WHO/Europe Health Emergencies Newsletter - Issue No.37: 02.05.2024
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Health Emergencies Newsletter
Issue No.37
02.05.2024
TOP STORY
WHO/Europe has jointly launched the Pan-European Network for Disease Control (NDC) with the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The NDC will be hosted by UKHSA, with UKHSA Chief Executive Dame Jenny Harries as interim Chair of the Steering Group.
As a network of health security networks, the NDC’s mission is to bolster the preparedness of the WHO European Region, spanning 53 countries across Europe and central Asia, by proactively identifying and mitigating potential risks before they escalate into regional or global threats.
ARMENIA REFUGEE RESPONSE
Since September 2023, the World Health Organization, through the WHO Country Office in Armenia and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, has been supporting the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and working with national and international health partners, including the United Nations, to meet the acute and longer-term health needs of over 115 000 refugees who arrived from the Karabakh region in the fall of 2023.
WHO has strengthened the delivery of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), provided trauma care and rehabilitation for burn patients, offered essential and critical health information to refugees, and supported vaccination campaigns to prevent disease outbreaks. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health (MoH), along with the International Organization for Migration, WHO has co-chaired the health sector response, ensuring that emergency response activities are coordinated amongst health partners and, along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, co-chaired the Mental Health Task Force.
Lusine is one of 10 operators supported by the WHO Country Office in Armenia to answer calls on the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) hotline. To better support callers, in October 2023 she and her colleagues received specialized training from WHO MHPSS experts. They now work shifts, listening and providing referrals for callers who may be suffering from anxiety, depression or even suicidal thoughts.
Initially set up in 2020 to support health workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotline was repurposed to support people affected by the crisis in the Karabakh region. However, the mass movement of refugees to Armenia in September 2023, and the horrific explosion at a fuel depot that killed around 220 and severely burned 300 more, has left many in need of mental health support. Between September and December 2023, the hotline received 1108 calls, reflecting the cumulative impact of this series of crises. Today, the line is open to anyone who needs it. Currently, around half of the callers are recent refugees, and 60% are women.
UKRAINE EMERGENCY
With the war in Ukraine entering its third year, the country continues to face risks related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) hazards. To bolster the preparedness of the national health systems for such risks, WHO piloted a new Hospital preparedness checklist for radiation emergency response. This tool complements the All-hazard Emergency Hospital Response Checklist (WHO EURO, 2011) and is centred around a process-oriented approach. It is designed to assist health facilities in evaluating their capacity to manage a mass-casualty event stemming from a radiation emergency.
The checklist is comprised of 5 comprehensive modules: incident management, triage and decontamination procedures, equipment and supply availability, clinical management protocols, and detailed operational procedures. The tool was introduced across 4 regions in Ukraine, including areas hosting nuclear power plants, as well as the Kyiv region, through a series of workshops and field visits conducted in March in health facilities located in Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Rivne, and Netishin.
A concerning new trend has emerged from the WHO Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) in Ukraine: Ambulance workers and other personnel servicing health transport face a risk of injury and death 3 times higher than that of other health-care service workers.
Out of the 68 attacks verified by WHO during the first quarter of 2024, some 12 of them – almost 20% – targeted Emergency Medical Services, including 9 attacks targeting emergency medical aid base stations, 7 attacks resulting in damage to ambulances, and 6 attacks affecting assets and emergency medical aid equipment. In 3 of these 12 attacks, 4 health workers were injured and 2 health professionals were killed, marking a casualty rate nearly 3 times higher than in other health-care services during the same period.
More than 2 years of war have taken a heavy toll on Ukraine’s population, across age groups and socioeconomic status. A total of 9.6 million people are estimated to be at risk of or living with a mental health condition in the war torn country. A fast growing need for mental health and psychosocial support services has called for a strong response and innovative solutions from health authorities.
Among those solutions, are Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), consisting of a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker and nurse. They provide recovery-oriented care, enabling people with severe mental health conditions to lead fulfilling lives within their communities. Based on global evidence, the teams serve as an innovative alternative to the hospital-based treatment model, showing high levels of satisfaction among service users and staff.
Retirement isn’t how 62-year-old Olga Dziuba envisaged it. A renowned urban architect in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, she had recently retired and looked forward to spending her twilight years in her beautiful home. Her daughter, a doctor, lived close by with her husband and children, and the extended family would often gather for family meals and events. Her youngest grandson, Gacha, had been born prematurely and his underdeveloped lungs meant he needed regular care, but he was making good progress. Life was good.
This peaceful existence was ripped apart when her homeland erupted into full scale war on 24 February 2022. Odesa, previously a holiday destination on the Black Sea, was suddenly a war zone, pounded day and night by airstrikes.
