World Health Organization

10 things to know about the Syrian crisis

Young girl with her doll, looking into distance, standing before luggage

24 January 2017 – WHO has made important strides in its work during the Syrian crisis. A successful negotiation led to the evacuation of patients in critical condition from east Aleppo. Thousands more, fleeing besieged areas, received health care from mobile clinics. As the crisis continues, WHO's work in Syria remains crucial.

Web story on Syrian crisis

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140th session of the Executive Board

Executive Board room at WHO headquarters in Geneva

WHO/C Black

22 January 2017 – The WHO Executive Board opened on 23 January and will close on 1 February 2017. The annual Board meeting will set the agenda for, and the resolutions to be considered by, the 70th World Health Assembly (22–31 May 2017). This year the WHO Executive Board will select a short list of 3 nominees for WHO Director-General from a pool of 6 candidates. The next Director-General will be chosen by vote of all Member States at the World Health Assembly.

Finding priorities for health research and development

New Call for Papers for a peer-reviewed Journal Series on “Health Research and Development”

20 January 2017 – Today’s investments in health R&D are poorly aligned with global public health needs. As little as 1% of all funding for health R&D is allocated to diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, although they account for more than 12% of the global disease burden. The WHO Global Observatory on Health R&D builds on existing data to enable decisions on R&D priorities.

Global Observatory on Health R&D

Using the law to improve public health

Pages from the International Health Regulations

WHO

16 January 2017 – Soda tax in Mexico. Salt limits in South Africa. Plain tobacco packaging in Australia. National health insurance in Ghana. A new report produced by WHO and partners has case studies on how new laws have improved the health and safety of people, providing a resource for countries to learn from positive experiences in other parts of the world.

Millions of children to receive measles vaccine in north-eastern Nigeria

WHO team carrying out measles vaccination campaign at internally displaced people’s camp in Nigeria

WHO/P Ajello

12 January 2017 – A mass vaccination campaign to protect more than 4 million children against a measles outbreak in conflict-affected states in north-eastern Nigeria is planned to start this week. The two-week campaign, which starts on 13 January, will target all children aged from 6 months to 10 years in accessible areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

Feature story

Outbreaks and emergencies

Emergencies » Haiti hurricane » Nigeria crisis » South Sudan crisis » Syrian Arab Republic » Zika virus and complications »

Election of Director-General

A close-up of the Director-General's seat in the WHO Executive Boardroom.

WHO/N. Bojgaard

Highlights

Soil-transmitted helminth infections
January 2017 – More than 1.5 billion people, or 24% of the world’s population, are infected with soil-transmitted helminth infections worldwide. The strategy for control of soil-transmitted helminth infections is to control morbidity through the periodic treatment of at-risk people living in endemic areas.

Visit by the President of the People’s Republic of China to WHO
January 2017 – On 18 January 2017, President Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, visited WHO and met with Director-General Margaret Chan.

Joint Statement on Syria
January 2017 – The horrors of the siege of the eastern districts of Aleppo have disappeared from the public consciousness – but we must not let the needs, the lives, and the futures of Syria’s people fade from the world’s conscience. We must not let 2017 repeat the tragedies of 2016 for Syria.

Dracunculiasis eradication: Mali reports zero cases in 2016
January 2017 – In 2016, a total of 25 human cases of dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease) were reported to WHO; Mali reported zero cases for the first time. In 2015, Mali reported 5 human cases.

What we do

Dr Chan, WHO Director-General, visits Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, three of the four countries where indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus has not yet been interrupted.

WHO

Health emergencies programme

WHO Health Emergencies Programme delivers rapid, predictable, and comprehensive support to countries and communities as they prepare for, face or recover from emergencies caused by any type of hazard to human health, whether disease outbreaks, natural or man-made disasters or conflicts.

Zika virus and complications

After a spike in cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with Zika virus, WHO declared a public health emergency.

Universal health coverage

Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, and Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Director-General of WHO and Deputy Chair of the Elders

"The evidence clearly shows that, with the right policies in place, greater public spending on health is associated with less dependence on out-of-pocket payments."