WHO Members:
All countries that are Members of the United Nations may become members of WHO by accepting its Constitution. Other countries may be admitted as members when their application has been approved by a simple majority vote of the World Health Assembly.

New Goals:
In 1998 the WHO refocused its work and developed a new corporate strategy, setting out the following four strategic directions for WHO's contribution to efforts to advance health at global and country level:

• Reducing excess mortality, morbidity and disability, especially in poor and marginalized populations
• Promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing risk factors to human health that arise from environmental, economic, social and behavioural causes
• Developing health systems that equitably improve health outcomes, respond to people's legitimate demands, and are financially fair
• Framing an enabling policy and creating an institutional environment for the health sector, and promoting an effective health dimension to social, economic, environmental and development policy

In carrying out its activities, WHO's secretariat focuses its work on the following six core functions:

• Articulating consistent, ethical and evidence-based policy and advocacy positions
• Managing information by assessing trends and comparing performance; setting the agenda for, and stimulating research and development
• Catalysing change through technical and policy support, in ways that stimulate cooperation and action and help to build sustainable national and inter-country capacity
• Negotiating and sustaining national and global partnerships
• Setting, validating, monitoring and pursuing the proper implementation of norms and standards
• Stimulating the development and testing of new technologies, tools and guidelines for disease control, risk reduction, health care management, and service delivery

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