COVID-19 AND RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
A new report from WHO/Europe confirms what has long been suspected: a link between the COVID-19 pandemic and increased rates in obesity among children 7 to 9 years old.
The publication, titled “Report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the daily routine and behaviours of school-aged children: results from 17 Member States in the WHO European Region”, presents research showing that the pandemic led to more screen time and less physical activity, mirroring an increase in overweight children in the same age range.
The influenza epidemic across the WHO European Region has returned to baseline levels, with cases recently dropping beneath the seasonal threshold for the first time since early December. While this alleviates immediate pressure on the Region’s health systems from influenza, preparations are ongoing for the next flu season, and experts are vigilant about a virus of pandemic potential.
Nicola Lewis, Director of the Worldwide Influenza Centre at the Francis Crick Institute in London, United Kingdom, is frank about the risks flu poses: “I think the chances that disease X will be an influenza virus are probably greater than for any other known pathogen group that I can think of,” she says. Disease X is a term used to describe a hypothetical novel or unknown disease that could cause another pandemic.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Rapid response mobile laboratories (RRMLs) are invaluable in boosting mobile diagnostic capacities in public health emergencies and in clinical and research settings. A successful emergency response relies on close cooperation between national partners, emergency medical teams (EMTs), rapid response teams (RRTs) and RRMLs.
To examine the applicability of the RRML minimum operational standards (MOS), as well as the interoperability and scalability of the small and medium-sized RRMLs, an interregional full-scale simulation exercise (IFX.02) for RRMLs was held in Georgia on 15–17 February 2024.
This exercise marked the successful completion of the first-ever series of simulation exercises for RRMLs, led by the WHO Health Emergencies Programme at WHO/Europe.
As part of a wider project on “Civil-military health security collaboration for health emergency preparedness”, managed between the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the United States of America and WHO, WHO/Europe hosted a regional workshop on advancing civil-military collaboration to strengthen health emergency preparedness in the WHO European Region. This workshop was designed for professionals and stakeholders from various sectors, including government agencies, the military sector, public health institutions, and emergency management bodies, representing 11 countries and multiple organizations.
North Macedonia has become the first country in the Western Balkans to officially adopt a national action plan for health security (NAPHS), ensuring that the country’s health system can protect its people from disease threats. This milestone achievement will help advance health security in the country by engaging partners, providing resources, and building capacities for the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the global framework for the coordination of the management of public health emergencies.
This plan was developed by national and international experts and representatives of different ministries and departments. WHO provided continuous direct technical support and the European Union supported it with financial assistance. In a collaborative multisectoral effort, more than 40 key stakeholders from various sectors came together to support the development of the plan and use the NAPHS approach, which is critical for addressing priority activities to strengthen national health security capacities.
In the wake of recent global outbreaks, people around the world were alerted to the importance of proper biosafety precautions, and the role they can play in stopping public health catastrophes. WHO has furthered its commitment to ensuring preparedness for future pandemics, renewing its relationship with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Applied Biosafety and Training, based in Salisbury, United Kingdom (UK). The Centre, which began its partnership with WHO in 2019, works to prepare for, prevent and respond to health threats, while saving lives and protecting livelihoods. It supports WHO with fundamental expertise in an area of growing relevance and importance.
On 18 March, to strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, the Member States of WHO came together for the 9th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB). Co-chair Roland Driece explains why the decisions and compromises made in the next few weeks will be crucial to making all of us safer from future pandemics.
On 1 March 2024, the WHO Country Office in Kyrgyzstan donated kits for providing emergency medical care in emergencies and natural disasters, to the Department of Disaster Medicine and Emergency Advisory Medical Care of the National Hospital, under the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan.
This humanitarian aid includes medical supplies, such as sutures, anaesthesia materials and surgical drains, as well as kits for sterilization and intubation (with a laryngoscope), general surgery kits and various other supplies. The cargo was shipped from the WHO regional logistics hub in Dubai, with a total weight exceeding 240 kg and a cost of more than US$ 37 000.The transferred supplies are designed to provide medical care for injuries and surgical pathologies, in field conditions, for more than a hundred people.
WHO PUBLICATIONS
COVID-19
COVID-19 epidemiological update – 12 April 2024
COVID-19 Vaccination Insights Report - 4 March 2024
Report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the daily routine and behaviours of school-aged children: results from 17 Member States in the WHO European Region
MPOX (MONKEYPOX)
Multi-country outbreak of mpox, External situation report#31 – 22 December 2023
UKRAINE EMERGENCY
War in Ukraine: situation report from WHO Country Office in Ukraine: issue No. 71, 5 April 2024
