WHO & Regionals [to 2 May 2015]
Nepal
:: Nepal’s Ministry of Health puts a hold on foreign medical teams
The Nepalese Ministry of Health has asked that any foreign medical teams ready to deploy to Nepal should please refrain from doing so. While the Ministry has expressed gratitude for all offers of assistance, they have advised that the need for foreign medical teams has already been met. Teams en route without a designated duty station will due to this be asked to turn away. All foreign medical teams on stand-by to assist Nepal’s earthquake response should register with WHO and keep updated on the situation through WHO’s homepage and the virtual On-site Operations Coordination Centre (OSSOC) website.

:: WHO mobilizes funds for long-term spinal cord treatment after Nepal earthquake
2 May 2015 — Among the estimated 14,000 injuries incurred as a result of the April 25 earthquake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and has so far resulted in 6200 recorded fatalities, approximately 1 in 3 (or around 4700) will require follow-up rehabilitation treatment. Of this number, approximately 12% have damage to their spinal cord.

:: Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly – 18–26 May 2015

:: Sierra Leone wraps up four-day health and vaccination campaign 1 May 2015
…WHO worked in close collaboration with the Sierra Leone government and partners, to plan and supervise the recent Maternal and Child Health Week national campaign. The campaign aimed to reach more than 1.5 million children under the age of 5, with life-saving immunizations. In addition, children’s nutritional levels were measured, deworming tablets were administered and HIV testing was available for pregnant women and their partners…

:: Americas region is declared the world’s first to eliminate rubella
April 2015– The Americas region has become the first in the world to be declared free of endemic transmission of rubella, a contagious viral disease that can cause multiple birth defects as well as fetal death when contracted by women during pregnancy.

:: Global Alert and Response (GAR) – Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia 29 April 2015
Meningococcal disease – Niger 29 April 2015

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:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: A new entity to accelerate the elimination of neglected tropical diseases in Africa
Johannesburg, 30 April 2015 – The World Health Organization is stepping up efforts to accelerate the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTD) in the African Region. Health experts, donors, development partners and affected countries have reached a consensus on the main components of the framework for establishing a new NTD entity. This entity will support and guide affected countries in the African region to accelerate the implementation of actions required to eliminate NTDs by 2020.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti in her opening remarks underscored the need for a strong entity that will provide high quality technical support, and strengthen capacity of Member States to eliminate NTDs. Dr Moeti said, “The new NTD entity needs to be cost efficient, cross-cutting with other NTD interventions and with a stronger link with stakeholders and actors in order to achieve the set targets in 2020.”
The WHO African Region faces a huge burden of neglected tropical diseases which affects millions of people who are impoverished. The region carries half of the global burden of NTDs. The move to establish a new entity arises from the current global and regional commitment from donors, pharmaceutical companies, countries and other partners to accelerate the elimination of NTDs.
The new NTD entity will also facilitate the smooth transition of technical support to affected countries as the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) closes on 31 December, 2015. APOC was established in 1995 to tackle river blindness. Over the past 20 years, the work of APOC has made commendable progress in tackling river blindness (Onchocerciasis) in most affected communities. The new entity focuses on the five diseases (elephantiasis, river blindness, trachoma, bilharzia and intestinal worms) that can be treated with mass drug administration. Its operations will build on the experience gained in recent years in tackling NTDs.
In her concluding comments, Dr Moeti thanked APOC for its contribution to tackling river blindness and expressed profound gratitude to Member States, donors, communities, non-governmental development organizations and the many WHO staff that contributed significantly to this achievement. The Regional Director promised to “follow up the NTD agenda and ensure that the new entity achieves the expected results by 2020.”

:: 1 in 5 children in Africa do not have access to life-saving vaccines – 28 April 2015
:: Humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic: lack of funding threatens the free-access to healthcare –

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: Americas region is declared the world’s first to eliminate rubella (04/29/2015)
:: La Fundación Chespirito se unió a la OPS/OMS para celebrar la Semana de Vacunación en las Américas (04/28/2015)
:: 13th annual Vaccination Week in the Americas kicks off in Ecuador (04/26/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: WHO works with partners to prevent diarrhoeal diseases SEAR/PR/1597 30 April 2015
:: WHO, health partners striving to treat quake survivors in Nepal’s remote regions SEAR/PR/1596 29 April 2015
:: WHO coordinating the health response to Nepal earthquake; working to prevent spread of disease 29 April 2015
:: WHO sending in more medical supplies and assisting the arrival of foreign medical team support for earthquake-ravaged Nepal 27 April 2015

WHO European Region EURO
:: At least one in three Europeans can be exposed to asbestos at work and in the environment 30-04-2015
:: Air pollution costs European economies US$ 1.6 trillion a year in diseases and deaths, new WHO study says 28-04-2015
:: From the migration front line: interview with Lampedusa doctor 27-04-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO report finds systems to combat antibiotic resistance lacking 29 April 2015
:: The future of nursing and midwifery in the Region 29 April 2015
:: Closing the immunization gap in Afghanistan 26 April 2015

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Protect your community: Get vaccinated
2015 – An estimated 1.5 million children worldwide die each year of diseases that can be readily prevented by vaccines. On World Immunization Week (24 April – 3 May), the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region underscores the importance of immunization as a shared responsibility and a vital component in protecting communities.