Care for Health Cannot Be Limited to One Country or One Town Only, It Must Extend to Entire World: Role of Andrija Štampar in Building the World Health Organization

Abstract

World War II and the early post-war era saw the rise of state social and economic interventionism in Europe. A gradually developing “Welfare State” aimed at increasing both the proportion of participating population and the number of social rights they enjoyed (1). These developments also included reforms of educational and health care systems. This important and dynamic period for international health began by the enactment of the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution on April 7, 1948 (2). This essay discusses the initial activities between 1946 and 1948 that led to restructuring of the international public health system and founding of the WHO. A key agent in these developments was Croatian physician and public health reformer Andrija Stampar (1888-1958) (Figure 1; Box 1). We studied his role and contributions that resulted in the foundation of the WHO in the period immediately before the Cold War and global polarization of the world. We did not analyze the political situation of the time in detail, but rather focused primarily on the activities of Andrija Stampar. Figure 1 Andrija Stampar, lecturing at the Zagreb School of Medicine, 1953. (copyright Division for the History of Medicine, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts). Box 1Andrija Stampar's biography 1888 September 1, born in the village of Drenovac, Croatia 1911 Graduated from the University of Vienna, Medical School 1918 Appointed as health adviser to the Croatian Commission for Social Welfare 1919 Appointed head of the Department of Public Health in Belgrade 1926 Establishment of the School of Public Health in Zagreb 1927 Opened the new building of the School of Public Health and the Institute of Hygiene in Zagreb. The building was financially supported by the Rockefeller Foundation 1931 Dismissed from his position as head of the Department of Public Health in Belgrade 1931 Working in the Health Organization of the League of Nations. Between 1931 and 1938, he traveled extensively as a lecturer and expert around Europe, United States, and China 1938 Lectured on hygiene and social medicine at several major universities in the United States and Canada 1939 Appointed chairman of Hygiene and Social Medicine Zagreb School of Medicine 1940-1941 Appointed dean of the Medical School, University of Zagreb 1941 Interned in Graz, Austria, until the arrival of the Russian army in 1945 1945 Resumed his professorship at the Zagreb Medical School 1945-1946 Appointed rector of the Zagreb University 1946-1948 Critical engagement in the creation of the World Health Organization 1947-1958 Appointed the president of the Yugoslav (today Croatian) Academy of Sciences and Arts 1947-1958 Appointed director of the School of Public Health in Zagreb 1948 Presided over the inaugural Assembly Meeting of the World Health Organization 1952-1957 Appointed dean of the Medical School, Zagreb University 1958 June 26, died in Zagreb The essay is based on the material from the WHO Archives in Geneva, including sources available online (3), materials from the Rockefeller Archive Centre in New York, and newspaper articles and Stampar’s reports and reflections about the work of the Interim Commission and the WHO.