WHO/Europe Health Emergencies Newsletter - Issue No.43 13.03.2025
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Health Emergencies Newsletter #43
The World Health Emergency Programme (WHE) in the European Region is a vital force in protecting lives and responding to crises across 53 countries, including the EU and Central Asia. From pandemics and disease outbreaks to natural disasters and conflicts, WHE ensures rapid response, preparedness, and recovery through cutting-edge risk assessment and surveillance, expert deployments, and strengthened public health systems and capabilities. As global health threats evolve, the programme is crucial in preventing, preparing for, and mitigating emergencies, building a more resilient and secure future for all.
TOP STORY
13 March 2025: According to an analysis by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 127 350 measles cases were reported in the European Region for 2024, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997.
Children under 5 accounted for more than 40% of reported cases in the Region – comprising 53 countries in Europe and central Asia. More than half of the reported cases required hospitalization. A total of 38 deaths have been reported, based on preliminary data received as of 6 March 2025.
We welcome Dr Ihor Perehinets as the Regional Emergency Director for WHO/Europe. Dr Perehinets has over 15 years of experience working with WHO/Europe and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and combines a visionary approach to public health with robust technical expertise. His pioneering initiatives in health-care and public health systems reform, disease prevention and health system governance have enhanced resilience and health security throughout the WHO European Region.
With a distinguished career dedicated to enhancing eastern Europe's health systems, Dr Perehinets remains committed to advancing health security by advocating for robust, responsive public health services that safeguard communities across the European continent.
24 February 2025: WHO has documented over 2254 attacks on health care in Ukraine since the start of full-scale war in the country 3 years ago. The health-care system continues to face unprecedented challenges. In 2025, attacks on health care have not stopped and we continue to document them almost daily. Forty-two attacks have already been recorded in 2025, resulting in 12 injuries and 3 deaths. An overnight strike in Odesa, which damaged the region’s largest and most innovative children’s clinic, disrupting vital services, fits this ongoing and alarming pattern. This attack highlights the constant risks and obstacles facing health-care workers, as well as the persistent interruptions in the delivery of medical services across Ukraine.
17 February 2025: In 2024, 11 modular primary care clinics and one modular station for emergency medical teams (EMS) were installed in the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa and Sumy regions in Ukraine. This project, implemented by WHO in partnership with the Ministry of Health and with financial support from the European Union (EU), ensures continued access to essential health-care services despite the ongoing challenges of the war.
4 February 2025: Nearly 3 years since the full-scale war began in Ukraine, WHO has released its 2025 Emergency Appeal for Ukraine seeking US$ 68.4 million this year. Beyond the humanitarian response related to the ongoing conflict, WHO must also address broader health needs and support health system recovery and reform. This requires an additional US$ 41.6 million, bringing the total funding needed to US$ 110 million.
The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has reached a scale of undeniable severity. With the ongoing conflict, the United Nations reports an astonishing 12.7 million people in dire need of urgent humanitarian assistance, of whom 9.2 million require some form of health assistance. This includes the 3 million people with critical health needs that WHO will focus on in 2025.
27 January 2025: Halyna’s daughter Sofiia was born with short bowel syndrome and oesophageal atresia, a rare birth defect that prevents a baby from digesting food because their oesophagus has not formed properly. By the time she was 4 months old, she had already had multiple operations in Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, the only specialist centre in Ukraine able to treat her complex conditions.
On 8 July 2024, the hospital was badly damaged in an air strike. Quickly, the medical evacuation programme stepped in to coordinate the transfer of 12 of the sickest children to hospitals elsewhere in Europe to continue their treatment.
23 December 2024: The WHO Country Office in Ukraine has introduced the first official translation of WHO/Europe’s primary health-care (PHC) app for children and adolescents, making Ukraine the first country to localize this digital tool. The app’s launch took place during a national conference for PHC doctors and pediatricians in Ukraine.
This app is tailored to health professionals working with children and young people in primary health-care settings. It provides digitalized guidelines based on WHO’s “Pocket book of primary health care for children and adolescents”. The aim is to enhance the quality of care for children and adolescents in Ukraine and across the WHO European Region.
