• Tomomi Kitamura, Hiromi Obara, Yoshihiro Takashima, Kenzo Takahashi, Kimiko Inaoka, Mari Nagai, Hiroyoshi Endo, Masamine Jimba, and Yasuo Sugiura.
• National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan.
• Health Policy. 2013 May 1; 110 (2-3): 198-206.

ObjectiveTo analyse the trends and characteristics of international health issues through agenda items of the World Health Assembly (WHA) from 1970 to 2012.MethodsAgendas in Committees A/B of the WHA were classified as Administrative or Technical and Health Matters. Agenda items of Health Matters were sorted into five categories by the WHO reform in the 65th WHA. The agenda items in each category and sub-category were counted.ResultsThere were 1647 agenda items including 423 Health Matters, which were sorted into five categories: communicable diseases (107, 25.3%), health systems (81, 19.1%), noncommunicable diseases (59, 13.9%), preparedness surveillance and response (58, 13.7%), and health through the life course (36, 8.5%). Among the sub-categories, HIV/AIDS, noncommunicable diseases in general, health for all, millennium development goals, influenza, and international health regulations, were discussed frequently and appeared associated with the public health milestones, but maternal and child health were discussed three times. The number of the agenda items differed for each Director-General's term of office.ConclusionsThe WHA agendas cover a variety of items, but not always reflect international health issues in terms of disease burden. The Member States of WHO should take their responsive roles in proposing more balanced agenda items.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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