Gravely concerned by the humanitarian and health situation facing approximately 200 people, including health workers and up to 30 children, abducted from Israel by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) today reiterated its call for the immediate release of all the hostages, along with urgent access to each of them and delivery of medical care.
The call was made by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus following discussions today with an Israeli non-governmental organization, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, that represents families of the abducted people.
“We met today with families of people abducted from southern Israel on 7 October and heard firsthand the tragedy, trauma and suffering they are facing,” said Dr Tedros. “There is an urgent need for the captors of the hostages to provide signs of life, proof of provision of health care and the immediate release, on humanitarian and health grounds, of all those abducted.”
“Many of the hostages, including children, women and the elderly, have pre-existing health conditions requiring urgent and sustained care and treatment. The mental health trauma that the abducted, and the families, are facing is acute and psychosocial support is of great importance.”
Dr Tedros said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should be granted immediate access to the hostages to understand their health status. WHO stands ready to provide the ICRC, which is mandated to provide support to hostages in conflict situations, with any health support for the hostages, Dr Tedros added.
“I thank the families for sharing their heartbreaking stories. I committed, on behalf of WHO, to do all we can to support the health and humanitarian needs of those being held captive. All civilians who are suffering in this conflict must be protected.”
Dr Tedros added: “We will do everything in our power as WHO to protect and promote the health of all people as that is the mission of our Organization: to care for each and everybody’s health no matter the conditions and circumstances,” said Dr Tedros. “We call on WHO Member States, humanitarian partners, all other relevant parties, and the public at large to put the health of people first and foremost in their minds and take immediate action to end the ongoing suffering.”
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
Dr Michel Thieren, WHO Special Representative in Israel, spent almost 2 weeks travelling across the country to see how the health system is responding in the aftermath of the attacks led by Hamas on 7 October. This is his account of what he saw and heard. Note: Some readers may find the content of this article distressing. More than 2 weeks after the attacks in Israel that left 1400 people dead and over 4600 wounded, health-care providers there continue working around the clock to respond to the enormous needs of their patients.
Immediately after the attacks on 7 October, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge offered WHO’s support, under the Organization’s humanitarian mandate, to the health response led by the Israeli Ministry of Health. The Ministry responded that, at the time, the health system was coping, but that it would not hesitate to ask if assistance was needed.
So far, 8 attacks on health care and medical facilities in Israel have been recorded through WHO’s surveillance system of attacks on health care, with 7 deaths attributed to these.
WHO Special Representative in Israel Dr Michel Thieren has been reviewing the health response on multiple fronts, visiting hospitals, listening to the injured, talking to displaced people, touring destroyed and deserted towns and villages, and observing the intricate, highly challenging work of forensic investigators who have yet to formally identify almost half of those who died.
Among the sites Dr Thieren visited is a hospital in the coastal city of Ashkelon that is treating many of the injured.
“What is so striking is that almost all the people I spoke to, the vast majority of them with severe injuries from gun shots, shrapnel and burns, did not want to talk about themselves at all but about the people they had seen die in front of them,” said Dr Thieren.
“Almost every one of those survivors had seen someone else die before they themselves were injured. They are absolutely haunted by this. It is dominant in their thoughts. So many need urgent mental health support.”
In addition to the dead or injured, over 200 Israeli hostages remain in captivity, including women, children and older people, with many reportedly suffering from pre-existing health conditions requiring continuity of care. WHO and United Nations partners have repeatedly called for their immediate and unconditional release.
“The fact that so many Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas means that there is no chance for the wider public to begin the healing process,” observed Dr Thieren, who has spoken to relatives of many of the abducted Israelis.
“It is on their minds 24 hours a day. It has added to the collective psychological burden witnessed nationwide, triggering an acute need for mental health services.”
Dr Thieren said he listened to several doctors and nurses treating the injured who shared that they, too, were finding their mental health affected by the stories they were hearing from survivors and the wounds they were treating.
“From what I am seeing, mental health problems appear to be rapidly spreading among the country’s population. The human suffering is immense. People just don’t feel safe anymore, and this is a complete change in their recent history.”
Dr Thieren also visited several military bases where the bodies of many of the victims of the attacks are stored in refrigerated containers.
