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...

12 August 2014 - WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan made a visit to the Gaza Strip and Ramallah yesterday to witness firsthand the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and review the damage to the health infrastructure and facilities and to discuss priorities. Dr Alwan started his mission in Jerusalem where he met with...

11 August 2014 – Iraq has launched a polio immunization campaign aiming to protect over four million children under the age of 5 throughout the country against the crippling disease.  The four-day campaign, undertaken by the Ministry of Health with the support of WHO and UNICEF, is part of the national response to the re-emergence of the polio virus...

The Puntland Health Ministry/UN agency convoy on the road to Jariban district to investigate the polio outbreak @UNICEF Somalia/20147 August 2014 - UN agencies in Somalia combined forces once again to help a joint UNICEF and WHO team to visit a remote district of Puntland in north east Somalia where four people have contracted polio this year. The...

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...