摘要:For almost 70 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has coordinated the norms and technical standards required to improve global health. This is the role people most often associate with WHO. However, the organization's constitution also calls on it to "furnish technical assis- tance and, in emergencies, necessar y aid" to governments, a role WHO has played on countless occasions. Examples include eradicating smallpox, bringing polio and guinea-worm disease to the brink of eradi- cation and responding to health threats posed by humanitarian crises worldwide