“Doctors and forensic experts are still working to identify the bodies. They are all wrapped in plastic bags. There are obviously adult bodies and children’s bodies, but the vast majority of bags are misshapen. Despite Israel having some of the best forensic doctors in the world, only 700 – barely half of the 1400 victims – have been positively identified so far. This, of course, is incredibly impactful on those that are doing this necessary work,” he explained.
“I have visited ghost towns in the south whose populations have been evacuated. There is still the terrible stench of death. I have listened to so many people telling their stories. Survivors, the injured, psychiatrists, doctors, first responders and soldiers – all their accounts are horrific. The shadow of national shock and grief has plunged this country into night. When mental health perishes, so does physical health.”
In his role as WHO Special Representative, Dr Thieren also met with a number of public and official figures to gauge their views on the health needs at this time, and to express WHO’s solidarity with all civilians and health workers, everywhere.
A WHO review of 129 studies in 39 countries, published in 2022, shows that among people who experienced war or other conflict in the previous 10 years, 1 in 5 (22%) have depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
“The sad truth is that in any conflict, it is civilians and humanitarians who end up bearing the brunt,” noted Dr Gerald Rockenschaub, WHO Regional Emergency Director for Europe.
“Amid a number of ongoing conflicts in the WHO European Region and globally, WHO stresses that civilians and health workers must never be a target, anywhere. Violence, deaths, injury, displacement – all of these contribute to significant, long-term challenges that health systems are hard-pressed to respond to adequately.”
Dr Rockenschaub added, “Only an end to the ongoing violence, including through the immediate release of all hostages, can begin to help alleviate the human suffering of those affected.”
WHO’s guidelines for responding to urgent mental health needs in emergency situations at a number of levels, from basic services to clinical care, include the following:
Psychological first aid to people experiencing acute distress should be made available by field workers, including health staff, teachers and trained volunteers.
Basic clinical mental health care covering priority conditions, such as depression, psychotic disorders and epilepsy, should be provided at every health-care facility by trained and supervised general health staff.
Psychological interventions, such as problem-solving, group interpersonal therapy and interventions based on the principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy for people impaired by prolonged distress, should be offered by specialists in those fields.
Protecting and promoting the rights of people with severe mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities is especially critical in humanitarian emergencies. This includes visiting, monitoring and supporting people at psychiatric facilities and residential homes.
Links and referral mechanisms should be established between mental health specialists, general health-care providers, community-based support workers, and other service providers such as schools, social services and emergency relief centres.
Community self-help and social support should be strengthened.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
6 months of conflict in Sudan leave millions of children at risk of cholera, dengue, measles, malaria and other diseases without sufficient containment capacities
18 October 2023, Port Sudan, Sudan – Since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, UNICEF, WHO and partners have been supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and state ministries of health in Sudan to maintain vital services across the country but are increasingly challenged by the limitations in safety and security, access and resourcing.
The agencies warn that further health system disruptions will result in unacceptably high numbers of preventable deaths among children and vulnerable populations. Urgent action is needed now to preserve Sudan’s health systems, especially at community and primary health care levels.
Six months into the conflict, health workers have gone without pay for months, and health facilities are occupied, looted or destroyed. About 70% of hospitals in conflict-affected states are not functional. WHO has verified 58 attacks on health care to date, with 31 deaths and 38 injuries of health workers and patients.
On top of the active fighting ongoing in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofans, the rainy season is further limiting access to vulnerable communities, while creating conducive space for the spread of water- and vector-borne diseases.
Millions of families are caught in the middle of the fighting, and more than 5.8 million people, 2.5 million of them children, are newly displaced and on the move. With over 7.1 million people displaced internally – 4.5 million of them since the outbreak of conflict – Sudan now has the largest number of internally displaced people in the world. Lacking access to food, safe drinking water, a clean and healthy environment, health care and many basic services, the risk of death due to birth complications, reduced vaccination, disease outbreaks and malnutrition is rapidly rising.
While there are insufficient data for their verification, projections based on Johns Hopkins University’s Lives Saved Tool modelling indicate that at least 10 000 children under 5 years of age may die by the end of 2023 due to the increase in food insecurity, and disruptions to essential services since conflict broke out in Sudan – well over 20 times the official number of children of all ages killed by the fighting.
