The Preamble of the Constitution of the World Health Organization.

This section looks back to some ground-breaking written contributions to public health, reproducing them in their original form and adding a commentary on their significance from a modern-day perspective. To complement the theme of this month's Bulletin, Frank Grad comments on the Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization (1). The Constitution was presented at the International Health Conference in New York on 22 July 1946 and signed by the duly authorized representatives of the governments participating. The original version of the document, including the ornate and sometimes hesitant signatures, can be seen at http://www.who.int/library/historical/access/who/index.en.shtml ********** In…