WHO strengthens risk assessment capacities in Morocco
Participants listen to the WHO expert during her presentation. Photo credit: M. Ismaili4 December 2023, Rabat, Morocco – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean ran a 2-day training programme in Rabat, Morocco, to strengthen the risk assessment capacities of the Moroccan Ministry of Health.
Experts from the WHO Regional Office, WHO Country Office in Morocco and Ministry of Health facilitated the training.
The training equipped Ministry of Health personnel with the knowledge and skills to detect, risk assess, notify and respond to health risks and acute health emergencies. This was done through presentatio...
Source: WHO EMRO News - December 6, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Meet the heroes powering our emergency response
Episode 4
Dr Nahid Idris Salih Khalid: Officer in Charge, WHO operations hub, Gezira, Sudan5 December 2023 – One ordinary Saturday morning in Khartoum, Sudan, during the holy month of Ramadan, I was suddenly awoken by a deafening sound and the house shaking. From the roof, I saw the formidable sight of a fighter jet flying overhead and heavy smoke rising in the distance. The sound grew louder, more aggressive, horrible. A bombshell landed on my neighbour’s house. Armed conflict had erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing.
S...
Source: WHO EMRO News - December 5, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO appeals for protection of the health system from further attacks and degradation of its capacity
4 December 2023, Cairo/Geneva – Once again, nowhere is safe in Gaza. WHO is gravely concerned about the resumption of hostilities, including heavy bombardment in Gaza, and reiterates its appeal to Israel to take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as per the laws of war.
We have seen what happened in northern Gaza. This cannot be the blueprint for the south. Gaza cannot afford to lose another hospital as health needs continue to soar.
As more civilians in southern Gaza receive immediate evacuation orders and are forced to move, more people are being concentrated...
Source: WHO EMRO News - December 4, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Joint UN mission transfers critical patients from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, under intense fighting
24 November 2023, Geneva/Cairo On 22 November, in cooperation with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, WHO participated in another joint-UN mission to transfer 151 patients, relatives and health workers accompanying them from Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. The mission was undertaken following specific requests from health authorities and hospital officials in Gaza.
This was the third mission to Al-Shifa carried out by WHO, other UN agencies and partners in less than a week; the first was an assessment mission (18 November) and the second was an evacuation mission to transport 31 infants (19 November).
During this mi...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 24, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO and King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) sign a Letter of Intent to ...
23 November 2023, Cairo, Egypt – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) today signed a letter of intent to solidify their commitment to collaborative humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip.
The letter of intent, for US$ 10 million, was signed by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and His Excellency Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSrelief. The document reflects the continued shared vision and dedication of both organizations to address urgent health needs of people in the Region.
The support funded by KS...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 23, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Safe and disaster-resilient health facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
22 November 2023, Cairo, Egypt – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean ran a 2-day capacity-building training for 6 countries to strengthen the safety and preparedness of health facilities to better respond to and manage emergencies and disasters. Participants from Afghanistan, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen took part.
The subregional workshop on safe emergency and disaster-resilient hospitals introduced the participants to the concept of hospital resilience as well as key resources and tools to guide the process of bolstering hospital preparedness for emergencies and di...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 23, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO Regional Director ’s remarks at the regional press briefing on health emergencies
22 November 2023 – Thank you for joining us today for our regional update on the health emergencies in the occupied Palestinian territory and Sudan.
Before I begin my remarks, I’d like to take a moment to remember Dima Alhaj, our young WHO colleague who was tragically killed yesterday when her parents’ home was bombed. Dima’s husband, 6-month-old baby boy and more than 50 other family members who had been sheltering together were also killed in the bombing. Dima joined WHO in 2019 as part of the WHO-supported trauma team at the Gaza Strip’s Limb Reconstruction Centre. We are all devastated by this shock...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 21, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO staff member killed in Gaza
Cairo/Geneva/Jerusalem, 21 November 2023 – With heavy hearts, WHO announces the death of one of our staff in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territory. Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29 years old, had been with WHO since December 2019. She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team.