The number of hungry families has almost doubled, 700 000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 100 000 children require life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition with medical complications. The Federal Ministry of Health announced on 26 September an outbreak of cholera in Gedaref State, and later, on 7 October, in Khartoum and South Kordofan states. Suspected cases are also reported from Gezira State. Cholera is a highly contagious and deadly disease for vulnerable populations, including children, which has already killed 65 people, many of them children out of 1310 cases in the 4 states, and if not quickly contained will take many more lives. UNICEF and WHO are deeply concerned about cholera, measles, malaria and dengue spreading across the country, posing lethal risks to malnourished children. State health authorities have already reported 4296 suspected cases of measles and 108 deaths, 4307 suspected dengue cases and 16 deaths, and over 710 000 clinical malaria cases with 27 deaths.
Limited access to affected localities and difficulties with transporting samples to the only functional public health laboratory in Port Sudan, upgraded to provide a national referencing service through WHO support, are proving a challenge to confirming these outbreaks.
WHO, UNICEF and health partners are working to ensure primary health care, life-saving medical supplies and nourishment are accessible to displaced people and other vulnerable populations. They are also supporting the health authorities’ response to the cholera outbreak. However, current resources can only help reach a fraction of those in need of these critical services.
“Maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition service delivery – a lifeline in a country where nearly 14 million children urgently require humanitarian support – has been decimated in some areas,” said UNICEF Country Representative in Sudan, Mandeep O’Brien. “Health workers have not been paid in months. Supplies are depleted. Critical infrastructure is still under attack. The fighting needs to stop now; the toll on children is unacceptable. Health partners urgently need access and resources to help Sudan save the health and well-being of its youngest citizens.”
“Primary health care is beyond the reach of millions of Sudanese at a time when they need health care the most,” commented Dr Nima Saeed Abid, WHO Representative in Sudan. “Health partners are on the ground with full commitment to provide life-saving services and prevent needless loss of life from preventable and treatable diseases. The time is now to stop attacks on health care, ensure safe and unhindered access, and adequately resource health operations. Ultimately, though, peace is the answer.”
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
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 Egyptian side of the border, more girls and boys, women, and men, especially those vulnerable or disabled, will die while supplies that can save them are less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.
The supplies include enough trauma medicines and health supplies to treat 1200 wounded patients and 1500 patients suffering from heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory problems, and basic essential health supplies to serve the needs of 300,000 people, including pregnant women.
They also include trauma pouches with enough medicines and supplies to treat 235 wounded people. With hospitals in Gaza either nonfunctional or overwhelmed, and movement restricted due to fighting, these will enable injured people to be stabilized and receive immediate, lifesaving care anywhere it is needed.
WHO will work with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies to ensure transportation and delivery of the supplies through Egypt and into Gaza.
On 9 October, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who agreed to a WHO request to facilitate the delivery of health and other humanitarian supplies from WHO to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
While the Egyptian side of the crossing is accessible, the Israeli side remains closed.
The critically injured, the sick, and the vulnerable cannot wait. Too many lives have already been lost. WHO joins the calls for an immediate opening of a humanitarian crossing through the Rafah border into Gaza, for safe onward delivery of life-saving supplies to health facilities, for the delivery of fuel, water, food, and other items essential for survival, and for the protection of health care workers, patients, and civilians.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
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 Egyptian side of the border, more girls and boys, women, and men, especially those vulnerable or disabled, will die while supplies that can save them are less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.
The supplies include enough trauma medicines and health supplies to treat 1200 wounded patients and 1500 patients suffering from heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory problems, and basic essential health supplies to serve the needs of 300,000 people, including pregnant women.
They also include trauma pouches with enough medicines and supplies to treat 235 wounded people. With hospitals in Gaza either nonfunctional or overwhelmed, and movement restricted due to fighting, these will enable injured people to be stabilized and receive immediate, lifesaving care anywhere it is needed.
WHO will work with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies to ensure transportation and delivery of the supplies through Egypt and into Gaza.
On 9 October, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who agreed to a WHO request to facilitate the delivery of health and other humanitarian supplies from WHO to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
While the Egyptian side of the crossing is accessible, the Israeli side remains closed.
