Another major initiative is the step-by-step assessment of the growth and development of more than 8,500 children in six diverse countries. The results of this multicenter study will tell us, for the first time, how breast-fed babies grow on the way to reaching their full genetic potential.

Nutrition is a complex topic involving many sectors. When there is food insecurity resulting from an emergency, we work with governments and the World Food Programme; for longer-term agricultural and food safety issues, we collaborate closely with the FAO.

A WHO Technical Advisory Group on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS has been established to review nutrient requirements for the estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS and review evidence on nutrition's role in HIV transmission, disease progression and mortality.

What is the WHO doing to prevent the spread of food-related diseases like mad cow disease and the avian bird flu?

Indeed, mad cow disease and avian bird flu have been in the headlines. However, every day and everywhere in the world, foodborne diseases cause illness and death. In developing countries, food and waterborne diseases that result in diarrhea kill about 2.2 million people, many children, every year.

The World Health Assembly adopted a resolution in 2000 that recognizes food safety as an essential public health function, and WHO now has a global strategy for reducing the burden of foodborne diseases.

As with other health issues, multisectoral management is critical. For example, regarding avian flu, poultry producers have to take responsibility for the health of their poultry flocks—but they require support from governments. Health ministries have a major role to play in human disease surveillance, for example to watch for human cases of avian flu and identify transmission routes. This will help determine whether the human form of avian flu virus is changing into a more virulent type. WHO provides support to ministries and recommends steps in managing human disease outbreaks. Other agencies also have a role: in the case of avian flu, the WHO has worked closely with the FAO.

Overall, WHO is assisting governments in strengthening surveillance for many diseases, including those that result from the consumption of unsafe food and those that come directly from live animals. WHO also assists in researching the source of emerging animal-related illnesses such as SARS.

What effects do environmental maladies have on global disease and social welfare?

Of course, the state of the environment has an impact on many sectors, including health. We know that heat waves, if unopposed by adequate health and social programs, can kill. An estimated 2 million children die each year from acute respiratory infections, often related to air pollution both inside and outside their homes. Some of the solutions are relatively simple: better fuels for cooking in the home, for example. Others involve massive multisectoral efforts that are beyond the scope of WHO’s work.

As with so many health issues—whether they be prevention and treatment interventions for HIV/AIDS, bed nets for malaria, vaccines to prevent childhood illnesses, training modules for nurses and other health staff, ways to eat healthier, or interventions for healthy births—there are solutions. The question is one of political will to apply them.