03 March 2025: WHO is working with Member States and partners to address the most urgent health needs across the world, supporting health systems, delivering life-saving supplies and organizing medical evacuations for patients living in conflict-affected areas.
As of 24 February 2025, 6295 patients – a large majority of them children – have been evacuated as part of the health response in Gaza since October 2023. Medical evacuations are complex, high-stakes operations that require a coordinated approach and close communication among numerous partners across several countries. However, the life-saving assistance provided by Member States, such as Romania, demonstrates that with enough political will, the impossible can become possible.
COVID-19 AND RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
28 February 2025: The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for the 2025-2026 influenza season in the northern hemisphere. The announcement was made at an information session at the end of a 4-day meeting on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines, a meeting that is held twice annually.
WHO organizes these consultations with an advisory group of experts gathered from WHO Collaborating Centres and WHO Essential Regulatory Laboratories to analyse influenza virus surveillance data generated by the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). The recommendations issued are used by the national vaccine regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies to develop, produce, and license influenza vaccines for the following influenza season.
17 February 2025: When WHO lifted the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) status for COVID-19 on 5 May 2023, it signalled a transition from the acute phase of the pandemic towards a period of sustained response and recovery. As part of this move, WHO/Europe published a regional transition plan in June 2023 that outlined a comprehensive roadmap for the year to May 2024. The key goal was to ensure resilient health systems, able to respond to future emergencies and maintain essential services at all times, through strategic and sustainable investment.
Now, 18 months on, WHO/Europe has published a new report identifying the milestones, lessons learned and challenges which occurred as part of the implementation of the WHO European Region COVID-19 transition plan.
Since the official start of the seasonal influenza epidemic in late November 2024, indicators of respiratory infections have continued to rise across the WHO European Region. While the magnitude of the influenza season is within the expected range, it is important for health authorities and individuals to remain active in limiting the spread and protecting the most vulnerable, which includes older people, pregnant women, immunocompromised people and those with chronic conditions.
Enhancing Diagnostic Capacity Through the Deployment of a Rapid Response Mobile Laboratory (RRML) to Mayotte
15 January 2025: On December 14, 2024, Tropical Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte, leaving a trail of major destruction and severely impacting both homes and essential infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and critical utilities such as electrical, hydraulic, transport, and communication networks. The damage has considerably hampered access to care, drinking water, hygiene products, and food, deepening the vulnerabilities of a population already facing precarious conditions. The destruction of infrastructure and limited access to safe drinking water have increased the risk of waterborne diseases including typhoid, cholera, etc. To scale up water quality testing and surveillance of waterborne infections, On 15 January 2025, the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO), in collaboration with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), deployed a multi-national Rapid Response Mobile Laboratory (RRML) to Mayotte. The deployment was led by the Institute Pasteur Paris, France, supported by experts from the University of Leipzig, Germany; B-Life RRML from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium; and Ministry of Health of Israel, representing the community of practice of GOARN strategic group for Diagnostic Surge Capacities (GOARN DiSC). The RRML operation is scheduled to continue until March 1, 2025.
Throughout the operation, WHO EURO continued to play a critical role in coordinating with all relevant health actors, including local health authorities, health facilities, EMTs, and local and international NGOs.
27 February 2025: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), following the third meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox 2024, held on 25 February 2025, from 12:00 to 17:00 CET, concurs with its advice that the event continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern and, considering the advice of the Committee, he is hereby issuing a revised set of temporary recommendations.
SYRIA HEALTH EMERGENCY
27 December 2024, Istanbul, Türkiye – Fifty tonnes of lifesaving medical supplies have arrived in Türkiye via the European Union (EU) Humanitarian Air Bridge, ready for delivery to health facilities in Syria. The shipment, coordinated by WHO, will provide much-needed support to Primary health care centers and hospitals in areas where the healthcare needs are the most pressing.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
04 March 2025: Health security extends beyond the health sector to all essential components of population security and must be integrated into national security frameworks to build resilience against interconnected threats through coordination across sectors, societies and borders.