The critically injured, the sick, and the vulnerable cannot wait. Too many lives have already been lost. WHO joins the calls for an immediate opening of a humanitarian crossing through the Rafah border into Gaza, for safe onward delivery of life-saving supplies to health facilities, for the delivery of fuel, water, food, and other items essential for survival, and for the protection of health care workers, patients, and civilians.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
11 October 2023: Brussels, Belgium: Today, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new financing partnership to address critical global health opportunities: eradicating polio and ensuring that innovations in health are more accessible to the people who need them most. The World Health Organization and UNICEF, as implementing partners for the polio funding, will deploy the resources to eradicate polio, support the distribution of other childhood immunizations and strengthen health systems so they are better able to respond to emerging health threats.
The expected €1.1 billion financing package aims to provide new funding to eradicate a human disease for only the second time in history and help solve the health and development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable people, who otherwise do not get fair access to healthcare services and innovations.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “We are about to wipe polio off the face of the Earth. The European Commission, the EIB and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to get through the final stretch. With 1 billion euros supported by our European investment strategy Global Gateway, we will invest in stronger health systems globally and local vaccine and medicines production, manufacturing and administration, where it is most needed. Global cooperation has helped us put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it will help us get rid of polio once and for all.”
The partnership marks a significant increase in funding for global health and human development under the European Commission’s European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) and is expected to include a match of new complementary funding for global health by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maximising the impact of every Euro committed by the EU and the European Investment Bank.
“Today we are united to write the final chapter in the history of polio. The European Investment Bank is playing its part in a unique partnership with philanthropy and health partners, by providing EUR 500 million for investment in support of the Global Polio Eradication Programme. This initiative will be a milestone in scaling up immunization and strengthening healthcare, ensuring that every child, regardless of their circumstances, can be protected against polio,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
To promote swift progress towards eradicating wild poliovirus, the partnership aims to deliver €500 million in payments to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – specifically the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The funds will cover polio vaccinations for nearly 370 million children annually; deliver vital health services to children alongside polio campaigns, including measles vaccines and other routine immunizations; and strengthen health systems to better prepare and respond to emerging health threats, as the polio program has done against COVID-19, Ebola, and other diseases. Today, wild poliovirus remains endemic in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – and 80% of variant poliovirus cases are found in just four subnational regions.
“Thanks to medical innovations, the world eradicated one human disease – smallpox. Today we’re on the verge of ending another – wild poliovirus. I am committed to ensuring that no child, anywhere in the world, faces this awful disease. I am also optimistic that we will eradicate polio once and for all and make health innovations more accessible for everyone, particularly those in the poorest countries,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Another €500 million aims to expand the innovation capacity of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. This includes new funding to initiatives supported by the European Commission such as efforts to make health innovations like mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics more accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries, under Europe’s investment plan for the world, Global Gateway. More investments in health worldwide will be discussed among global leaders and partners at the upcoming Global Gateway Forum (25-26 October)
“Thanks to the leadership and partnership of the European Commission and European Investment Bank, vaccines, medicines and other life-saving innovations should reach the people who need them most, making communities everywhere healthier. We know that when a community is healthy, economies grow,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Reaching un- or under-vaccinated children in the most remote and hardest-to-reach areas is essential for finishing the job of polio eradication,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “These new funds will not only help to drive us towards a polio-free world, but will also help to build more sustainable and resilient health systems to protect the same children and communities who are at risk of polio against the many other health threats they face.”
“Polio eradication is within reach, but the progress is fragile, and we must remain laser focused,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This new funding will help ensure that all children get vaccinated to eradicate polio, while strengthening community-based health systems. No child should suffer from an easily preventable disease.”
Specifically, the funding partnership is expected to include:
€500 million in new funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (as outlined above)
€500 million in investments and grants to ensure health innovations are more accessible, strengthen health systems and prepare for future pandemics: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to provide €250 million of grants and investments to match a €250 million in investments made by the European Investment Bank and guaranteed by the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus.
€80 million grants for Technical Assistance: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expects to match €40 million in grants from the European Commission to provide technical assistance and ensure that global health programs achieve their full potential.
