WHO launches funding appeal to help a record number of people in complex, intersecting health emergencies

WHO is launching its 2023 health emergency appeal today (23 January 2023) for US$ 2.54 billion to provide assistance to millions of people around the world facing health emergencies. The number of people in need of humanitarian relief has increased by almost a quarter compared to 2022, to a record 339 million.

Currently, WHO is responding to an unprecedented number of intersecting health emergencies: climate change-related disasters such as flooding in Pakistan and food insecurity across the Sahel and in the greater Horn of Africa; the war in Ukraine; and the health impact of conflict in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and northern Ethiopia – all of these emergencies overlapping with the health system disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of measles, cholera, and other killers.

COVID-19

WHO updates COVID-19 guidelines on masks, treatments
and patient care

WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology.

WHO welcomes data on COVID-19 in China, meeting with Minister

On 14 January, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Minister Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the COVID-19 situation in the country. WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation.

Chinese officials provided information to WHO and in a press conference on a range of topics, including outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to COVID-19 infection.

Azerbaijan boosts its vaccine cold chain system

An essential part of deploying any vaccine is making sure the vaccine vials can be kept at the necessary temperatures while stored at and transported between national and local storage or health-care facilities. To strengthen Azerbaijan’s national vaccine cold chain system, the WHO Country Office in Azerbaijan has in the past year facilitated the procurement of cold chain equipment, including fridges and vaccine carriers, and trained local health-care staff on the use of the equipment and what procedures to initiate in different scenarios. Participants have included representatives from hygiene and epidemiology centres, health-care facilities and national health partners.

The most recent training, conducted in December 2022, focused on a small but critical device called Fridge-Tag. The Country Office has procured 2100 of these temperature-monitoring devices for Azerbaijan under the European Union (EU)-funded programme supporting an effective COVID-19 vaccination rollout and strengthening immunization systems in the EU’s Eastern Partnership region.

Should COVID-19 vaccination be mandatory?

“Vaccination is about protecting yourself, but it’s also an inherently altruistic act — you’re vaccinating yourself in order to be part of an immune group that will then protect those who can’t be vaccinated" so says WHO's Dr Mike Ryan in this short film.

“It’s time for action. We have a lot of work ahead of us”:
Researchers in The Netherlands work with patients to solve the puzzle of Long Covid

When COVID-19 arrived in the Netherlands almost three years ago, Dr Merel Hellemons was working as a respiratory specialist. Worried about the long-term effects of lung injury in her hospitalized patients, she and her colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam set up a post COVID-19 clinic to chart how 650 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from the first and second wave in 2020 were recovering.
What they saw took them by surprise.

UKRAINE EMERGENCY

With EU funding, WHO donates ambulances to Ukraine to support emergency health needs amid the war

On 23 January 2023, WHO donated 26 ambulances to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to enable the provision of emergency medical care to patients during the war.

With continuous attacks on health care in Ukraine, WHO supports Ukraine’s health-care system during the war and delivers life-saving medical supplies and equipment in coordination with the Ministry of Health and other partners,” explained Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine. “These ambulances will help save lives and bring vital care to people in Ukraine amid the war.”

2000 first responders trained in chemical preparedness and response in Ukraine

WHO in Ukraine has trained more than 6000 health care workers in mass casualty management and trauma care this year amid the war. Health care workers from over 40 hospitals participated in the trainings, which required specialists to test and develop specific plans and procedures on how to adequately respond to needs amid the ongoing war.

WHO has also trained tens of thousands of health care workers in gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support, chemical preparedness and laboratory diagnostics. In addition to trainings, WHO is also providing essential medical supplies throughout the country in response to needs and in coordination with national and international partners.

Understanding the obstacles faced by Ukrainian refugees in Romania

The war in Ukraine, a conflict entering its second year in February 2023, has led to the largest movement of people in the European Region since the Second World War. Millions have fled the hostilities and left behind their lives and livelihoods. Governments in neighbouring countries immediately welcomed people from Ukraine, offering a wide range of services – health being a key priority.

“We believed strongly in making health services available to people fleeing the war, so we did, without hesitating,” said Ms Mădălina Turza, Counsellor of State and Strategic Coordinator of Humanitarian Assistance to Refugees at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Romania, where in January 2023, 107 000 refugees were recorded in the country.