The World Health Organization (WHO) is the coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It has a decentralized structure with offices in 150 of its 194 Member States, six regional offices and its headquarters in Geneva. WHO’s objective is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health, defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” [WHO 1948]. Health is a human right that people rate as one...

WHO`s Radiation Programme is aimed to protect patients, workers and public under planned, existing and emergency exposure situations. Under this programme, WHO is conducting a Global Initiative on Radiation Safety in Health Care Settings (RSHCS) to mobilize the health sector to maximize the benefits of the use of radiation in medicine, with the least possible level of risk [Perez, 2015] M . This initiative, which includes activities in the area of risk assessment, management and communication, seeks to integrate radiation safety into the concept of...

Improving health care services requires a multi-sectoral approach and multi-disciplinary partnership with a range of stakeholders. The WHO Global Initiative on RSHCS provides a platform to support and strengthen such global partnership and collaboration. Despite the difference between countries and regions in terms of levels of development and socio-economic conditions, the highest standards of quality and safety in health care remain as the benchmark for all countries. Over the past decade, a number of campaigns have been launched at continental, regional and national levels to...

Maria del Rosario Perez Radiation Programme Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health (PHE) Cluster of Family, Women’s and Children’s Health (FWC) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) 20, ave Appia, 1211 Geneva-27, Switzerland Tel: + (41) (22) 791 5027 e-mail: [email protected] WEB: www.who.int

BSS 2014. Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards IAEA Safety Standards Series GSR Part 3 (2014), available from http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1578_web-57265295.pdf (accessed 1st February 2017). IAEA & WHO 2014 Bonn Call for Action - 10 Actions to Improve Radiation Protection in Medicine in the Next Decade, available from https://rpop.iaea.org/RPOP/RPoP/Content/Documents/Whitepapers/Bonn-Call-for-Action.pdf and http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/medical_radiation_exposure/BonnCallforAction2014.pdf?ua=1 (accessed 1st February 2017). Perez, 2015. Perez M and Mikhail M. The WHO Global Initiative on Radiation Safety in Healthcare Settings In: Vetter RJ, Stoeva MS, editors. Radiation Protection in Medical...