| No images? Click here  Monday 30 December 2024 NOTE TO JOURNALISTS End of year statement by WHO Director-General
Please find video file for download here: During Christmas week, I was in Yemen on a United Nations mission to negotiate with the country’s de facto authorities for the release of unjustly detained humanitarians working for the UN and partner organizations. The talks with the Houthis proceeded positively and we hope will bear fruit. While waiting to board our flight in Sana’a, the airport came under aerial bombardment by Israel. The attack inflicted needless death, injury, panic, chaos and damage, and was another reminder of the growing threat faced by civilians, humanitarians and health workers in war zones around the world. This must stop. With a New Year upon us, our leaders must bring desperately needed peace to the world, and health and safety to all. Peace and health are linked. From Gaza to Sudan, Yemen to Ukraine, and Haiti and beyond - peace is, and will always be, the best medicine for the health and well-being of all people, everywhere. For the World Health Organization, Health for All is our guiding light. We pursue this mission often by working in dangerous places. We do this to protect and promote people’s health. We go the extra mile. Some achievements of the past year include: Eliminating malaria and other neglected diseases in numerous countries; 17 African countries using a new malaria vaccine; Making a new vaccine against dengue; Celebrating 154 million lives saved thanks to the Expanded Programme of Immunization founded 50 years ago; Making the world safer from outbreaks and pandemics by strengthening the International Health Regulations; Certifying the first mpox vaccines and tests; Reducing tobacco use globally; And opening the game-changing WHO Academy in Lyon with French President Macron. But bolstering global health security to protect against future outbreaks will require more work in 2025. These actions, and more, will help make our families, communities and whole world healthier and safer. To succeed in this vital quest, we must invest in essential measures to promote and protect health. We will continue working to advance health for all, including the health of children, and, especially, mothers, who will be the focus of World Health Day 2025 on the 7th of April, which also marks WHO’s 77th birthday. Let us not miss the opportunity the coming New Year offers us. Please let’s turn the page on conflict, chart a new path to achieve lasting peace, and secure a healthy and prosperous future for all.
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Monday, December 30, 2024
End of year statement by WHO Director-General
Milestone: COVID-19 five years ago
| No images? Click here  Monday 30 December 2024 Milestone: COVID-19 five years ago https://www.who.int/news/item/30-12-2024-milestone-covid-19-five-years-ago Five years ago on 31 December 2019, WHO’s Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan, China. In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives and our world. At WHO, we went to work immediately as the new year dawned. WHO employees activated emergency systems on 1 January 2020 and informed the world on 4 January. By 9-12 January, WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on 13 January, we brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test. All along, we convened experts and ministries of health from around the world, gathered and analyzed data, and shared what was reported, what we learned and what it meant for people. Read about WHO’s actions in this interactive timeline. As we mark this milestone, let’s take a moment to honour the lives changed and lost, recognize those who are suffering from COVID-19 and long COVID, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow. We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics. As we pose the question, “Is the world better prepared for the next pandemic than we were for COVID-19?” see WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s response at a recent press conference: https://who.canto.global/b/SHEJL ==
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Saturday, December 28, 2024
Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October (with correction)
| No images? Click here  Saturday, 28 December 2024 STATEMENT (corrected) Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October Jerusalem/Cairo/Geneva, 28 December 2024 - WHO is appalled by yesterday’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service. The systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on North Gaza puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk. Initial reports indicate that some areas of the hospital were burnt and severely damaged during the raid, including the laboratory, surgical unit, engineering and maintenance department, operations theatre, and the medical store. Earlier in the day, twelve patients and a female health staff were reportedly forced to evacuate to a destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital where it is not possible to provide any care, while the majority of the staff, stable patients and companions were moved to a nearby location. Additionally, some people were reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza. Over the last two months, the area around the hospital has remained highly volatile and attacks on the hospitals and on health workers have occurred almost daily. This week, bombardments in its vicinity reportedly killed 50 people, including five health workers from Kamal Adwan Hospital. Kamal Adwan is now empty. Yesterday evening, the remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to Indonesian Hospital, which lacks the necessary equipment and supplies to provide adequate care. The movement and treatment of these critical patients under such conditions pose grave risks to their survival. WHO is deeply concerned for their wellbeing, as well as for the Kamal Adwan Hospital director who has been reportedly detained during the raid. WHO lost contact with him since the raid began. An urgent WHO mission to Indonesian Hospital is being planned for tomorrow to assess the situation at the facility, provide basic medical supplies, food and water, and safely move critical patients to Gaza City for continued care. The raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital follows escalating restrictions on access and repeated attacks. Since early October 2024, WHO has verified at least 50 attacks on health on or near the hospital. Despite the increasingly dire needs for emergency and trauma services and supplies, only 10 out of 21 WHO missions to Kamal Adwan have been partially facilitated between early October and December. During these missions, 45 000 liters of fuel, medical supplies, blood, and food were delivered, and 114 patients along with 123 companions were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital. But the deployment of international emergency medical teams has been repeatedly denied. WHO and partners' efforts to sustain the hospitals’ operations have been undone. With Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals entirely out of service, and Al-Awda Hospital barely able to function, and severely damaged due to recent airstrikes, the healthcare lifeline for those in North Gaza is reaching a breaking point. WHO calls for urgently ensuring that hospitals in North Gaza can be supported to become functional again. Hospitals have once again become battlegrounds, reminiscent of the destruction of the health system in Gaza City earlier this year. Since October 2023, WHO has repeatedly issued urgent calls to protect health workers and hospitals as per international humanitarian law —yet these calls remain unheard. Health facilities, workers and patients are always off limits. They must be actively protected and never be attacked, nor used for military purposes. The principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality under International Humanitarian Law are absolute and always apply.  Media contacts:  You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list.  |
Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October
| No images? Click here  Saturday, 28 December 2024 NEWS RELEASE Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October Jerusalem/Cairo/Geneva, 28 December 2024 - WHO is appalled by yesterday’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service. The systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on North Gaza puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk. Initial reports indicate that some areas of the hospital were burnt and severely damaged during the raid, including the laboratory, surgical unit, engineering and maintenance department, operations theatre, and the medical store. Earlier in the day, twelve patients and a female health staff were reportedly forced to evacuate to destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital where it is not possible to provide any care, while the majority of the staff, stable patients and companions were moved to a nearby location. Additionally, some people were reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza. Over the last two months, the area around the hospital has remained highly volatile and attacks on the hospitals and on health workers have occurred almost daily. This week, bombardments in its vicinity reportedly killed 50 people, including five health workers from Kamal Adwan Hospital. Kamal Adwan is now empty. Yesterday evening, the remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to Indonesian Hospital, which lacks the necessary equipment and supplies to provide adequate care. The movement and treatment of these critical patients under such conditions pose grave risks to their survival. WHO is deeply concerned for their wellbeing, as well as for the Kamal Adwan Hospital director who has been reportedly detained during the raid. WHO lost contact with him since the raid began. An urgent WHO mission to Indonesian Hospital is being planned for tomorrow to safely move patients to southern Gaza for continued care. The raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital follows escalating restrictions on access and repeated attacks. Since early October 2024, WHO has verified at least 50 attacks on health on or near the hospital. Despite the increasingly dire needs for emergency and trauma services and supplies, only 10 out of 21 WHO missions to Kamal Adwan have been partially facilitated between early October and December. During these missions, 45 000 liters of fuel, medical supplies, blood, and food were delivered, and 114 patients along with 123 companions were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital. But the deployment of international emergency medical teams has been repeatedly denied. WHO and partners' efforts to sustain the hospitals’ operations have been undone. With Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals entirely out of service, and Al-Awda Hospital barely able to function, and severely damaged due to recent airstrikes, the healthcare lifeline for those in North Gaza is reaching a breaking point. WHO calls for urgently ensuring that hospitals in North Gaza can be supported to become functional again. Hospitals have once again become battlegrounds, reminiscent of the destruction of the health system in Gaza City earlier this year. Since October 2023, WHO has repeatedly issued urgent calls to protect health workers and hospitals as per international humanitarian law —yet these calls remain unheard. Health facilities, workers and patients are always off limits. They must be actively protected and never be attacked, nor used for military purposes. The principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality under International Humanitarian Law are absolute and always apply.  Media contacts:  You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list.  |
Friday, December 27, 2024
Disease Outbreak News: Acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria (previously undiagnosed disease) - Democratic Republic of the Congo
| No images? Click here  Friday, 27 December 2024 Acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria (previously undiagnosed disease) - Democratic Republic of the Congo A Disease Outbreak News (DON) has been posted for Acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria (previously undiagnosed disease) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is an update to the DON published on 8 December 2024 and includes updated epidemiological investigation information and preliminary laboratory results. Situation at a glance On 29 November, an alert was raised by local health zone authorities of Panzi health zone in Kwango province after an increase in deaths, particularly among children under five years of age, following febrile illness. Enhanced epidemiological surveillance was rapidly implemented, which in the absence of a clear diagnosis was based on the detection of syndromic cases of febrile illnesses with cough, body weakness, with one of a number of other symptoms compatible with acute respiratory and febrile illnesses. This resulted in a rapid increase in the number of cases meeting the definition, with a total of 891 cases reported as of 16 December. However, the weekly number of reported deaths (48 deaths reported over the period) has remained relatively stable. As of 16 December, laboratory results from a total of 430 samples indicated positive results for malaria, common respiratory viruses (Influenza A (H1N1, pdm09), rhinoviruses, SARS-COV-2, Human coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and Human Adenovirus). While further laboratory tests are ongoing, together these findings suggest that a combination of common and seasonal viral respiratory infections and falciparum malaria, compounded by acute malnutrition led to an increase in severe infections and deaths, disproportionally affecting children under five years of age. Multidisciplinary rapid response teams have been deployed to investigate the event and strengthen the response. Efforts are ongoing to address the health needs in Panzi health zone. Enhanced surveillance in the community and within health facilities continues. The teams have also been providing support for diagnosis, the treatment of patients as well as with risk communication and community engagement. This event highlights the severe burden from common infectious diseases (acute respiratory infections and malaria) in a context of vulnerable populations facing food insecurity. It emphasizes the need to strengthen access to health care and address underlying causes of vulnerability, particularly malnutrition, given the worsening food insecurity. Read the DON in full: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2024-DON547  Media contact:  You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list.  |
