ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been asked by its governing bodies to take a more proactive role in response to the growing number of complex emergencies requiring supportive action. WHO's role in helping nations deal with emergencies, however, and in particular with traumatic stress, needs to be seen in the context of WHO's total role within the United Nations System. WHO's functions have been defined as being both a directing and coordinating authority for international health work as well as encouraging technical cooperation for health among its Member States. Many psychiatric disorders can be precipitated by severe life events, particularly loss events, leading primarily to depression, and threatening events which are more likely to lead to anxiety states. Since disasters usually involve both loss and threatening events, it is little wonder that the prevalence of these disorders is high following such occurrences.
