Health Organisation ICSE Class 9 — Selina Chapter 18
This Health Organisation ICSE Class 9 chapter from Selina Biology explains how India’s disease patterns change across five types of habitations, and how the Red Cross and WHO respond to them. We walk through every section in the book’s own order: common health problems, the international bodies, then each agency in turn. You also get the dates and diseases exam questions repeat, plus the chapter PDF.
Download Health Organisations Class 9 ICSE Biology Chapter 18 PDF
Download the Health Organisations Class 9 ICSE Biology chapter PDF from the Selina Concise textbook to revise offline or print for practice. It is the full chapter as printed in the book — 3 pages, 4 sections, 12 questions.
What is inside Chapter 18
3 pages · 4 sections · 12 exercise questions
| Section | Title |
|---|---|
| 18.1 | COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA |
| 18.2 | INTERNATIONAL BODIES |
| 18.2.1 | RED CROSS |
| 18.2.2 | WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION) |
- PROGRESS CHECK: 2 questions
- REVIEW QUESTIONS: 10 questions
18.1 COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA
India’s population spreads across five habitations, and each carries different health risks. Big cities have multi-storeyed buildings, heavy traffic, and overburdened water and sewage systems, often with industries nearby. Small towns are less crowded. Villages are agriculture-based, with dairies, poultry farming, and cottage industries as main livelihoods.
Remote areas hold tribal people who depend on forests and forest products, often without proper drinking water or any medical facility. Slum dwellings on the outskirts of big cities face the worst unhygienic conditions.
The health problems fall into two broad groups. Food and water borne diseases include diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid, and dysentery. They come from contaminated hand-pump or well water, harmful mineral contents in groundwater, and untreated sewage or industrial effluents poured into rivers.
Insect and air borne diseases spread through flies that alight on exposed food and contaminate it. Lack of general cleanliness leads to breeding of houseflies, mosquitoes, and other insects that cause disease.
This ICSE chapter also carries a background section, not in the syllabus, that sorts health organisations into local bodies, national organisations, and international organisations. Local bodies handle sanitation, safe drinking water, vaccinations, and statistical records. National bodies research malaria, dengue, tuberculosis, leprosy, and cholera. The NICD in Delhi studies infectious diseases, and the Pulse Polio programme targets poliomyelitis. The full chapter list for this book sits on the Class 9 ICSE Biology hub.
18.2 INTERNATIONAL BODIES
In the Class 9 ICSE syllabus, the chapter names two international bodies concerned with people’s health: the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Both operate across national borders, and each has its own founding history and set of activities. The next two sections look at each agency in detail.
18.2.1 RED CROSS
The Red Cross is both a national and an international agency, founded formally in 1864. Its main function is to prevent or remove human suffering in peace time and at the time of war. The emblem is a red-coloured cross painted on a white background. Red Cross workers may go to battlefields and care for wounded soldiers, whether friends or enemies.
The major activities of Red Cross Societies are:
- Relief and help to victims of any calamity — flood, fire, famine, earthquakes
- Procuring and supplying blood for needy victims of war or other calamities
- First aid in any accident
- Education in accident prevention
- Ambulance service in all emergencies
- Care of maternal and child welfare centres
- Training of midwives by the Indian Red Cross Society
Red Cross Day falls on 8 May. One legal point matters for exams. Hospitals, ambulances, doctors, and nurses often use the red cross emblem for quick identification, but that use is legally wrong. Only Red Cross Society units may use the emblem.
18.2.2 WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) was established in 1948 as a specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation (UNO). Its headquarters are in Geneva, and it has six regional offices worldwide, including one in Delhi. Each regional office works for its member countries.
Member countries of the UNO focused on the need for an international body to look after the health problems of people worldwide. This was felt most in research on the causes and cures of diseases. Combined efforts gave better and faster results, and poor and developing countries were to benefit quickly.
Member states are bound by the International Sanitary Regulations to send in all relevant information about internationally notifiable diseases. Malaria and smallpox are two such diseases. Board questions on this ICSE chapter repeatedly ask for these two names.
The six main activities of WHO are:
- Collecting and supplying information about epidemic diseases such as cholera, plague, typhoid, yellow fever, and smallpox
- Promoting and supporting research on diseases
- Supplying information on vaccines, cancer research, nutritional discoveries, control of drug addiction, and health hazards of nuclear radiation
- Suggesting quarantine measures to isolate patients and prevent spread
- Laying pharmaceutical standards for important drugs, covering purity and dose size
- Organising campaigns for epidemic (widespread) and endemic (local) diseases
An epidemic disease spreads widely across a region, while an endemic disease stays local. The textbook gives simple goitre due to iodine deficiency as the example of an endemic disease. The next chapter in this book, Waste Generation and Management, continues the same theme of human impact on health.
The table below contrasts the two bodies on the facts the chapter provides.
| Feature | Red Cross | WHO |
|---|---|---|
| Founding year | 1864 | 1948 |
| Headquarters | Not stated in the chapter | Geneva |
| Emblem | Red cross on white background | None stated |
| Main functions | Calamity relief, blood supply, first aid, accident prevention, ambulance service, maternal and child welfare | Epidemic information, research support, vaccine updates, quarantine advice, pharmaceutical standards, disease campaigns |
Keep the key dates straight: the Red Cross was founded in 1864, WHO was established in 1948, and Red Cross Day falls on 8 May.
What to practise from Health Organisation ICSE Class 9
The chapter has two exercise blocks, and both are worth working through.
- PROGRESS CHECK — 2 questions. They ask for the year WHO was established and for the organisations behind endemic goitre campaigns and school food programmes.
- REVIEW QUESTIONS — 10 questions in four parts:
- A. Multiple Choice Type (2 questions) — Red Cross Day date and WHO headquarters location
- B. Very Short Answer Type (3 questions) — matching activities to organisations, WHO headquarters, and the abbreviations WHO and UNO
- C. Short Answer Type (4 questions) — health problems in India, two functions of WHO, and the main functions of the Red Cross and WHO
- D. Long Answer Type (1 question) — the reasons for WHO’s formation, which section 18.2.2 covers above
Before the exam, verify the Class 9 Biology syllabus against the official CISCE website.
Health Organisation ICSE Class 9 frequently asked questions
What does the health organisation ICSE class 9 chapter cover?
This ICSE Class 9 chapter covers common health problems in India across five habitations, the two groups of diseases that follow, and the international bodies — the Red Cross and WHO — that respond to them. It also includes a background section on local and national health organisations marked as not in the syllabus.
When was WHO established and where is its headquarters?
WHO was established in 1948 as a specialised agency of the UNO. Its headquarters are in Geneva, and it has six regional offices, including one in Delhi.
What is the difference between the Red Cross and WHO?
The Red Cross, founded in 1864, provides calamity relief, blood supply, first aid, and ambulance services. WHO, established in 1948, collects epidemic information, supports research, lays pharmaceutical standards, and runs disease campaigns. WHO is a UNO agency; the Red Cross is a national and international agency.
When is Red Cross Day celebrated?
Red Cross Day is celebrated on 8 May each year.
Which diseases are notifiable under WHO regulations?
Malaria and smallpox are the two notifiable diseases named in the chapter. Member states of WHO must send information about them under the International Sanitary Regulations.
Reference: ICSE Class 9 Biology textbook material, chapter 18: Health Organisations — CISCE-aligned.