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Responding to the war in Ukraine

WHO is working through our offices in Ukraine and neighboring countries, and with partners, to respond to the health emergency triggered by Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. We are delivering supplies, coordinating the deployment of medical teams, working with authorities to minimize disruptions to critical health care services, and advocating for a halt to attacks on health.

Recent news and features

Key resources

Global Health Emergency Appeal launch

WHO’s Global Health Emergency Appeal for 2022 contributes to our target of 1 billion people being better protected from health emergencies. This new annual appeal covers WHO’s requirements to meet urgent health needs for every region, including the COVID-19 response.

We need US$ 2.7 billion to serve people around the world in the most vulnerable settings, including ending the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO, together with health cluster partners, is targeting support to 160 million people in need of critical health assistance across 56 countries.

Focus on COVID-19

New guide to promote vaccine update among refugees and migrants
WHO recommends that vaccine prioritization within countries should include refugees and migrants and calls for affordable, non-discriminatory access to vaccines for all populations.

Brazil: Production of a national vaccine against COVID-19 advances self-sufficiency of health products
Brazil announced the production of its first national vaccine against COVID-19, advancing self-sufficiency and sustainability of health products, as advocated by the Pan American Health Organization.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Mobilizing to fight rumors about COVID-19
WHO worked with the Ministry of Health to set up a system for alerting and refuting rumours and is training health workers, community leaders and journalists to detect and manage misinformation.

India: Woman in rural Rajasthan lead the fight against COVID-19
Women are working with hard-to-reach populations in tribal-dominated areas of western Rajasthan.

Preparing for a COVID-19 safe Ramadan (AR / EN)
WHO, UNICEF and IFRC hosted a forum with Islamic scholars who strongly recommend that people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and continue to observe public health and social measures during Ramadan festivities.

Strategic preparedness, readiness and response plan (SPRP) to end the global COVID-19 emergency in 2022
In the 2022 plan, WHO sets out a number of key strategic adjustments that, if implemented consistently globally, will enable the world to end the acute phase of the pandemic.

After COVID-19: building back better

WHO releases 10-year strategy for genomic surveillance of pathogens
Genomic surveillance is critical for stronger pandemic and epidemic preparedness and response. Various public health programmes – from Ebola to cholera – use it to understand a pathogen at its molecular level, but COVID-19 has highlighted the challenges of bringing genomics to scale. WHO's new strategy provides a unifying framework to leverage existing capacities, address barriers and strengthen the use of genomic surveillance worldwide.

WHO launched a tool to track outbreaks in real-time in 2019. Then came COVID.
Here’s a look at how the contact tracing software Go.Data has been used, and how the lessons from those experiences are helping countries better prepare for future outbreaks.

Strengthening mental health services in the Pacific during COVID-19 and beyond
Through the Universal Health Coverage Partnership, WHO supports ministries of health in 21 Pacific island countries and areas to strengthen mental health services. In Kiribati, this included community dialogues and training on mental health based on WHO’s mental health gap action programme.

Medical oxygen plants improve health care in Paraguay
Having enough medical oxygen on hand in health facilities in Paraguay was a big challenge, even before COVID-19. To tackle this problem, PAHO supported the installation of two production plants that distribute oxygen to local health service networks, improving the quality of care for more than 300 000 people

Other health emergencies

Madagascar: Restoring health services after cyclones and storms (EN / FR)
Madagascar has been hit by four extreme weather events since January. Around 225 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed and over 650 000 people have been left without access to health care. WHO has been working with national health authorities and partners to respond.

Afghanistan: Measles vaccination for 1.2 million children in 24 provinces
WHO supported Afghanistan to vaccinate over 1.2 million children in response to the ongoing measles outbreak. With support from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE), WHO provided technical advice, training, operational costs, supplies, and logistical support for the campaign.

Haiti: PAHO supports health recovery in post-earthquake Haiti
PAHO is aiding the distribution of emergency medical products and assisting national authorities in tackling COVID-19 and the potential emergence of new epidemics.

Southern Africa: 80 million polio vaccines for 23 million children
Malawi began a first round of vaccination against wild poliovirus type 1 in response to the identification of a case on 17 February—the first in the country in 30 years, and the first in Africa since the region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020. More than 80 million doses will be administered to more than 23 million children under 5 years in the four-round vaccination drive in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As part of the polio response, teams in Malawi are also working to fight misinformation about the vaccination campaign, amidst COVID-19 and cholera emergencies in the country.

Syria: 11 years on, health needs are still urgent (AR / EN)
WHO continues to work with health authorities, partners and NGOs to deliver life-saving services and support for immunisation, disease outbreak response, and improving access to health for vulnerable populations.

Donors and partnerships

WHO and KSrelief join efforts in the fight against child malnutrition in Yemen
With support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), WHO has begun providing essential medicines, equipment, and training to eight high-priority hospitals in Yemen for treating severe acute malnutrition among children.

ACT-Accelerator welcomes Germany’s generous ‘fair share’ commitment
Germany became the first country to pledge its ‘fair share’ of the ACT-Accelerator’s 2021-22 budget with a generous contribution of US$1.22 billion for COVID-19 treatments, tests, vaccines and personal protective equipment. The pledge is accompanied by an additional US$253 million for supplementary measures for in-country COVID-19 response. This will enable WHO and partners to save lives, protect health systems and reduce the risks of new variants.

Armenia to host WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Global Meeting 2022
EMT global meetings have proved instrumental in steering the direction of the initiative across and within WHO Regions, upholding standards of care in emergencies and fostering collaboration and support from the various Member States and partners of the network and those involved in EMT surge response. Armenia will host the 5th global EMT meeting in the fall 2022.

Canada supports vaccine storage in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
The Government of Canada donated cold storage facilities to the Dominican Republic’s immunisation programme to expand storage capacity and vaccine access in border areas. Two cold chain facilities will also be provided to the national warehouse. Canada has also provided cold storage equipment to Nicaragua.

European Union funding boosts COVID-19 vaccination in Africa
A contribution of €16 million from the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) will help WHO boost COVID-19 vaccination and increase coverage in 15 African countries where currently only 15 percent of the population is vaccinated.

WHO and Japan enhance COVID-19 response in Papua New Guinea
The Government of Japan is providing just over US$2.7 million to be used by WHO to contribute to building a more resilient health system and mitigate the health and socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in Papua New Guinea.

Photos: © WHO / Agata Grzybowska; WHO / Anat Duangjan; WHO / Nana Kofi Aqua; WHO / Henitsoa Rafalia; WHO / Sufyan Al-Mathani

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