About the World Health Organization and its efforts to reduce anaemia
Reducing anaemia has broad and significant benefits for individual health, economic productivity, equity and societal development.
Complex challenges, such as anaemia, can be addressed more effectively when approached from multiple angles. The Alliance brings diverse viewpoints and solutions, and enables members to share resources and expertise. Working together can amplify the impact of efforts to reduce anaemia, achieving greater outcomes than could be accomplished by one organization or initiative alone. WHO has an important convening and standard-setting role to play as the UN agency responsible for health, and we can’t achieve health for all without countries and partners.
How our organization is tackling anaemia?
- WHO provides guidelines and standards for the diagnosis of anaemia across different settings (e.g. new haemoglobin thresholds), develops and updates guidelines and tools for anaemia diagnosis and management (e.g. data collection methodologies), and provides guidance on data analysis and interpretation.
- WHO supports and coordinates the collection and analysis of data on anaemia prevalence, causes and risk factors through global surveys and national health assessments. WHO focuses on identifying the direct causes and underlying risk factors for anaemia and advocates for interventions that address gender-specific needs.
- WHO hosts the Secretariat of the Anaemia Action Alliance, facilitating collaboration and coordination among members, all of whom are working to reduce anaemia. WHO collaborates with various stakeholders, including governments, research institutions and NGOs to enhance anaemia surveillance and intervention efforts, which helps in aligning strategies at local, national and global levels. WHO can encourage leaders to demonstrate a commitment to anaemia through public statements and active involvement in programme planning and implementation. WHO can advocate for increased financial investment in anaemia programmes, promote coordination among government agencies, NGOs, international bodies and create systems for feedback from all sectors involved to continually refine and improve programmes.
What our organization can offer?
WHO develops and publishes guidance and standards, provides technical support, collects and analyses health data, publishes policy briefs and technical documents, provides educational materials and resources, collaborates with partners and plays a central role in coordination, ensuring that efforts are well-aligned and efficient. WHO can help with translating the guidance and responding to questions about guidelines and data.
Our specialty:
WHO develops guidelines around effective interventions for anaemia.