WHO/Europe organized an external hearing on health security to bring together Member States, partners and civil society representatives.
The hearing aimed to:
- mobilize a wide range of stakeholders for health security and emergency preparedness action;
- gather actionable ideas to inform the development of the second European Programme of Work 2026–2030 (EPW2); and
- foster partnerships to drive health security action across the Region.
7 March 2025: For International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of 3 remarkable women working at the forefront of global health. Margaux Meslé, Ana Paula Coutinho Rehse and Harsh Lata work for WHO’s Health Emergency Programme, which sits at the centre of global coordination, preparation and response to disease outbreaks and emergencies. Their journeys into science, their challenges and their advice for future generations are inspiring and enlightening.
25–28 February 2025: Health security is at a critical juncture, with health emergencies in the WHO European Region having doubled in the past decade. Resurgent epidemics continue to threaten millions of lives, and the likelihood of zoonosis-driven pandemics is forecasted to triple. Climate change, antimicrobial resistance and conflict further heighten the risks. As the Region marks the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the need to bolster health security is more pressing than ever, acknowledging its centrality to economic stability and social cohesion.
On 25–28 February 2025, WHO/Europe, together with the WHO Country Office in Poland, convened a national training to strengthen Poland’s capacity to assess hospital safety and resilience against emergencies, with a special emphasis on hazards related to chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) events. This training, which took place under Poland’s European Union presidency, reflects a strong focus on enhancing health security as an essential element of national security.
21 February 2025: The efforts of Kosovo* to enhance health security have gained significant momentum, with key progress in strengthening health system resilience. At the end of 2024, Kosovo* adopted an action plan for health security that subsequently shaped the chapters on emergency preparedness and response in the health sector strategy for 2025–2030, which was adopted in December 2024 and formally approved in February 2025.
The strategy sets priorities and actions to improve the population’s quality of life. In addition, it outlines public health emergency preparedness and response as a long-term vision and foundation for improving health and well-being, and for building a stronger, more resilient and responsive health system.
17 – 21 February 2025: In December 2021, the World Health Assembly established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The thirteenth meeting of the INB was held in hybrid format from 17–21 February 2025. The opening and closing plenary sessions of the INB were open to WHO Member States, Associate Members, Observers and regional economic integration organizations, as well all relevant stakeholders.
10 February 2025: Belgian national Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge has commenced his second 5-year term as the Regional Director for WHO/Europe, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dr Kluge was formally appointed to the role for a second term at the 156th session of the WHO Executive Board in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 4 February 2025. It follows his nomination by the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region in October last year.
“We will continue to build on the many successes of the past 5 years, including our work on pandemic preparedness and health system strengthening, mental health, digital health, and immunization,” said Dr Kluge.
18 December 2024: WHO/Europe has officially commenced work on evaluating its European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 (EPW) – “United Action for Better Health”. This strategy, which has guided the European Region’s health priorities for the past 4 years, is now under review to inform the development of the second EPW for 2025–2030 (EPW2).
The evaluation results will directly inform the development of EPW2, which aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, while also addressing future challenges and megatrends – such as climate change, demographic shifts, technological advances and the changing patterns of disease. By prioritizing today’s health needs and harnessing innovation, it offers both an actionable plan for the present and a strategic vision for long-term health and well-being.
The Netherlands has become the first country to conduct a joint WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and ECDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment (PHEPA), funded by the EU4Health project. This combined assessment, developed by WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), helps EU/EEA Member States assess and strengthen their health emergency preparedness and response capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to public health threats. This joint assessment reduces reporting burden and overlap, aligns global and regional health security efforts, and helps countries prioritize preparedness needs.
We commend the Netherlands for piloting this initiative and thank the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (MoH/VWS) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) for their support and commitment. While JEE is not mandatory under IHR (2005), it complements the required PHEPA assessment under EU Regulation 2022/2371 by broadening the scope to an all-hazards approach. Other key JEE features include:
✅ voluntary country evaluation
✅ a multisectoral peer-to-peer approach by both external teams and the host country
✅ openness of data and information sharing
✅ transparency and the public release of reports
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