The partnership announced today builds from existing partnerships between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Commission and Member States, including a €100 million support package for the recently established African Medicines Agency (AMA) and national African medicines regulatory agencies or regional initiatives, the African Health Diagnostics Platform, which supports African partners to increase access and reduce costs of laboratory testing, and coordination on health initiatives such as COVAX, a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.
The Commission helps to shape the EU's overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development. In 2021, the European Commission launched Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for the world. Global Gateway is the EU’s offer to partner countries in support of their lasting growth, their green and digital transitions and the development and well-being of communities. Across the world, Global Gateway aims to mobilise €300 billion in investments between 2021 and 2027 with a mix of grants, concessional loans and guarantees to de-risk private sector investments. It invests in a wide range of projects, from hard infrastructure to health programmes, in line with the EU’s Global Health Strategy.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership, spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its launch in 1988, this partnership has helped prevent more than 20 million cases of paralysis, prevented more than 1.5 million childhood deaths and reduced the incidence of wild poliovirus by 99 percent, from more than 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, to seven cases in two endemic countries in 2023. For more information, please visit www.polioeradication.org
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
11 October 2023: Brussels, Belgium: Today, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new financing partnership to address critical global health opportunities: eradicating polio and ensuring that innovations in health are more accessible to the people who need them most. The World Health Organization and UNICEF, as implementing partners for the polio funding, will deploy the resources to eradicate polio, support the distribution of other childhood immunizations and strengthen health systems so they are better able to respond to emerging health threats.
The expected €1.1 billion financing package aims to provide new funding to eradicate a human disease for only the second time in history and help solve the health and development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable people, who otherwise do not get fair access to healthcare services and innovations.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “We are about to wipe polio off the face of the Earth. The European Commission, the EIB and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to get through the final stretch. With 1 billion euros supported by our European investment strategy Global Gateway, we will invest in stronger health systems globally and local vaccine and medicines production, manufacturing and administration, where it is most needed. Global cooperation has helped us put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it will help us get rid of polio once and for all.”
The partnership marks a significant increase in funding for global health and human development under the European Commission’s European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) and is expected to include a match of new complementary funding for global health by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maximising the impact of every Euro committed by the EU and the European Investment Bank.
“Today we are united to write the final chapter in the history of polio. The European Investment Bank is playing its part in a unique partnership with philanthropy and health partners, by providing EUR 500 million for investment in support of the Global Polio Eradication Programme. This initiative will be a milestone in scaling up immunization and strengthening healthcare, ensuring that every child, regardless of their circumstances, can be protected against polio,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
To promote swift progress towards eradicating wild poliovirus, the partnership aims to deliver €500 million in payments to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – specifically the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The funds will cover polio vaccinations for nearly 370 million children annually; deliver vital health services to children alongside polio campaigns, including measles vaccines and other routine immunizations; and strengthen health systems to better prepare and respond to emerging health threats, as the polio program has done against COVID-19, Ebola, and other diseases. Today, wild poliovirus remains endemic in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – and 80% of variant poliovirus cases are found in just four subnational regions.
“Thanks to medical innovations, the world eradicated one human disease – smallpox. Today we’re on the verge of ending another – wild poliovirus. I am committed to ensuring that no child, anywhere in the world, faces this awful disease. I am also optimistic that we will eradicate polio once and for all and make health innovations more accessible for everyone, particularly those in the poorest countries,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Another €500 million aims to expand the innovation capacity of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. This includes new funding to initiatives supported by the European Commission such as efforts to make health innovations like mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics more accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries, under Europe’s investment plan for the world, Global Gateway. More investments in health worldwide will be discussed among global leaders and partners at the upcoming Global Gateway Forum (25-26 October)
“Thanks to the leadership and partnership of the European Commission and European Investment Bank, vaccines, medicines and other life-saving innovations should reach the people who need them most, making communities everywhere healthier. We know that when a community is healthy, economies grow,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Reaching un- or under-vaccinated children in the most remote and hardest-to-reach areas is essential for finishing the job of polio eradication,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “These new funds will not only help to drive us towards a polio-free world, but will also help to build more sustainable and resilient health systems to protect the same children and communities who are at risk of polio against the many other health threats they face.”
