When the World Health Organization was founded, the Black Plague that felled scores in Europe was still fresh in the minds of the people, and memories of other diseases loomed large. Cholera spread to Europe due to increased interaction with the East, prompting the first international conference on health (though political differences proved too much to overcome); and smallpox and typhus were also diseases of concern. A pan-European agency, L’Office International d’Hygiene Publique, was established in 1907, followed up by a health office within the League of Nations. But in all they were uncoordinated efforts. What was needed was a single, unified, international health authority.

On this day, April 7, 1948, the World Health Organization was founded, under the auspices of the United Nations charter signed three years earlier. The WHO took over the work of L’Office International d’Hygiene Publique, and the Health Organization of the League of Nations, reforming them into six regional bodies.

Several months later, the First World Health Assembly met in Geneva, Switzerland. With 53 of the 55 the WHO’s member states in attendance, the meeting established malaria, tuberculosis, venereal diseases as priorities for the organization. Areas of focus would include maternal and child health, sanitary engineering, and nutrition.