The first WHO-negotiated health treaty is adopted

The essentially completed genome gave researchers a foundation for studying human variation and disease.

The announcement followed large-scale cooperation among publicly funded sequencing centers.

Completion was a scientific milestone, not a claim that all genes or diseases had been fully understood.

Member states unanimously adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Governments sought common responses to advertising, exposure and other drivers of tobacco use.

The treaty addressed the policies that shape smoking and second-hand smoke exposure.

The first African Traditional Medicine Day was observed on this date to draw attention to traditional practitioners in health systems.

On the first observance, the WHO regional office urged governments to formally recognize traditional medicine.

The newly instituted annual day offered a forum for discussion of African medical knowledge and health access.

The 2003 observance encouraged policy discussions on how traditional and conventional care could relate.