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WHO statement on attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital and reported large-scale casualties
18 October 2023 – WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries. The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip...
WHO Regional Director’s remarks at the regional press briefing on health emergencies
17 October 2023 – Eleven days ago, the Eastern Mediterranean Region – which was already facing some of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters – was confronted with a new emergency involving Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, which has now reached catastrophic proportions. Just as concerning is the spilling over of the conflict into...
WHO delivers medical supplies to Lebanon as violence in the occupied Palestinian territory intensifies
Beirut, Lebanon, 15 October 2023 — The World Health Organization (WHO) has expedited the delivery of critical medical supplies to Lebanon in order to be ready to respond to any potential health crisis. Two shipments arrived in Beirut today from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai, and include enough surgical and trauma medicines and supplies to meet the...
Advancing health security in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Self-assessment phase of the second round of the Joint External Evaluation in Iraq. Photo credit: WHO/WHO Iraq 15 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – In the diverse WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, positive results have been yielded by concerted efforts to enhance health security through the monitoring and building of the International Health...
Strengthening public health intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
15 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region has made great strides in strengthening public health intelligence capabilities in recent years, thanks to joint efforts by WHO and the Region’s countries and territories. WHO stresses the importance of continuous monitoring and prompt signal detection. Hence, a dedicated team of...
Revitalizing M&E systems in humanitarian and fragile settings: the success story of WHO’s Response Monitoring project
Review workshop for the first phase of the project to improve monitoring capacity in humanitarian and fragile settings, September 2023. Photo credit: WHO/Health Emergencies Programme 15 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – In the complex landscape of fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable (FCV) settings, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) play a crucial...
Evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals in northern Gaza are a death sentence for the sick and injured
Photo credit: Ministry of Health, Occupied Palestinian territory 14 October 2023 – As the United Nation’s agency responsible for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemns Israel's repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2000 inpatients in northern Gaza. The forced evacuation of patients and...
Lifesaving WHO health supplies land in Egypt for people-in-need in Gaza
14 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – A plane carrying 78 cubic metres of health supplies from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai has landed in Al-Arish airport in Egypt. The supplies will be delivered to Gaza to meet critical health needs as soon as humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing is established. Every hour these supplies remain on the...
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip at a breaking point, warns WHO
Jerusalem, 12 October 2023 - WHO warns that the health system in the Gaza Strip is at a breaking point. Time is running out to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe if fuel and life-saving health and humanitarian supplies cannot be urgently delivered to the Gaza Strip amidst the complete blockade. Hospitals have only a few hours of electricity each...
Earthquake in Herat province
12 October 2023 – A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the western region of Afghanistan on 7 October 2023 caused widespread devastation in a country facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Women, children and vulnerable populations are gravely affected by the disaster. WHO’s Country Office in Kabul and field office in Herat...
