• WSO is a non-governmental organization (NGO) in official relations with WHO.
In 2005, the WSO, through its incorporated organization the ISS, was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) as non-governmental organization (NGO). This was a major advance not only for WSO but for the stroke professional community and for the support of the worldwide fight against stroke. Indeed, the ISS is the only association, whose mission is strictly devoted to stroke, to have ever been accepted as official NGO by WHO.

The inclusion of ISS among the dramatically shortened number of professional NGOs at WHO will be particularly helpful in stabilizing and facilitating ongoing projects, which include among others the Global Stroke Initiative (see below), the
production of stroke awareness material for the public, the development of combined sessions and symposia at international conferences, and involvement into WHO campaigns, such as the one on a tobacco-free world.

• Launch and develop the Global Stroke Initiative, in association with WHO and WFN (World Federation of Neurology).
- 3 goals:

1. stroke surveillance
2. public education on stroke risk factors
3. informing healthcare providers on current stroke care options

- Started in 5 developing regions: Poland (Warsaw), India (Mumbai), Nigeria, Mozambique and Russia.

• Publication of educational material with WHO, including  patient guidelines for stroke-risk reduction and inter-country comparison of risk factors.

• Declaration of the World Stroke Day on October 26, 2006 at the Joint World Congress on Stroke in Cape Town, South Africa, in collaboration with the WHO and World Federation of Neurology, to focus attention on stroke as a preventable and treatable disease.