University, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.
• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026University of Oxford serves as the coordinating office for the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS clinical trial testing MBP134 antibody and remdesivir against Bundibugyo Ebola. Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute leads trial operations.
• Africa CDCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026WHO and Africa CDC launched a Joint Continental Incident Management Support Team in Kampala to coordinate Ebola outbreak response across DRC and Uganda. Africa CDC is seeking $26 million for therapeutic trials.
• Gilead SciencescoreTechnology or Integration · 2 July 2026Gilead Sciences donated 2,000 vials of remdesivir for the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS clinical trial in DRC. Remdesivir is one of two treatments being evaluated against the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.
• Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 2 July 2026Mapp Biopharmaceutical's experimental MBP134 monoclonal antibody cocktail is being tested in the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS clinical trial for Bundibugyo Ebola treatment.
• Institute of Tropical Medicine AntwerpcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium is a key scientific partner in the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS clinical trial for Bundibugyo Ebola treatments, collaborating with INRB and Oxford University.
• ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 2 July 2026ALIMA is providing clinical trial support and patient care in the Ebola response, with healthcare workers administering trials while treating patients in isolation wards.
• UNICEF and UNFPAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2026WHO jointly implemented with UNICEF, UNFPA, and the Ishonch Fund a $43.5 million healthcare programme in Uzbekistan, modernizing 231 perinatal institutions and training over 80,000 healthcare workers.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 25 June 2026MSF is providing frontline medical care in the Ebola outbreak response in DRC, operating treatment centers and supporting patient care in isolation wards.
• PAHO - Pan American Health OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026WHO, PAHO, and the Ibero-American Road Safety Observatory held their first joint meeting in Madrid, bringing together road safety leaders from 22 Ibero-American and Caribbean countries.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026UNICEF and Gavi have launched a global outreach programme inviting vaccine developers for the Bundibugyo Ebola strain. UNICEF procures and delivers vaccines during outbreaks.
• UKHSA - UK Health Security AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026UKHSA leads the Hantavirus Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC), mobilizing over 1,600 experts from 130+ countries to coordinate international research activities following the MV Hondius outbreak.
• ANRS Emerging Infectious DiseasescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026ANRS-MIE supports coordination of the NAVIS natural history study for Andes virus across 21 countries under BE READY, an EU-funded initiative for epidemic research preparedness.
• ISARIC - International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026ISARIC provides its adaptable research framework for the NAVIS study, enabling rapid, standardized data and sample collection during the Andes virus outbreak.
• UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO collaborates with UNDP through TDR and the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, working with 12 partner organizations to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): EU regional disease-prevention agency with comparable surveillance and normative functions for Europe; partners with WHO EURO but serves a distinct geography.

Direct peers

• UNICEF: Direct UN system peer sharing the same multilateral intergovernmental model with universal membership, assessed contributions, and joint country-level delivery on health-adjacent mandates (immunization, nutrition, maternal/child health).
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme): Closely comparable UN system sibling; jointly runs TDR with WHO and co-implements health-systems-strengthening programmes, sharing governance, funding, and country-delivery models.
• World Bank: Co-governor of TDR and major co-financier of health systems work; comparable in scale, sovereign governance, and global development mandate, frequently partnering on pandemic preparedness and country-level health investments.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization): UN specialized agency sharing WHO's headquarters city, governance structure, and joint programmes; they jointly run Codex Alimentarius, making FAO an immediate operational peer.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): National public-health agency with overlapping technical functions (surveillance, lab capacity, outbreak response, normative guidance) and significant funding footprint; operates nationally rather than multilaterally but is a frequent operational partner.

Emerging players

• Africa CDC: Continental public-health body increasingly coordinating African outbreak response (e.g., Bundibugyo Ebola) and seeking its own financing; partial overlap with WHO's regional delivery in Africa and a potential future alternative coordinator.
• Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Public-private partnership that funds vaccine procurement and outbreak response (including committed Bundibugyo financing); partners closely with WHO but is a downstream funding mechanism rather than a normative body.
• CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations): Epi preparedness financing and coordination body that co-funds vaccine R&D with WHO (e.g., Bundibugyo vaccine development), partially overlapping WHO's R&D Blueprint function.

Others

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Operational NGO partner providing frontline medical care (e.g., Bundibugyo Ebola response); adjacent enabler/implementer rather than a normative peer, but routinely collaborates with WHO on emergencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/who
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/who
• Facebookfacebook.com/WHO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-health-organization
• Instagraminstagram.com/who
• TikToktiktok.com/@who
• Pinterestpinterest.com/worldhealthorganization

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

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M&A

Investments2 records

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Frequently asked questions about World Health Organization