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COVID19 now we know how to target the virus instead of targeting society
Risk of #COVID19 resurgence is never far away, but now we know how to target the virus instead of targeting society Statement to the press by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe 20 August 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark Good morning and welcome after a very busy summer. The European Region has registered 3.9…
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Against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis, COVID-19 responders carry out heroic work in northwest Syria
“Ten years of crisis, repeated attacks on health care, death and displacement of health-care workers, and an increase in hostilities towards the end of 2019 have all posed significant challenges for the ability of the health system in northwest Syria to respond to COVID-19,” says Dr Mohamed Altwaish, a dentist by training who serves as…
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Tailoring health interventions: behavioural and cultural insights for health
How does a better understanding of masculinity help us to create better mental health policies? How does a culture-centred approach to health literacy improve knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among Iranian and Afghan minority groups in Sweden? And why don’t enough people in Romania get vaccinated? Behavioural and cultural insights are still relatively underutilized…
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COVID-19 and conflict, a double battle for humanitarian workers
Humanitarian worker Aron Kassahun Aregay joined the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in late 2019. From having worked as an epidemiologist in numerous emergency settings on the African continent, he was now in charge of information management, coordinating the health cluster response in the eastern conflict areas. “The challenges I witnessed in Ukraine were somewhat…
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Real Life Heroes: building trust, and saving lives
Originally from Haiti, Dr. Bélizaire has been working in the humanitarian field since graduating in medicine and, in 2015, began supporting the effort to slow the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This year, WHO sent her to CAR, to set up the Organization’s COVID-19 response in the country. Dr. Bélizaire…
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Virtual Concert unites Pacific with the world in battling COVID-19
The first-of-its-kind televised and digitally streamed Pacific Unite: Saving Lives Together concert called on regional leaders and citizens to unite in the global fight against COVID-19, the United Nations said on Saturday.
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German church leads crowdfunding to buy vessel to aid stranded Mediterranean migrants
Germany’s main Protestant church led a crowdfunding effort that purchased the rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 that is ready for work in the Mediterranean Sea to help migrants trying to reach Europe from North Africa. According to Peter Kenny from Ecumenical News, “The Evangelical Church (EKD) initiated the effort by United4Rescue, a broad alliance to support…
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Uganda looks online for answers to COVID economic crisis
From banking, to food delivery, and taxi bookings, Uganda is rapidly becoming accustomed to many of the online tools that are commonplace in developed economies, and which don’t rely on face-to-face interactions. The UN is supporting this shift, as a way to help developing economies recover from the global economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19…
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Millions ‘on the edge’ in DR Congo, now in even greater danger of tipping over: WFP
Millions of lives could be lost to hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid escalating conflict and worsening COVID-19 transmission, the UN emergency food relief agency has warned, urging the international community to step up support for the African nation.
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Revised COVID-19 case definitions
WHO has published revised interim guidance on public health surveillance for COVID-19 cases. This document includes revision of suspected and probable case definitions to integrate increased knowledge on the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 signs and symptoms. WHO has published revised interim guidance on public health surveillance for COVID-19 cases. This document provides guidance to Member…