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World Health Organization and transgender people

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency dedicated to promoting health, keeping the world safe, and serving the vulnerable.

WHO has published several important works about gender identity and expression.

Background

The World Health Organization was founded in 1948 to further the work of the League of Nations and the International Office of Public Hygiene, creator of the International Classification of Diseases.

WHO has been a major force in mitigating communicable diseases, including smallpox, polio, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria, tuberculosis. WHO also addresses non-communical diseases and health issues, including heart disease, cancer, nutrition, occupational health, and substance use.

International Classification of Diseases

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a WHO publication that includes disease models of gender identity and expression.

The 11th version (ICD-11) was released in 2022. It is a considerable improvement over previous versions:

ICD-11 has redefined gender identity-related health, replacing outdated diagnostic categories like ICD-10’s “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder of children” with “gender incongruence of adolescence and adulthood” and “gender incongruence of childhood”, respectively. Gender incongruence has been moved out of the “Mental and behavioural disorders” chapter and into the new “Conditions related to sexual health” chapter. This reflects current knowledge that trans-related and gender diverse identities are not conditions of mental ill-health, and that classifying them as such can cause enormous stigma. 

WHO (2022)

2024 healthcare guideline

In late 2023 WHO announced they were developing a guideline on the health of trans and gender diverse people. The proposed guideline development group (GDG) members were:

  • Yanyan Araña
  • Florence Ashley
  • Walter Bockting
  • Walter Bouman
  • Erika Castellanos
  • Teddy Cook
  • Elma de Vries
  • Ayouba El Hamri
  • Felisbela Maria de Oliveira Gaspar
  • Rena Janamnuaysook
  • Eszter Kismödi
  • Gail Knudson
  • Alicia KrĂŒger
  • Chris McLachlan
  • Zakaria Nasser
  • Saima Paracha
  • Phan Thi Thu Huong
  • Shobini Rajan
  • CianĂĄn Russell
  • Sanjay Sharma
  • Apako Williams

Anti-trans activists mobilized to protest the GDG’s membership, claiming it was not “balanced,” meaning it did not reflect their anti-trans views. A petition titled WHO Decides was signed by many of the world’s key anti-trans organizations and activists.

References

Staff report (December 18, 2o23). WHO announces the development of a guideline on the health of trans and gender diverse people. https://www.who.int/news/item/18-12-2023-who-announces-the-development-of-a-guideline-on-the-health-of-trans-and-gender-diverse-people

Staff report (December 18, 2o23). Biographies of proposed Guideline Development Group members. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/hq-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-library/biographies_tgd-gdg_proposed_members_2024.pdf

WHO (2022). Gender incongruence and transgender health in the ICD. https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd

WHO HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Progammes (2022). Trans and gender diverse people. https://www.who.int/teams/global-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-programmes/populations/transgender-people

WHO HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Progammes (July 29, 2022). Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240052390

WHO HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Progammes (July 29, 2022). Policy brief: Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240053274

WHO (September 29, 2015). Ending violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. https://www.who.int/news/item/29-09-2015-ending-violence-and-discrimination-against-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-and-intersex-people

Resources

World Health Organization (who.int)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)