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United Nations warns of “rapidly unfolding” health disaster in Gaza
2 August 2014, Jerusalem - A health disaster of widespread proportions is rapidly unfolding in the Gaza Strip as a direct result of the ongoing conflict, said the United Nations today. Mr James W. Rawley, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), together with Mr Robert Turner, UNRWA’s Director of Operations in the...
WHO and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent reach eastern Aleppo and Mouadamiya in Rural Damascus
Damascus, 31 July 2014 – Subsequent to an agreement with the Syrian government and the opposition, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) have delivered surgical and medical assistance to besieged eastern Aleppo and communities in Mouadamiya in Rural Damascus. Yesterday, following a ceasefire between the...
WHO calls for the creation of a humanitarian corridor in Gaza
A WHO/OCHA team visited al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah after an attack on 21 July 2014 killed one patient and three companions and injured 16. All patients were evacuated and the 100-bed hospital is no longer functioning.24 July 2014 - WHO is greatly concerned about the human suffering and deterioration of living conditions in Gaza as a...
Gaza: WHO calls on all parties to respect and protect health facilities, personnel and patients
Al Wafa, the only medical rehabilitation hospital in Gaza, was evacuated after repeated air strikes and 14 inpatients, all with disabilities, were sent to other hospitals.Jerusalem/Cairo, 22 July 2014-- The World Health Organization and its health partners are gravely concerned about the increasing attacks on health facilities, ambulances,...
Urgent funds required to prevent the collapse of health services in occupied Palestinian territory
Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem10 July 2014, Jerusalem – The recent escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip raises concern about the ability of the Government and the Ministry of Health of the occupied Palestinian territory to cope with the increased burden of medical emergencies on the health system, given the high levels of...
WHO responds to deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq
WHO is providing inter-agency health kits containing medicines and medical supplies for 200 000 people as part of its response to the ongoing crisis in Iraq. Photo credit: Saad Al-Dahwi/WHOErbil, 16 June, 2014 – WHO is working with local and international partners in Iraq to meet the urgent health needs of populations affected by the ongoing...
“Give blood for those who give life”: World Blood Donor Day 2014
11 June 2014 | Cairo, Egypt – This year’s World Blood Donor Day highlights the fact that safe blood saves the lives of mothers. It is a call to save the lives of the thousands of women worldwide who die every year due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. The slogan of this year’s World Blood Donor Day campaign is “give blood for...
WHO concludes a MERS-CoV risk assessment mission in the United Arab Emirates
WHO/R. Sidani6 June 2014 | Cairo, Egypt – A team from the WHO has concluded a 5-day mission in United Arab Emirates (UAE) to assess the risk posed by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the country. Health authorities in UAE had invited WHO to review the current situation after an upsurge of cases in April. The team had...
Raise taxes on tobacco: A sound policy with a powerful impact on health and the economy
28 May 2014 | Cairo, Egypt – On World No Tobacco Day, 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on countries to raise tobacco taxes. Higher taxes on tobacco raise more revenue for governments and health programmes, reduce tobacco use and lead to healthier communities and healthier economies. Tobacco taxation works Taxation is one of the...
First round of health journalism training successfully coming to an end
Participant journalists from Libya during the first round of training held in TunisiaCairo, 22 May 2014 – The first round of a joint WHO/Agence France-Presse/Thomson Reuters Foundation training programme on mainstreaming health in the media is successfully coming to an end. For 15 weeks, 18 Libyan journalists, representing different media outlets,...
