WHO & Regionals [to 5 September 2015]

Population movement is a challenge for refugees and migrants as well as for the receiving population
02-09-2015
Statement by Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe
The large influx of refugees and migrants to countries of the WHO European Region, which has escalated in the past few months, calls for an urgent response to their health needs. Actions are needed between and within countries as well as among sectors….

Refugees and migrants are not a homogeneous group, and we must ensure that our care systems respond to their diverse needs. This is particularly relevant for refugees and migrants who are exposed to violence, including gender-based violence, sexual violence and forced prostitution. It is also relevant for sexual reproductive health and rights, mother and child health, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mental health, emergency care and protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

A good response to the challenges of people on the move requires health system preparedness and capacity, including robust epidemiological data and migration intelligence, careful planning, training and, above all, adherence to the principles of equity and solidarity and to human rights and dignity.

High-quality care for refugee and migrant groups cannot be addressed by health systems alone. Social determinants of health cut across sectors such as education, employment, social security and housing. All these sectors have a considerable impact on the health of refugees and migrants.

Health issues related to population movement have been on the WHO agenda for many years, especially in the European Region. We must ensure that our health systems are adequately prepared to provide aid to refugees and migrants while at the same time protecting the health of the resident population. This requires cooperation among the countries of origin, transit and destination.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe is providing technical and on-site assistance to affected countries, with assessment of and support to their capacity to address the health needs of refugees and migrants. In addition, the Regional Office is providing policy advice on contingency planning, training of health personnel and delivery of emergency kits, each covering the needs of a population of 10 000 for 3 months.

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World Hepatitis Summit harnesses global momentum to eliminate viral hepatitis
WHO News release
2 September 2015 ¦ GLASGOW – Participants at the first-ever World Hepatitis Summit will urge countries to develop national programmes that can ultimately eliminate viral hepatitis as a problem of public health concern.

“We know how to prevent viral hepatitis, we have a safe and effective vaccine for hepatitis B, and we now have medicines that can cure people with hepatitis C and control hepatitis B infection,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the WHO’s Global Hepatitis Programme. “Yet access to diagnosis and treatment is still lacking or inaccessible in many parts of the world. This summit is a wake-up call to build momentum to prevent, diagnose, treat – and eventually eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem.”

Around 400 million people are currently living with viral hepatitis, and the disease claims an estimated 1.45 million lives each year, making it one of the world’s leading causes of death. Hepatitis B and C together cause approximately 80% of all liver cancer deaths, yet most people living with chronic viral hepatitis are unaware of their infection.

The summit, co-sponsored by WHO and the World Hepatitis Alliance, and hosted in Glasgow by the Scottish Government this week, is the first high-level global meeting to focus specifically on hepatitis, attracting delegates from more than 60 countries. The aim is to help countries enhance action to prevent viral hepatitis infection and ensure that people who are infected are diagnosed and offered treatment…

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The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 4 September 2015, vol. 90, 36 (pp. 461–476) includes:
…Global leprosy update, 2014: need for early case detection
…Seasonal influenza vaccine composition for tropical and subtropical countries: WHO Expert group meeting, 23–24 April 2015

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GIN August 2015 pdf, 1.32Mb
4 September 2015

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WHO Fact Sheets:
Immunization coverage
Fact sheet N°378
Updated September 2015
Key facts
:: Immunization prevents illness, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases including cervical cancer, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea, rubella and tetanus.
:: Global vaccination coverage is generally holding steady.
:: Uptake of new and underused vaccines is increasing.
:: Immunization currently averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year.
:: But an estimated 18.7 million infants worldwide are still missing out on basic vaccines.

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:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Ebola transmission in Liberia over. Nation enters 90-day intensive surveillance period
3 September 2015
:: Message of Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, on the occasion of Women’s Health Day 2015
On 4 September 2015 we commemorate Women’s Health Day in the African Region under the theme: “Women’s Health in the Context of Humanitarian Emergencies”.
This year’s theme is especially pertinent in the African Region as it continues to be challenged by a multitude of humanitarian crises, notably: religious, political, and ethnic conflicts, natural disasters, and large-scale outbreaks and epidemics.
These crises frequently cause injuries, deaths, population displacements, destruction of health facilities and disruption of health care services. Statistics show that women are the most impacted or affected in the majority of these situations…

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: PAHO, OAS and ECLAC call on countries of the Americas to support convention to protect the rights of older adults (09/03/2015)
:: Countries of the Americas explore mechanisms to improve access to strategic and high-cost medicines (09/02/2015)
:: Ultra-processed foods are driving the obesity epidemic in Latin America, says new PAHO/WHO report (09/01/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Ministers from South-East Asia meet in Dili to set health priorities
01 September 2015

WHO European Region EURO
:: Population movement is a challenge for refugees and migrants as well as for the receiving population 02-09-2015
:: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 confirmed in Ukraine 01-09-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO establishes mobile nutrition clinics in Aden, Lahj and Hadramout [Yemen]
Sana’a, 31 August 2015 — WHO and the Field Medical Foundation have set up mobile nutrition clinics to diagnose and treat children between 6 months and 5 years in Aden, Lahj and Hadramout. Ongoing conflict, disruption of health services and lack of safe water have worsened the general nutritional status of children and the population in Yemen. The clinics will operate for 5 months targeting around 23 000 children, in addition to providing services for mothers and pregnant women…

WHO Western Pacific Region
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