What the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed: the findings of five global health workforce professions

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO asserted that a holistic assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact is needed and accordingly formulated a comprehensive framework for measurement and reporting that broadly draws upon four main domains. Two domains, ‘health’ and ‘social and well-being,’ are central to the individual health care worker and two domains, ‘availability and distribution’ and ‘working conditions,’ are central to the organizational and working environment. The overarching goal of this holistic framework is to empower countries, global partners and WHO to collectively inform strategies that guide recovery plans, future investments, and further develop the health and care workforce at the national and global levels. Relative to that, the primary objective of the evidence synthesis (guided by WHO’s four domains of interest) is to triangulate data and information generated by the World Health Professions Alliance.

COVID-19

SAGE updates COVID-19 vaccination guidance

Following its 20-23 March meeting, WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) revised the roadmap for prioritizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines, to reflect the impact of Omicron and high population-level immunity due to infection and vaccination.

The roadmap continues SAGE’s prioritization of protecting populations at the greatest risk of death and severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection and its focus on maintaining resilient health systems. The roadmap newly considers the cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for those at lower risk – namely healthy children and adolescents – compared to other health interventions.

Funding the search for answers about post COVID-19 condition: how Stichting Long COVID is stimulating research in the Netherlands

“So far, much of the focus has been on the epidemiology, logging of symptoms, sending out of questionnaires, and the organization of health care,” says co-founder, Annelies Bos, who has herself been living with long COVID for the past 3 years. “There have been very few studies looking at the biomedical part of this disease.”

The long COVID foundation seeks to fill this gap by dedicating itself exclusively to fundraising for biomedical research, or research that examines the biological and physical reasons for the condition, including reasons for autoimmunity (where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues). Annelies describes how this complements the work of other long COVID organizations in the Netherlands that concentrate more on supporting patients with information, care and rehabilitation, organizing peer contacts or political lobbying, for instance.

TÜRKIYE & SYRIA EARTHQUAKES

“Surviving the 1999 earthquake made me the doctor I am today” – an interview with WHO’s Dr Geroğlu on the response to the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes

“In 1999 a massive earthquake struck Türkiye, causing great destruction and killing more than 17 000 people. At the time I was living in the city of Şile, a district in İstanbul province, 60 kilometres from the epicentre. My family was displaced, and we lived in a tent for about 2 weeks. I had already been planning to work in the medical field but that unfortunate event gave me the extra determination to become a doctor.”

Since then, Dr Berk Geroğlu has gone on to become a general practitioner, specializing in family health, and is now also a National Professional Officer for the WHO Country Office in Türkiye, where he oversees the Refugee Health Programme.

What it feels like to be deployed to an earthquake disaster zone: an interview with a United Nations health coordinator in Gaziantep

Andreea Afumateanu is used to working in difficult and dangerous situations. As a captain in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, she was involved in peacekeeping operations in South Sudan as well as India and Pakistan. But in her role as United Nations Health Coordinator/Hub Coordinator in Gaziantep, Türkiye, the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 6 February, the situation has felt quite different.

“In Sudan, India and Pakistan, the fear you felt was a kind that you could manage, because you knew what the next day would bring, and for how long you would be exposed to risk. And, in the end, you knew that you would return to a safe space. Here, however, wherever you stay – and it doesn’t matter whether you’re staying in a hotel or a tent – you are exposed to risk all the time, just because you are in this place.”

WHO Foundation Health Emergency Appeal for Türkiye and Syria

Donate now

UKRAINE EMERGENCY

With EU and USAID support, WHO donates more ambulances to Ukraine to help cover emergency health needs during the war

The WHO Country Office in Ukraine, with support from the European Union (EU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated an additional 33 ambulances to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to enable the provision of emergency medical care to patients during the war.

The handover of ambulances took place on 27 March in Lviv, western Ukraine, at a ceremony held jointly with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, EU Humanitarian Aid and USAID. Participants included Dr Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine, Mr Maciej Popowski, Director General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, and Ms Tatiana Rastrigina, Senior Project Management Specialist at the USAID/Ukraine Health Office.

Strengthening infectious disease control in Ukraine

Determining the cause of an infection and applying the correct treatment is not only a key to recovery – it also contributes to the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To support this, and to strengthen infectious disease control measures in the country, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine has delivered 10 bacteriological analysers and reagents for testing to hospitals and regional centres for disease control and prevention in Ukraine.

The use of bacteriological analysers in laboratories significantly increases the quality of results of microbiological research to determine the cause of an infectious disease or complication, and to prescribe the right treatment to the patient.

WHO helps Ukrainian health professionals support the Polish health system as they await their return home

In February 2022, millions of refugees crossed the western land border into Poland in the biggest population movement since the Second World War. Over a year later, Poland continues to host the largest population of Ukrainian refugees, with 1.5 million people granted temporary protection.

Although the Polish Government and citizens have warmly welcomed their neighbours, the situation has led to considerable pressure on the health-care system, particularly regarding staffing, due to the increased demand for services.

While many Ukrainian medical professionals are eager to support, they face significant barriers, such as lack of Polish language skills and the different qualifications required for them to work in the Polish health-care system. In response, WHO is working closely with the Polish Ministry of Health to provide support and guidance to enable qualified Ukrainian health workers to use their skills and education in the national health system.

Age-friendly Cities and Communities are leading the way in supporting older people, including Ukrainian refugees, in Poland

WHO and partners are taking action to better identify and address barriers to health care for older Ukrainian refugees in Poland. A recent survey of Ukrainian refugees found that over 70% of those over 65 years of age had experienced difficulties in seeking and accessing health care in the host country. Approaches and solutions being considered would also benefit older people in general across a variety of settings, both urban and rural.

Identifying and addressing the challenges faced by older people, including refugees in the context of the ongoing emergency in Ukraine, has been the subject of a consultation organized by WHO and the Jagiellonian University’s Center for Evaluation and Analysis of Public Policies in Kraków on 20–21 March.

WHO in Ukraine holds first primary health care conference since the beginning of war

On 28–29 March 2023 in Lviv, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine hosted the first primary health care (PHC) conference since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

WHO organized the conference jointly with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), and in partnership with the Academy of Family Medicine of Ukraine. The event brought together nearly 200 PHC professionals along with health authorities and international partners to exchange knowledge and map the future of PHC during and after the war.

WHO Health Emergency Appeal for Ukraine

Donate now

MPOX (MONKEYPOX)

WHO's Science in 5: mpox update - 24 March 2023

WHO has declared that the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for Mpox remains in effect. Dr Rosamund Lewis provides a status update, lessons learned from the response so far and elaborates on who is at risk in Science in 5 this week.