WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION Proposal for health Internet domain

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health” Internet domain. Report by the Secretariat. 1. This item has been placed on the agenda of the present session of the Executive Board at the …

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
EXECUTIVE BOARD EB112/10
112th Session 8 May 2003
Provisional agenda item 4.4
Proposal for “.health” Internet domain
Report by the Secretariat
1. This item has been placed on the agenda of the present session of the Executive Board at the
request of the Government of the United States of America. This report outlines the current situation.
2. WHO’s constitutional functions include providing health information and assisting in
developing an informed public opinion on matters of health. New technologies, particularly the
Internet, hold great potential for increasing the quality, relevance and delivery of information to health
personnel and the general public.
3. Use of the Internet for health purposes is rising. Estimates of the number of health-related web
sites range from 10 000 to more than 100 000, and a search for “health” on a common search engine
today yields nearly 102 million pages. Health information and services now available through the
Internet include, for example, information about symptoms and treatment, medical consultation, and
prescription drug purchasing. The rapid proliferation of information and the nature of the Internet,
however, make it particularly difficult for users to judge the quality of the health information and…