Read the Gaza Strip joint health sector assessment report12 October 2014 – Urgent work is needed to rehabilitate the damaged health system in Gaza to prevent further loss of life after the recent conflict, according to a WHO-led joint assessment of health needs and services in Gaza, released today. During the conflict more than half of existing...

Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director, meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Dr Rami Hamdallah4 October 2014 - Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, visited occupied Palestinian territory from 30 September to 1 October as a follow-up visit to his mission to Gaza and West Bank from 10 to 11 August at the height of the...

28 September 2014 - A World Health Organization (WHO) assessment of the cause of the death of 15 children in rural Idleb, northern Syria, has concluded that the most likely cause of the event was the incorrect use of a drug called Atracurium as a diluent for measles/rubella vaccine.  There is no evidence that the measles/rubella vaccine itself or its...

Amman/Cairo, 17 September 2014: UNICEF and WHO have been shocked and saddened to learn of the deaths of at least 15 young children in Idlib, Syria. The deaths of the children – all of whom were less than two years of age – occurred in districts where a measles immunization campaign had been under way.  Establishing the precise cause of the...

5 September 2014, Cairo, Egypt – Today, WHO publishes a global report “Preventing suicide: a global imperative”. The report reveals that suicide is a serious public health problem worldwide. Every year, over 800 000 people die from suicide, roughly one death every 40 seconds. Each year, suicide claims more lives than homicide and war combined. This is WHO’s...

Erbil/Amman, 2 September 2014 – Despite the ongoing conflict, violence and displacement across Iraq, a mass polio immunization campaign succeeded in reaching 3.75 out of 4 million children under the age of 5.  The five-day campaign between 10 and 14 August was organized by the Iraqi Ministry of Health with the support of UNICEF and the World...

Accompanied by government officials and representatives of UN sister agencies, Dr Alwan visited an internally displaced people camp in Mogadishu to observe the ongoing polio vaccination campaign.25 August 2014 – WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan, concluded a visit to Mogadishu this week, where he launched...

18 August, 2014, Erbil - Humanitarian health services in Iraq have received a much-needed boost through a $US 50 million grant provided by Saudi Arabia to WHO for its response to the health crisis facing millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The recent upsurge in violence, massive population movement, and presence of over 250 000...

Gaza, 18 August 2014 – The World Health Organization has been providing medicines and medical supplies to the Palestinian Ministry of Health to fill critical shortages in hospitals in the Gaza Strip providing health services for a total of 1.8 million people. The most recent shipment consisted of 24 trucks  with medical supplies sent via the Rafah...

13 August, 2014 – The World Health Organization is supporting the delivery of urgently needed health services to people affected by insecurity in northern Iraq, including tens of thousands of children, women and men trapped on Sinjar Mountain and many more who have escaped to safer areas.  “The health situation on Sinjar Mountain is precarious for...