World Health Organization
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1948
- HeadquartersGeneva, Switzerland
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
World Health Organization firmographics
Firmographics- 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
World Health Organization industry classification
Industry- 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
Where World Health Organization is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Geneva
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices15 records
Markets served
World Health Organization business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
World Health Organization product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use World Health Organization
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
World Health Organization technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
World Health Organization partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FAO - Food and Agriculture OrganizationcoreWHO 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 UnioncoreWHO 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)coreWHO 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 OxfordcoreUniversity 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 CDCcoreWHO 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 SciencescoreGilead 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.coreMapp 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 AntwerpcoreThe 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)coreALIMA 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 UNFPAcoreWHO 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)coreMSF 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 OrganizationcoreWHO, 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.
- UNICEFcoreUNICEF 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 AgencycoreUKHSA 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 DiseasescoreANRS-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 ConsortiumcoreISARIC provides its adaptable research framework for the NAVIS study, enabling rapid, standardized data and sample collection during the Andes virus outbreak.
- UNDPcoreWHO 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
World Health Organization competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional 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
World Health Organization social profiles
Digital presenceWorld Health Organization compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
World Health Organization financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
World Health Organization leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
World Health Organization subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries14 records
World Health Organization funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors4 records
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World Health Organization M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
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Frequently asked questions about World Health Organization
What does World Health Organization do?
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.
Is World Health Organization a public or private company?
World Health Organization is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was World Health Organization founded?
World Health Organization was founded in 1948. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is World Health Organization based?
World Health Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does World Health Organization make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Assessed Contributions from Member States are the primary driver. The others are voluntary Contributions and WHO Foundation and Partnership Funding.
Who are World Health Organization's main competitors?
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are UNICEF, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), World Bank and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations). Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is listed as an others.
Does World Health Organization have an API?
No public API is recorded for World Health Organization.
What industry is World Health Organization in?
World Health Organization's product category is International Public Health. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJAKAA, Multilateral Global Health Agencies (UN/IFIs), with a secondary code of BPADAAAA, United Nations System & Specialized Agencies. Its NAICS code is 92812 and its SIC code is 9721.