Health Emergencies Newsletter

Updates on WHO's global response and preparedness work on health emergencies, including COVID-19. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

No images? Click here The world faced an unprecedented global public health crisis in 2020, but WHO and its many partners worked with countries and donors to respond to other emergencies – including conflicts, disease outbreaks, and humanitarian situations. In this special edition of this newsletter we look back at some of the key milestones of health emergency preparedness and response in 2020.   A year without precedent: WHO’s COVID-19 response Taking stock of all that the world has achieved together, and the partnerships working to end the pandemic: from small personal gestures to protect others, to international collaboration on research and innovation.     Donors back WHO’s fight against COVID-19 Member states and donor contributions have enabled WHO’s response to COVID-19, including delivering personal protective equipment, strengthening laboratories, and coordinating the deployment of emergency medical teams.     Stories on COVID-19  Thailand A million village health volunteers helped guard communities nationwide Thailand’s village health volunteers have been working for decades to help their fellow citizens to keep safe from disease outbreaks.  Watch a video of Thailand's response to COVID-19 here.   Serbia | Video Utilising containers for COVID-19 triage and testing As part of Serbia’s COVID-19 response, 101 containers were procured and delivered to health facilities around the country for COVID-19 triage and testing.   Philippines COVID Kaya: A digital platform for COVID-19 information management Contact tracing capacity for COVID-19 in the Philippines has been expanded with an information system that supports the self-reporting, user-driven system of the COVID Kaya platform. Rolled out in June 2020, the mobile application allows real-time monitoring and helps identify bottlenecks and delays in patient services and automates tracking test specimens, communicating test results, and monitoring quarantined contacts.   Ghana | Video ‘Now I feel safe to come to the hospital’ “In the beginning, with the fear of COVID-19, I missed some of my antenatal check-ups. But as time went on and we got more information, I continued with antenatal services,” says Sophia Turkson from Ghana, about her initial fear of the pandemic. After health workers shared knowledge about safely accessing the hospital, she returned to help keep her baby safe and healthy.   Other health emergencies Yemen Cholera breaks 1.5 million mark; almost a quarter are children As of June 2020, more than 1.3 million cases of cholera and at least 1,566 associated deaths have already gripped Yemen since 2018. Children aged below 5 account for almost a quarter of the suspected cases in 2020 alone.   Bangladesh  Boosting pre-hospital emergency medical care in the Rohingya refugee camps WHO is reinforcing support for emergency responders and ambulance teams Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp.   Democratic Republic of Congo The heroes that ended the Ebola outbreak Meet some of the responders, researchers, and community members who help end the 10th outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   Paraguay | in Spanish 'Parents must continue vaccinating their children even during COVID-19’ To keep vaccination spaces safe amid COVID-19 and encourage parents to continue vaccinating their children, WHO and the Government of Japan delivered tents equipped with furniture and sanitary facilities to 10 regions in Paraguay. This is part of Technical Cooperation strategy in the country to save lives, protect health workers, and prevent the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining essential health services for all.   Afghanistan Trekking through the snow to deliver vaccines Racing against time to protect the youngest children from the poliovirus, community health workers across Afghanistan tackled harsh winter conditions and challenging terrains to reach 9.9 million children with polio vaccines.   Ethiopia Conducting polio vaccination to ensure the country remains polio free Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic Ethiopia conducted an oral polio vaccination campaign targeting over 14 million under-5 children last autumn.    Iran WHO helps strengthen the Islamic Republic’s influenza response While providing support in the fight against COVID-19 in Iran, WHO also continued to strengthen its national influenza programme by delivering essential laboratory supplies.   WHO has updated the Funding Appeals page to now include donor alerts for the response to situations such as the Beirut blasts, the global COVID-19 response, Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, and other health and emergency settings. Click here to learn more.   Donor Highlights Lebanon “We need soap now more than ever” With support from the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and training from UNHCR, Syrian refugee Midia Said Sido makes soap for her community in Lebanon, to help avert the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging frequent handwashing and personal hygiene. At the same time, for her, making soap enables her and other women to have a more active role in society.     Republic of Korea supports efforts in Africa with $6 million in COVID-19 test kits In August, the Government of the Republic of Korea signed a partnership with WHO to support COVID-19 response efforts in the Africa region. Six million dollars’ worth of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests kits were delivered to 24 countries in Africa. PCR has proven to be a critically important laboratory tool, providing results that are reliable and consistent.     UK provides £1.8mn to Pacific countries The Government of the United Kingdom is providing critical assistance to strengthen COVID-19 preparedness and response capacity in the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.     Ramping up support to the ACT-Accelerator Tools for COVID-19 In November, the European Commission, France, Spain, Republic of Korea, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $360 million to the COVAX Facility, the Vaccines Pillar of the ACT Accelerator. Further, the UK government is also giving £500m to aid the COVAX vaccines procurement pool, to help poorer countries access a coronavirus vaccine when one is developed. As of November, new contributions bring the total committed to over $5.1 billion – but an additional $ 4.2 bn is needed urgently this year, with a further $23.9 bn required in 2021, if tools are to be deployed across the world as they become available.     'Science in 5' WHO experts explain the science related to COVID-19. This video and audio series is available weekly on WHO's social media channels and on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcasts platforms. Click here for the full playlist. Who.int Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter YouTube    Support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and help the global efforts to fight COVID-19 and protect many lives -- especially vulnerable populations around the world. The Fund is the fastest and most effective way for individuals, companies, and organisations to support the work of WHO and its many partners in battling COVID-19 in communities. Subscribe to WHO's Health Emergencies Newsletter. Send feedback to WHO Emergency Communications team.   World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1202 Geneva 27, Switzerland  You received this email because you subscribed.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe