World Organizations

The European Union 

What is the EU?

The EU is unlike anything else—it isn’t a government, an association of states, or an international organization. Rather, the 28 Member States have relinquished part of their sovereignty to EU institutions, with many decisions made at the European level. The European Union has delivered more than 60 years of peace, stability, and prosperity in Europe, helped raise our citizens’ living standards, launched a single European currency (the euro), and is progressively building a single Europe-wide free market for goods, services, people, and capital.

History of the EU

The precursor to the European Union was established after World War II in the late 1940s in an effort to unite the countries of Europe and end the period of wars between neighboring countries. .In 1950 the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community expanded the cooperation. The six nations involved in this initial treaty were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Today these countries are referred to as the "founding members."

During the 1950s, the Cold War, protests, and divisions between Eastern and Western Europe showed the need for further European unification. In order to do this, the Treaty of Rome was signed on March 25, 1957, thus creating the European Economic Community and allowing people and products to move throughout Europe. In order to further unify Europe, the Single European Act was signed in 1987 with the aim of eventually creating a "single market" for trade. Europe was further unified in 1989 with the elimination of the boundary between Eastern and Western Europe - the Berlin Wall

What have the Eu done?

- Safer and cheaper flight

- Students exchange programmes

- The single market

- Peace

- The Euro

- A healthier Europe 

The World Health Organization

What is World Health Organization?

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

History of World Health Organization

When diplomats met to form the United Nations in 1945, one of the things they discussed was setting up a global health organization. WHO’s Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day.

What have World Health Organization done?

- Noncommunicable diseases programme 

- Publications on noncommunicable diseases 

- WHO unveils Physical Activity Guidelines for the Pacific Region 

- Pacific physical activity guidelines for adults: framework for accelerating the communication of physical activity guidelines 

- Publications on nutrition 

- Workshop on national plans of action for nutrition: key elements for success, constraints and future plans - Malaysia 1999

- Development of food-based dietary guidelines for the Western Pacific 

- Ministerial roundtable on diet, physical activity and health - Japan 2002

- Diet, food supply and obesity in the Pacific

- Using domestic law in the fight against obesity: a guide for Pacific countries 

- Workshop on obesity prevention and control strategies in the Pacific - Samoa 2002