Humanitarian Health Action

Since the beginning of 2011, WHO has been reviewing the ways in which it responds to emergencies in order to enhance its support to fragile states and vulnerable populations. As a result, Health Action in Crises has given way to the Department on Emergency Risk Management and Response (ERM), part of the Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration (PEC) Cluster. In the process, the Monthly Highlights will be replaced with regular updates on health in emergencies. These will include weekly updates on acute emergencies and quarterly profiles on priority countries. Other periodic information products will be shared with you on specific crises.

All the issues of the Monthly Highlights are listed below.

2011

Issue 10 - July 2011

This month’s Highlights begins with an overview of the health consequences of the crisis in the Horn of Africa and of the health sector’s response. It continues with updates on WHO’s activities in two other critical emergencies: Libya and Yemen. The next section, dedicated to resource mobilization, presents graphic information on the funding received by WHO and the health sector during the first part of 2011 through CAP and flash and other appeals. Lastly, the Highlights introduces the new kit for the inpatient management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications in children and the Regional Office for the Western Pacific Health Cluster Toolkit 2011.

Issue 9 - June 2011

This month's Highlights includes an update on the cholera outbreak in Haiti and in the neighbouring Dominican Republic and a review of the latest information on WHO's emergency operations in the crises in Côte d'Ivoire, Sudan and Yemen. This edition also presents the French and Spanish versions of the manual Analysing disrupted health sectors, provides information on the next Public Health Pre-Deployment Course scheduled for September and gives a brief update on the 17th World Congress in Disaster and Emergency Medicine.

Issue 8 - May 2011

This month’s Highlights first features updates on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Yemen and Abyei, and provides a few highlights on the health situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Next, it introduces the 2010 overview of WHO’s work in emergencies and humanitarian action. It then gives a brief overview on the activities of the Programme on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis & Mapping in Tunis and informs on the third Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction and on the Granada meeting on post-disaster and post-conflict needs assessments. It concludes with a few meetings and updates in emergency activities in the regions.

Issue 7 - March 2011

This month’s Highlights begins with an overview of the three main current emergencies: the health consequences of the humanitarian crises in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya and of the earthquake and tsunami that affected Japan in early March. It also gives a brief outline of the situation in Yemen. It then updates on a new agreement between Spain and WHO which establishes a humanitarian assistance fund. It continues with a brief update on the latest news from the Global Health Cluster, providing a copy of the Annual activity report for 2010. The Highlights conclude with the most recent interagency issues, including an update on the Ninth Coordination Meeting on International Migration.

Issue 6 – February 2011

This month’s Highlights updates on the emergency health response to the sudden crisis in Libya. It also provides an overview of two long standing situations: Yemen and the occupied Palestinian territory. The next section is dedicated to resource mobilization efforts in HAC, indicating that both resources and implementation rates have risen over the past few years. The Highlights then provides an update on logistics-related activities in 2010 and reports on a case study on the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in Liberia. Next, it provides a summary of the Global Health Cluster position paper on civil-military coordination during humanitarian health action. Finally it includes an update on relevant interagency issues and upcoming meetings.

Issue 5 – January 2011

This month’s Highlights begins with a section dedicated to one year of response in Haiti. It then provides an overview of health needs in Côte d’Ivoire and neighbouring countries as well as an update on the health situation in Southern Sudan following the referendum. The Highlights proceeds with summaries of the main activities of the Global Health Cluster and of the WHO’s Mediterranean Centre for Health Risk Reduction (WMC) in 2010, followed by a section devoted to the health sector requirements in the Humanitarian Appeal for 2011. The Highlights concludes by presenting the main interagency issues, particularly the development of the IASC business model for humanitarian response.

2010

Issue 4 - December 2010

This month’s Highlights first examines four major emergencies and the most recent activities conducted to support the health of the affected populations: Haiti, Pakistan, Somalia and Southern Sudan. The Highlights then present the health component of the new post-disaster assessment guidance being developed by United Nations agencies, the World Bank and the European Commission. It also gives an update on the funding received through headquarters in 2010 and concludes with the various meeting held this past month to foster better funding for humanitarian emergencies and better coordination among partners, including an update on the high level conference on the Central Emergency Response Fund.

Issue 3 - November 2010

This month’s main topic is the response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti. The Highlights provides first an overview of the health situation, then of WHO’s response and finally of the Cholera Inter-Sector Response Strategy. The Highlights also features the polio outbreak in the Republic of the Congo, the Health Sector and WHO’s needs in the CAP 2011, the refined Business Model for WHO’s work in emergencies, the Global Forum on Migration and Development held recently in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and interagency issues.

Issue 2 - October 2010

This month’s Highlights first features the ongoing response in Pakistan and the WHO Director-General’s visit on 27 October, as well as on the cholera outbreak in Haiti. It then provides a brief review on the preparations ahead of the 2011 referendum in Southern Sudan, on the situation in Niger, where food insecurity has reached a new pitch, and on the conflict in Guinea, where recurrent violence may find a conclusion with the upcoming elections. Short updates on Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan close the country updates section. A segment dedicated to funding follows, providing an overview on the funds received and distributed through HAC headquarters between 1 January and 24 October 2010. Finally it provides news on the Global health Cluster most recent activities, the latest inter-agency issues, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and links to the WHO Regional Offices reports on crises and emergencies.

Issue 1 - September 2010

This month’s Highlights reviews the main aspects of the health response to Pakistan’s floods crisis, highlights the urgent need for funding in Kyrgyzstan and provides updates on Somalia and Afghanistan. It then reviews the funding received by the health sector from the CERF during the first semester of 2010. The section dedicated to funding is followed by an overview of the logistics challenges surrounding the deployment of medical supplies and equipment around the world. Subsequently, a new section devoted to the Global Health Cluster (GHC) reports on the GHC annual meeting, on a lessons learnt workshop held in Geneva last June, an inter-cluster mission to Nepal and the latest health cluster coordinator training in Geneva. A section focusing on global preparedness activities lists some of the most recent publications on the urban risks associated with emergencies and health. The Highlights concludes by presenting the main interagency issues as well as two recent publications, Analysing disrupted health sectors – A modular manual and Health of migrants – the way forward. Report of a global consultation.

Health Action in Crises weekly highlights

The distribution of the weekly Highlights was interrupted in February 2010. As of September 2010 they have been replaced by a more comprehensive monthly version.

All issues

2011

2010