Dima died today when her parents’ house in southern Gaza—where she had evacuated to from Gaza City—was bombed. She was tragically killed alongside her husband, their six-month old baby boy, and her two brothers. Reportedly, over 50 family...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 21, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Regional Director statement on the health crisis in Sudan
21 November 2023 – With the world’s attention having turned to the horrifying situation in Gaza, we must remember that the Sudanese people continue to face suffering on a scale that is also catastrophic.
The figures coming out of Sudan are staggering: nearly 25 million people need humanitarian aid and 11 million people need urgent health assistance. More than 20 million people have now fallen into high levels of acute food insecurity, and every seventh child under five in Sudan is acutely malnourished. Around 4.2 million women, girls and vulnerable populations face the risk of gender-based violence – which can be li...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 21, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO appalled by latest attack on Indonesian Hospital in Gaza
20 November 2023 — WHO is appalled by the attack today on the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza, which reportedly resulted in the killing of at least 12 persons including patients and their companions residing at the hospital. According to reports, tens of people were also injured in the attack, including some with critical and life-threatening injuries. Health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital.
According to the latest reports, the Indonesian Hospital continues to be besieged. No one has been allowed to enter or leave the hospital: there have bee...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 20, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO-led joint UN and Red Crescent mission evacuates 31 infants from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza
19 November 2023, Geneva/Cairo – A second WHO-led joint UN mission, working in collaboration with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, earlier today evacuated 31 babies from Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, to a hospital in southern Gaza. The severely ill babies were transported in 6 ambulances supplied and staffed by the Palestine Red Crescent. Other mission members included UN Mine Action, UNICEF and UNRWA. The mission was once again assessed as high-risk, due to the active combat taking place in close proximity to the hospital.
These premature and low birthweight babies had earlier been moved from the ne...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 19, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
WHO leads very high-risk joint humanitarian mission to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza
On 18 November 2023, a joint UN humanitarian assessment team, led by WHO, accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The team included public health experts, logistics officers, and security staff from OCHA, UNDSS, UNMAS/UNOPS, UNRWA and WHO. Credit: WHO
18 November 2023 Earlier today, a joint UN humanitarian assessment team, led by WHO accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza to assess the situation on the ground and conduct a rapid situational analysis, assess medical priorities, and establish logistics options for further missions. The team included public health experts, logistics officers, and security staff fr...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 18, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
World AMR Awareness Week 2023: Prevent infections and improve antimicrobial use to make sure ...
18 November 2023, Cairo, Egypt – As World AMR Awareness Week 2023 begins today, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean emphasizes the urgent need to address the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Antibiotic resistance threatens health care in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Drug-resistant infections are more and more common and are spreading faster. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and food production settings lead to new resistance profiles. Antibiotics are being used instead of accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment and in the absence of effective infection prevention ...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 18, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Meet the heroes powering our emergency response
16 November 2023 – I am Nevien Attalla, and I serve as Operations Manager at the WHO logistics hub in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. My background in pharmacy has facilitated my career journey and contributed significantly to humanitarian efforts. I had been a microbiological instructor to the retail field before joining the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot in 2012, where I found my true passion in humanitarian response. In 2015, the WHO logistics hub in Dubai was established, and it has since provided me with many valuable experiences in the humanitarian sector.
Humanitarian work, by its nature, ofte...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 16, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action: For the first time in history, a cancer can be ...
On November 17, 2023, the world will mark three years of the global collaboration with survivors, leaders, and advocates towards the elimination of cervical cancer. This provides an opportunity to celebrate the global commitment and review progress on the pathway to elimination, aiming for a threshold of fewer than 4 women per 100 000 women-years. This has catalyzed a social movement and sparked an annual tradition, bringing communities across the world together for a “Day of Action for Cervical Cancer Elimination”.
Cervical cancer is a worldwide health concern. Cervical cancer claims the lives of 300,000 women worldw...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 15, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
