WHO & Regionals [to 17 October 2015]

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Cholera – Iraq
Disease Outbreak News
12 October 2015
WHO has received notification from the National IHR Focal Point of Iraq of additional laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera. As of 8 October, a total of 1,263 laboratory-confirmed cases of Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba were reported….

Public health response
The Cholera task force led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) has established a Cholera Command and Control Centre to enhance multisectoral coordination for effective response to the outbreak. In the affected governorates, active surveillance has been stepped up for case findings in the community and case management has been standardized across all health facilities currently admitting the cholera cases.

In cholera affected areas, and particularly in the camps hosting the internally displaced people and refugees, preparedness activities have been geared up as well…

Furthermore, discussions are ongoing with the International Coordinating Group to release oral cholera vaccine from the global stock. A risk assessment to identify priority groups for vaccination and a vaccination plan is being developed.

WHO has deployed a team of international experts under the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) to support MoH respond to this outbreak. Additional requests have also been sent out to the technical partners in GOARN in case of request for additional international support for cholera response.

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Vaccinations made friendly
4 October 2015
Globally, 1 in 5 children still do not receive routine life-saving immunizations, and an estimated 1.5 million children die each year of diseases that could be prevented by vaccines that already exist. WHO recommends how to reduce the pain at the time of vaccination across all age groups.

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The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 16 October 2015, vol. 90, 42 (pp. 561–576)
Includes:
561 Antigenic and genetic characteristics of zoonotic influenza viruses and development of candidate vaccine viruses for pandemic preparedness
571 Chikungunya disease: gaps and opportunities in public health and research in the Americas

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:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: North central states of Nigeria boost population immunity along nomadic routes
Abuja, 16 October 2015 – The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the government, has recently intensified its efforts to reach the most marginalised, hard-to-reach and nomadic communities of the North Central region of the country.
Following the adoption of a blueprint, states of Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau are working assiduously to provide the required health interventions to pastoral nomadic populations in their respective states with a view to boost population immunity and improve disease surveillance…
:: Liberia Plans to Strengthen Mental Health
Monrovia 15 October – In view of the traumatic effects of the decade long civil war and the recent Ebola outbreak, mental health promotion is now more relevant to Liberia than ever before.
As part of its concerted efforts to build a Resilient Health System in Liberia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with WHO and other major international and national partners is focusing on advocacy and provision of adequate mental and psychosocial support services for persons affected by the epidemic and people with mental disorders in general…
:: Mass Measles campaign launched in Uganda
Kyegegwa 12th October 2015: The Mass Measles Campaign was launched in Kyegegwa district at the Humura Primary School grounds under the theme ‘Uganda united against measles’. The key message to parents was to have their children immunized against the Vaccine Preventable Diseases (‘VPDs’).
Launching the campaign, Honorable Sarah Opendi, the Minister of State for Health in charge of primary health care called on parents to adhere to the immunization schedule provided to them at health centers. She further denounced the myth about vaccine safety, “vaccine development is a long and laborious process, which lasts for several years, it’s tested and once recommended and certified by the World Health Organization (WHO), then you know that it is safe for our population.” Hon Opendi also said that this is the fourth measles follow up campaign which aims at reducing measles morbidity and mortality by 95 percent in 2015. At the same occasion, Hon. Opendi launched the supplementary Oral Polio Vaccine vaccination that targets at least 2.3 million children between 0-59 months in the 23 high risk districts…

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: PAHO urges accelerated shift to community-based mental health services to widen access, protect human rights (10/10/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
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WHO European Region EURO
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WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Vaccination teams work to keep Iraq polio free and combat the spread of cholera
Baghdad, 13 October 2015 – A nationwide campaign to vaccinate 5.8 million children in Iraq against polio ended on 11 October after a 2-day extension recommended by the Ministry of Health of Iraq to achieve maximum vaccination coverage. The campaign aimed to keep Iraq polio free and also included the dissemination of information to 1.5 million households across the country on how to detect, prevent and treat cholera.

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Sixty-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee celebrates progress on ageing and health, NCD prevention and control, and regulatory systems strengthening
GUAM, 15 OCTOBER 2015 – The WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific—the Organization’s governing body in the Region—noted significant progress on ageing and health, noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention and control, and regulatory systems strengthening at its sixty-sixth annual meeting Thursday on Guam.
Read the news release
:: WHO tackles violence, injury prevention; and urban health
GUAM, 14 OCTOBER 2015 – The WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific—the Organization’s governing body in the Region—today endorsed an action plan that will help Member States reduce violence and injuries, and a framework plan that will assist the Region’s cities in their efforts to effectively meet the health challenges caused by rapid and unplanned urbanization.
:: WHO takes action to stop viral hepatitis and tuberculosis; promotes universal health coverage
GUAM, 13 October 2015 – On Day 2 of its annual meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific—the Organization’s regional governing body—approved action plans and frameworks to strengthen efforts to reduce viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, and attain universal health coverage in the Region.
Read the news release