ABSTRACT
Each of World Health Organization (WHO's) six geographical regions has its own organization, consisting of a regional committee representing relevant member states and associate members, and a regional office staffed by experts in various fields of health. The WHO Chief Scientist and Science Division covers norms and standards, digital health, and research and knowledge. In January 2015 a special session of the WHO Executive Board mandated a panel of independent experts to examine the organization's response to the unprecedented West African Ebola outbreak of the previous year. WHO appoints and administers the secretariat of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, initiated in 1999 with the aim of improving health and health systems in developing countries. In May 2016 the WHA endorsed WHO's first Global Health Sector strategy on Viral Hepatitis, covering the period 2016-21, with the ultimate aim of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
