9781422282830

Advances in blood transfusions saved countless lives during World War II; here, an American soldier receives a blood transfusion with the help of his fellow soldiers on a makeshift cot in New Guinea.

In 1948 the United Nations set up the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat and eradicate diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and other contagions. WHO’s constitution states that the organization is to be “the directing and coor- dinating authority on international health work.” WHO became one of several UN agencies, including the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (now known as UNICEF), designed to respond to humanitarian emergencies. WHO focused its attention primarily on developing countries, especially those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. WHO’s early history, however, was fraught with political turmoil, as Cold War tensions between the Western democracies, led by the United States, and the com- munist world, led by the Soviet Union increased. The UN wanted all its members to support the organization, but the Soviet Union and other communist countries balked at participating. The Soviets said they weren’t satisfied with the work of the organization and walked away for a time. BetweenNovember 1949 and August 1950, six other communist countries followed the Soviets and left the organization, believing WHO was not helping the communist countries in Eastern Europe. The communists wanted more money, insecticides, vac- cines, and drugs from WHO—but less advice from its officials. The crisis underscored the ever-widening chasm between the Communist Bloc and the Western democracies as the Cold War began. The Soviets eventually returned to WHO in 1957.

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HEALTH AND MEDICINE