9 November 2016 – The stories of civilians caught in the cross-fire in and around Mosul are heartbreaking and horrific. WHO is ensuring that life-saving health services are available to injured people, supporting the tireless work of the Erbil Directorate of Health to provide emergency medical care to all those who need it. 14-year old Ahmed* and...

Thousands of residents and newly displaced persons in Al Qayyarah and nearby towns have been exposed to serious health risks as a result of the toxic cloud. WHO/Oday Ibrahem31 October 2016 – 15-year-old Zainab was suffering from severe suffocation when her family brought her in to the main primary health care clinic in Al-Qayyarah town, south-east...

WHO estimates that 1 in 30 Syrians is suffering from severe mental health conditions such as severe depression, psychosis, or a disabling form of anxiety and that at least 1 in 5 Syrians is suffering from mild to moderate mental health conditions such as mild to moderate depression or anxiety disorders. 01/10 Start Stop Previous Next

4 October 2016 – 3-year old Khalid* was badly injured when he was brought into the hospital. He was walking in the street when a blast erupted, destroying buildings around him and trapping him under the rubble. He was found by passers by, who took him and tens of other injured civilians by car to the closest functioning hospital. Khalid was taken...

2 October 2016 – Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, civilians have been denied access to life-saving and basic services, including health services, in specific areas inside the country. As of July 2016, the number of people in need living in hard-to-reach and besieged areas is 5.47 million people, including 590 200 in besieged locations...

25 September 2016 – War, conflict and persecution have forced millions of people to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety elsewhere. As of 2015, there were 250 million international migrants, of which 150 million are migrant workers. Also affected are particularly vulnerable groups of refugees (21.3 million) and internally displaced persons...

18 September 2016 - In August 2016, Somalia marked two years since its last case of wild poliovirus, a child from Hobyo District of Mudug region who was paralyzed on 11 August 2014. Since then, no new cases of wild poliovirus have been reported. This major achievement was made possible as a result of intensive collaboration between the Somali...

18 August 2016 – #ProtectHealthWorkers is a campaign by WHO focusing on health workers and health facilities, highlighting the challenges and risks they face every day, and monitoring their safety, making sure they remain protected and unharmed. Syria is now the most dangerous country in the world for health workers. The number of attacks on...

18 August 2016 – At least twice a week for the past few months, we have had to condemn attacks on hospitals and clinics in several countries of the Region. With each statement I read about innocent lives lost and health facilities destroyed, and my dismay and despair grow. Despite many condemnations from WHO and other partners, attacks on health care...

The humanitarian and health situation in Aleppo has reached critical levels5 August 2016 – Dr Hatem Abu Yazan, the General Director of the Children’s Specialised Hospital in Al Shaa’ar in eastern Aleppo City, was on duty in the hospital’s neonatal section on the first floor when he heard the sound of an airstrike. It was a sound that he was used...