“Polio eradication is within reach, but the progress is fragile, and we must remain laser focused,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This new funding will help ensure that all children get vaccinated to eradicate polio, while strengthening community-based health systems. No child should suffer from an easily preventable disease.”
Specifically, the funding partnership is expected to include:
€500 million in new funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (as outlined above)
€500 million in investments and grants to ensure health innovations are more accessible, strengthen health systems and prepare for future pandemics: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to provide €250 million of grants and investments to match a €250 million in investments made by the European Investment Bank and guaranteed by the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus.
€80 million grants for Technical Assistance: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expects to match €40 million in grants from the European Commission to provide technical assistance and ensure that global health programs achieve their full potential.
The partnership announced today builds from existing partnerships between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Commission and Member States, including a €100 million support package for the recently established African Medicines Agency (AMA) and national African medicines regulatory agencies or regional initiatives, the African Health Diagnostics Platform, which supports African partners to increase access and reduce costs of laboratory testing, and coordination on health initiatives such as COVAX, a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.
The Commission helps to shape the EU's overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development. In 2021, the European Commission launched Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for the world. Global Gateway is the EU’s offer to partner countries in support of their lasting growth, their green and digital transitions and the development and well-being of communities. Across the world, Global Gateway aims to mobilise €300 billion in investments between 2021 and 2027 with a mix of grants, concessional loans and guarantees to de-risk private sector investments. It invests in a wide range of projects, from hard infrastructure to health programmes, in line with the EU’s Global Health Strategy.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership, spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its launch in 1988, this partnership has helped prevent more than 20 million cases of paralysis, prevented more than 1.5 million childhood deaths and reduced the incidence of wild poliovirus by 99 percent, from more than 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, to seven cases in two endemic countries in 2023. For more information, please visit www.polioeradication.org
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
10 October 2023, Tripoli, Libya – Following the devastation wrought by Storm Daniel, hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Libya are mourning the loss of loved ones, homes, possessions and livelihoods. Tens of thousands more are desperately hoping for news of the nearly 9000 people who remain missing.
WHO estimates that at least 1 in 5 people will suffer from mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of a major emergency like Storm Daniel. Mental health services were one of the top 3 priorities – along with safe water and primary health care services – identified by an interagency assessment team that visited eastern Libya in the early days of the disaster. The need for mental health care is becoming even more acute in the aftermath of the crisis.
Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Libya, said that mental health services are essential. “Broken bones can be mended, but psychological wounds – which are often invisible – take much longer to heal. We are working with the authorities to make sure that people can obtain basic mental health support in primary health care facilities and community centres. However, some people in acute distress will require specialized psychological and psychiatric care.”
WHO and the health authorities in eastern Libya are working to establish a range of mental health services, from basic psychological first aid to specialized psychiatric care. WHO has appealed to neighbouring countries for assistance to help mitigate the acute shortages of psychiatrists and psychologists in Libya. It also plans to train Libyan health workers, volunteers and emergency responders in psychological first aid and basic psychosocial support.
WHO is supporting the setting up of mental health clinics staffed by specialists. Beyond addressing immediate needs, these specialists will focus on helping deeply traumatized survivors to deal with grief, anxiety and loss. They will also support primary health care staff and community workers, many of whom have continued to support the emergency response amid their own grief and loss.
“WHO and its partners have invested significantly in strengthening mental health care in Libya over the past decade; however, these efforts need to be substantially scaled up with immediate effect. We are committed to continuing to work with health authorities and national and international partners to ensure that mental health services are available and accessible to all those in need, stressing that mental health is not a luxury but rather a universal human right – for everyone, everywhere,” Dr Zouiten emphasized.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
On World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing a new report entitled Mental health of refugees and migrants: risk and protective factors and access to care, outlining the latest global evidence on main factors influencing the mental health of refugees and migrants and their access to care. This is fifth report of the Global evidence review on health and migration (GEHM).
Around 1 in 8 people globally live with a mental health condition. Refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable, as they can be exposed to various stress factors and challenges, which affect their mental health and well-being both during their journeys and on arrival. The prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) tends to be higher among migrants and refugees than among host populations. Girls and women on the move have a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
"Good mental health and well-being is a right for all, including for refugees and migrants," said Dr Santino Severoni, Director of the WHO's Department of Health and Migration. "This report will support and strengthen health systems' responses to the mental health needs of refugees and migrants so that they can receive quality mental health care and support in ways they find accessible, acceptable, and affordable."
