Resumo em Inglês:

In celebration of the World Health Organization's 50th anniversary, this article features WHO's contribution to the world by examining its current activities in the areas of health, human rights, and development. It briefly summarizes events leading to its establishment over the period from 1851 to 1948, which marks the year when WHO assumed its role as a specialized body of the United Nations. Quoting from various articles in WHO's Constitution, it illustrates the principles that prompt its actions and that have led nations to become aware of their potential goals, thus steering them toward a brighter future. A brief overview of the last 20 years ends with the introduction of WHO's new Director General, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Resumo em Inglês:

Primary environmental care combines the original strategy proclaimed at Alma-Ata as primary health care and the conception of integral rural development that emerged from the agrarian policies of Third World countries during the seventies. Within the renewed goal of health for all in the 21st century, the primary environmental care strategy may be considered as all those actions necessary to improve and protect the local surroundings through foresight and prevention of possible problems, with tasks institutionalized at the local level. Analysis and practice of this strategy are based on a model focused on the promotion of human beings, the environment, and social development. Furthermore, it is founded on critical theory and has a holistic perspective. This operational frame encourages participation and action, thus endowing individuals, communities, and societies with the power to make decisions. In this way, leadership is created for the sustainable development of nations.