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As Syria’s armed conflict grows, WHO aid to the region is unrelenting

A child receives polio vaccine in a refugee camp, Al-Hassake, Syrian Arab Republic
WHO Syria

23 September 2015-- Since armed unrest erupted more than 4 years ago in the Syrian Arab Republic, resulting in huge movements of the population inside the country and spilling into neighbouring countries, WHO has taken a lead role to support the displaced. The numbers are overwhelming: Inside the country, the conflict, now a civil war – has left 12.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance; additionally there are more than 4 million Syrians registered as refugees and living outside their country.

Hajj pilgrimage begins

Muslim pilgrims circumvent around the Kaaba at the Masjid al-Haram Mosque, Islam's holiest site, two days before the Haj pilgrimage, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 20 September 2015. The Haj pilgrimage 2015 takes place in Mecca from 22 to 26 September.
EPA/AMEL PAIN

21 September 2015 -- During the annual Hajj pilgrimage WHO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are working together to ensure that health issues that can arise with any mass gathering of people can be addressed. An estimated 2 million Muslims from 184 countries are gathering in the holy city of Mecca to take part in this year’s pilgrimage. Apart from the permanent medical staff, 25 000 additional health workers have been deployed.

Ebola: sustaining a resilient zero

A health worker instructs a group in infection control: Liberia.
WHO/M. Winkler

18 September 2015 -- The new Ebola Phase 3 framework includes new knowledge and tools into the ongoing Ebola response and recovery work to achieve and sustain a "resilient zero". The framework builds upon the rapid scale-up of treatment beds, safe and dignified burial teams, and behaviour change; and the enhanced capacities for case finding, contract tracing, and community engagement. It includes new developments and breakthroughs in Ebola control, from vaccines, diagnostics and response operations to survivor counselling and care.

Malaria: Global target achieved

Child in front of insecticide treated bed net, Livingston, Zambia
EPA/K. Ludbrook

17 September 2015 -- Malaria death rates have plunged by 60% since 2000, translating into 6.2 million lives saved, the vast majority of them children, according to a joint WHO-UNICEF report. It shows that the malaria Millennium Development Goal target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015, has been met. Despite tremendous progress, malaria remains an acute public health problem in many regions.

Addressing noncommunicable diseases in emergencies

A woman is examined by a doctor, Ukraine.
WHO/O. Gozalov

16 September 2015 -- Due to ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine people struggle to receive treatment for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, lung and heart disease and diabetes. Working closely with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and partners, WHO provides emergency kits with training materials to treat these diseases in the field.

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Emergencies

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WHO fact sheets

Measles vaccination campaign, Liberia
WHO/M. Winkler

Highlights

  • Stepping up response to cholera outbreak in Iraq
    September 2015 -- Under the provision of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), the Ministry of Health of Iraq, in consultation with WHO, declared a cholera outbreak in governorates of Najaf, Diwaniya, and parts of west Baghdad on 15 September 2015, and announced a stepping up of measures to stop transmission and prevent further spread of the disease.
  • Joint child malnutrition estimates - Levels and trends
    September 2015 -- WHO and partners have released new joint estimates of child malnutrition using available data up to 2014. While stunting has declined globally, there were still an estimated 159 million stunted children in 2014. The ultimate goal is for all children to be free of malnutrition in all its forms.
  • WHO welcomes appointment of Chair-elect of Gavi Board
    September 2015 - WHO welcomes the appointment of the Chair-elect of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She will take up the position of Chair from January 2016. WHO is one of the founding members of Gavi, a public-private partnership formed in 2000, to address global inequities in access to and coverage of available lifesaving vaccines.

Disease outbreak news

Emergency reform

WHO/V. Nguyen Hoan

WHO is reforming its work in outbreaks and emergencies with health and humanitarian consequences to ensure the Organization can respond rapidly to future crises.

Commentary

Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director, Global Hepatitis Programme - Hepatitis: 'by applying the tools already in hand to expand access to lifesaving measures, we can dramatically reduce the burden from this disease.'
WHO

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What we do

Dr Chan, WHO Director-General, visits Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, three of the four countries where indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus has not yet been interrupted.
WHO

Data

- Annual rate of reduction 1990-2000: 1.8%
- Annual rate of reduction 2000-2015: 3.9%


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