WHO/Europe Health Emergencies Newsletter - Issue No.39: 01.08.2024
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Health Emergencies Newsletter
Issue No.39
01.08.2024
Including stories on: the medical evacuation of children and young people from Gaza and Ukraine to Spain and Germany, the Central Asia Health Investment Forum, new research into the health of refugees and migrants, Portugal's work to understand dengue and more.
TOP STORY
24 July, 2024: Sixteen people from Gaza with complicated medical conditions have arrived in Spain to receive care there, through an evacuation process involving the World Health Organization (WHO) and multiple partners. Fifteen of them are children, ranging in age from 3 to 17 years old. The mother of one of the children will also be treated in Spain. The patients had been in hospital in Egypt for the past several months, after evacuating from Gaza. They are a small portion of the thousands of other children and adults who need access to specialized medical care outside of Gaza.
MPOX
25 June, 2024: Mpox is back in the news; there are sporadic clusters of cases in our region, and, in Central and West Africa, two strains of the virus continue to cause suffering and death.
In this episode of Not If, But When, a Health in Europe podcast, Rosamund Lewis, Emergency Manager & Technical Lead for the global mpox response at WHO Headquarters, speaks about the current situation. Cristiana Salvi, who leads the Risk Communication and Community Engagement unit for WHO regional Office for Europe explains the importance of community insights in the mpox response. Epidemiologist Mateo Prochaska Nunez explains the combination of factors that brought the outbreak under control and the measures needed to keep the virus in check.
19 July, 2024: Eight children who were receiving treatment for cancer at Okhmatdyt hospital have been medically evacuated to Germany alongside their chaperones. The largest children’s hospital in Ukraine suffered extensive damage last week amid the ongoing war. These are some of the most vulnerable paediatric patients, in need of urgent care, both physical and mental; 2 of them are in a critical condition.
Their gruelling, more than 24-hour journey began on Wednesday, 17 July, and took them in a convoy of ambulance busses from Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv to Lviv in western Ukraine. They then proceeded across the border to Rzeszów in Poland, from where a Norwegian aircraft flew them to various locations in Germany to receive the necessary care.
3 July 2024: One in 8 people on the planet is on the move. Some migrate for economic reasons, and others are forcibly displaced by one of the many conflicts raging around the world. Unfortunately, global evidence and data on the health of refugees and migrants is mostly fragmented, often limited to migration flows and some demographic characteristics.
To fill this gap, Statistics Poland and WHO have teamed up to explore ways to tackle data limitations in the context of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. In 2022 they conducted the first study to cover a representative sample of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, using mixed methods to unveil not just the numbers but also the human narratives behind the refugee crisis. The methodology was then applied to a second round of mixed-method surveys conducted in 2023, which also integrated big data and administrative records.
20 June 2024: Ukrainian refugees have frequently highlighted language as the greatest barrier to accessing health services in Romania and other refugee-receiving countries. Explaining health issues to Romanian health-care providers, requesting necessary care and providing consent for medical procedures are some of the difficulties they regularly encounter.
In a significant step towards addressing the health-care needs of the Ukrainian diaspora community, the WHO Country Office in Romania launched a free-of-charge translation and interpretation hotline in April, designed to bridge the linguistic barrier between Ukrainian refugees and health service providers. The hotline has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
COVID-19 AND RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
15 July 2024: While over 9 million children received all 3 of their first critical vaccine doses against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) in their first year of life in the WHO European Region in 2023, another half a million missed one or more of these initial important steps toward full protection, according to WHO/UNICEF coverage estimates.
In line with global trends, the newly released data reveal only partial recovery from dips caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and large variations in immunization coverage across the Region, both between countries and between vaccines.
CLIMATE EMERGENCY
8 July 2024: Research into the biological mechanisms of dengue could contribute to breakthrough treatment and vaccination to curb transmission among human populations – both in the WHO European Region and around the world.
Portugal is one of the countries in the Region identified by WHO to possess the climatic suitability for pathogens causing dengue to spread. Both mosquitoes that carry the DENV – Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – reappeared in the 2000s through a combination of international travel and global trade, coupled with a changing climate that allows them to thrive.
28 June 2024: David Richardson is a fitness trainer from the United Kingdom with 30 years of experience working with top sportspeople and elite athletes. He was one of the first fitness coaches in professional football, working for 26 seasons and travelling all over the world. He has also supported judo contestants at 2 Olympic games and worked closely with boxers. Most recently, he coached a top-tier Indian football club.
Amid a season of sporting events, including UEFA EURO 2024, the Olympics and Paralympics, David explains how athletes cope with the heat, and shares some tips for the public on how to stay hydrated as temperatures rise.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
26 June 2024: Under the motto “Health is the best investment”, between 26-27 June, the first-ever Central Asia International Health Investment Forum brought together international, regional and national stakeholders to highlight the transformative potential of health investments for sustainable development across the 5 WHO Member States of central Asia.
Over 2 days, Forum participants explored progressive approaches to a range of issues, such as enhancing access to primary health care, tackling tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, mitigating climate change, improving emergency preparedness, and addressing high rates of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
18 July, 2024: WHO/Europe, the French Ministry of Health and Prevention, Santé publique France and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have jointly developed public health advice for spectators of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024 to promote their health, safety and well-being.
“The 2024 Summer Olympics, the largest sporting celebration, are a wonderful opportunity for people from all over the world to share the values of sports and to celebrate together. For the event to be a complete success, we wish people in attendance to prioritize their health. Along with WHO and ECDC, the French Ministry of Health, with the support of Santé publique France, have developed sound public health advice, with a few simple rules to follow in order to stay safe throughout the event. Take care and enjoy the Games!” said a spokesperson for the French Ministry of Health and Prevention.
25 June 2024: From 14 June to 14 July, Germany is hosting the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Football Championship – UEFA EURO 2024. With nearly 3 million football enthusiasts gathering to celebrate the games, a new dashboard is helping health authorities and fans to stay abreast of potential hazards that could impact the tournament and the well-being of those involved.
The UEFA 2024 Signal Monitoring Dashboard has been developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, with coordinated efforts for data screening and collection made together with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute. It draws on collaborative data screening using a comprehensive One Health approach to present information on a variety of potential health hazards, ranging from respiratory viruses and extreme heat to the threat of terrorism and beyond. The dashboard offers health authorities and spectators relevant contextual information and early warnings of public health threats, as defined under the International Health Regulations (2005).
WHO PUBLICATIONS
COVID-19
Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 15 July 2024
MPOX (MONKEYPOX)
Multi-country outbreak of mpox, External situation report#34- 28 June 2024
UKRAINE EMERGENCY
War in Ukraine: situation report from WHO Country Office in Ukraine: issue No. 76, 21 June 2024
HEALTH EMERGENCIES
WHO's Operational Update on Health Emergencies - June 2024