The report summarizes different risk factors and barriers refugee and migrant groups experience and outlines five key themes to be addressed in order to improve their access to mental health care:
Community support: Evidence shows that being part of a community with a shared background and attending school are associated with lower rates of mental disorders.
Basic needs and security. For example, an insecure legal status can contribute to poor mental health.
Stigma: experiences of racism and discrimination are consistently associated with adverse mental health outcomes.
Adversity and trauma. For example, extended detention is associated with increased rates of depression and PTSD.
Access to services. Refugees and migrants often do not prioritize their mental health because they are not aware of the services available free of charge or do not accept health care due to language barriers and concerns around confidentiality.
"Refugees and migrants face many unique stressors and challenges. This report sets out the urgent need for robust policies and legislation, rooted within stronger health systems, to meet the mental health care needs of refugees and migrants," said Dévora Kestel, WHO Director for Mental Health and Substance Use.
Based on the findings of the review, this GEHM puts forward a series of actions for consideration by Governments, policymakers, and programme managers in Ministries of Health and other ministries, cutting across all the five thematic areas outlined:
Promote refugees' and migrants' participation in society and reduce discrimination by adopting refugee- and migrant-sensitive mental health policies.
Address the non-medical factors that impact mental health in migration policies and prioritize basic needs, such as food, housing, safety, and education or employment. This means, for example, using settings other than detention facilities to assess the health status of refugees and migrants.
Train health workers to assess and treat mental health conditions among refugees and migrants and strengthen the capacity of other relevant professionals (e.g., migration officers, social workers, or teachers) to recognize and support those with mental health conditions.
Offer choices about the delivery of mental health services, for example, the location, service provider, referral pathway, and treatment approach to make access to care possible and acceptable.
Safeguard the human rights of all refugees and migrants regardless of their legal status with national and international policies and criminal justice measures that protect these populations from discrimination and violence.
Strengthen community capacity for and access to mental health care by providing information about services, engaging with migrant groups, and offering community-based referral pathways. For example, orientation to critical services and entitlements on arrival in the destination country will be key.
Developed by the WHO's Department of Health and Migration in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, this GEHM also identifies critical gaps to be addressed in future research.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
10 October 2023, Tripoli, Libya – Following the devastation wrought by Storm Daniel, hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Libya are mourning the loss of loved ones, homes, possessions and livelihoods. Tens of thousands more are desperately hoping for news of the nearly 9000 people who remain missing.
WHO estimates that at least 1 in 5 people will suffer from mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of a major emergency like Storm Daniel. Mental health services were one of the top 3 priorities – along with safe water and primary health care services – identified by an interagency assessment team that visited eastern Libya in the early days of the disaster. The need for mental health care is becoming even more acute in the aftermath of the crisis.
Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Libya, said that mental health services are essential. “Broken bones can be mended, but psychological wounds – which are often invisible – take much longer to heal. We are working with the authorities to make sure that people can obtain basic mental health support in primary health care facilities and community centres. However, some people in acute distress will require specialized psychological and psychiatric care.”
WHO and the health authorities in eastern Libya are working to establish a range of mental health services, from basic psychological first aid to specialized psychiatric care. WHO has appealed to neighbouring countries for assistance to help mitigate the acute shortages of psychiatrists and psychologists in Libya. It also plans to train Libyan health workers, volunteers and emergency responders in psychological first aid and basic psychosocial support.
WHO is supporting the setting up of mental health clinics staffed by specialists. Beyond addressing immediate needs, these specialists will focus on helping deeply traumatized survivors to deal with grief, anxiety and loss. They will also support primary health care staff and community workers, many of whom have continued to support the emergency response amid their own grief and loss.
“WHO and its partners have invested significantly in strengthening mental health care in Libya over the past decade; however, these efforts need to be substantially scaled up with immediate effect. We are committed to continuing to work with health authorities and national and international partners to ensure that mental health services are available and accessible to all those in need, stressing that mental health is not a luxury but rather a universal human right – for everyone, everywhere,” Dr Zouiten emphasized.
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.