Latest news with #WHO-supported
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Gaza: 57 Children Reported Dead From Malnutrition, Says WHO
13 May 2025 Since the aid blockade began on 2 March, 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Ministry of Health. If the situation persists, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months. Briefing journalists in Geneva, WHO's representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said that that Israel's complete aid embargo has left only enough WHO supplies to treat 500 children with acute malnutrition – 'a fraction of the urgent need'. 'People are trapped in this cycle where a lack of diversified food, malnutrition and disease fuel each other,' he warned. Dr. Peeperkorn's comments follow the publication on Monday of a new analysis by the UN-backed food security alert scale known as the IPC showing that one in five people in Gaza – 500,000 – faces starvation, while the entire 2.1 million population of the Strip is subjected to prolonged food shortages. WHO is a member of the IPC. An escalating hunger crisis 'This is one of the world's worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,' Dr. Peeperkorn said. The UN health agency representative spoke of his recent visit to Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, where each day more than 300 children are screened at a WHO-supported nutrition centre. During the visit, the hospital reported more than 11 per cent of cases with global acute malnutrition. Describing the affected children, he said, 'I've seen them [in the] wards… A child of five years old, and I thought he's two and a half.' WHO supports 16 outpatient and three inpatient malnutrition treatment centres in the enclave with lifesaving supplies, but the stopping of aid by Israel and shrinking humanitarian access are threatening its ability to sustain these operations. Dr. Peeperkorn insisted on the long-term damage from malnutrition which 'can last a lifetime,' with impacts including stunted growth, impaired cognitive development and health. 'Without enough nutritious food, clean water, access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected,' he warned. The WHO official stressed that the agency was 'constantly' raising with Israeli authorities the need to get supplies into the Strip. Some 31 WHO aid trucks are at a standstill in Al-Arish in Egypt just a few dozen kilometres away from the Rafah border crossing with Gaza and more supplies are positioned in the West Bank, ready to move 'any day when this is allowed.' 'Healthcare is not a target' Turning to attacks on healthcare, Dr. Peeperkorn said that the burn unit of Nasser Medical Complex in the southern town of Khan Younis was reportedly hit by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday, killing two and injuring 12. The attack has resulted in the loss of 18 hospital beds in the surgical department including eight 'critical' intensive care beds. Media reported that a Palestinian journalist was killed in the attack during treatment for injuries sustained in a previous airstrike. 'Healthcare is not a target,' Dr. Peeperkorn concluded. He reiterated calls for the protection of health facilities, an immediate end to the aid blockade, the release of all hostages held by Palestinian armed groups and for a ceasefire 'which leads to lasting peace.'
Al Jazeera
16-04-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
After two years of war in Sudan, the world can no longer plead ignorance
Two years ago this week, a conflict erupted in Sudan that few anticipated would escalate so rapidly or persist for so long. What began as a violent power struggle has become one of the worst and most neglected humanitarian crises of our time. The country has been plunged into a state of devastation marked by mass displacement, hunger, violence and disease. The numbers are staggering. More than 30 million people need humanitarian aid. At least 15 million people are currently displaced. Some 11.3 million are displaced inside Sudan and 3.9 million people have fled to neighbouring countries, making this the world's largest displacement crisis. More than 20 million people urgently need access to healthcare. Behind these numbers are millions of individual stories. Parents fearing for the life of their child suffering from severe malnutrition. Families stranded in areas with no food, safe water or medical care. Women, men and children dying because it is too dangerous to go to a health centre. A whole generation of children missing out on routine vaccinations. When I visited Sudan last September, I met Soueda, a bright nine-year-old girl who fled her hometown and was living in a displacement camp in Port Sudan, where the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting primary healthcare services. She left everything she knew behind and told me she hadn't been to school in two years. In Port Sudan, WHO colleagues spoke with Ashwa and her youngest child, who was being treated for severe acute malnutrition at one of the WHO-supported stabilisation centres operating there. 'When my baby stopped taking any food or drink, and stopped moving, with swelling in his arms, I knew his life was in grave danger,' she said, while holding her son. 'I feared I would lose him until we came to this hospital where he is getting special milk and medicines. He is now able to move, has resumed breastfeeding and can even smile. Without the care at this stabilisation centre, I would have lost him.' Yet, too few of these stories reach the headlines. This silence is dangerous. It breeds indifference and will cost more lives. The war has left Sudan's health system devastated, especially in hard-to-reach areas. In assessed states, 62 percent of health facilities are partially functional and the remaining 32 percent are not functional, with a lack of clarity from other hard-to-reach areas like the Darfurs and Kordofans. Patients can't access basic treatments due to ongoing fighting and repeated attacks on health facilities and health workers. Two-thirds of all states in Sudan are experiencing more than three different disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles, malaria, dengue and diphtheria. Cholera alone has killed at least 1,500 people. Malnutrition is widespread among children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. Famine has been confirmed in five areas and is projected to expand to 17, with tens of thousands of lives at immediate risk. With our partners, WHO is in Sudan, working to ensure people can access the required care. Despite severely restricted access to people in need and ongoing attacks on healthcare facilities, we deliver life-saving medical supplies, support hospitals and health centres, and run vaccination campaigns. Since the conflict started, with WHO's support, over one million patients have received treatment in hospitals, health centres and mobile clinics. Some 11.5 million children have been vaccinated against polio and measles, and 12.8 million people have received cholera vaccines. WHO is supporting stabilisation centres, where during the last two years, 75,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications have received treatment. WHO's response to this crisis has been made possible by generous contributions from partners like the Central Emergency Response Fund, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and others. Yet, continuous support is critical in 2025 for WHO's $135m response plan, 79 percent of which is unfunded. WHO is determined to continue supporting Sudan's people but we need access to and protection of civilians, humanitarians and medical personnel. Since the conflict started, WHO has verified 156 attacks on health facilities, ambulances, staff and patients, resulting in 318 deaths and 273 injuries. Health workers and facilities must never be targets. In fact, they are protected under international humanitarian law. But there has been blatant disregard for these obligations. Sudan's crisis is no longer a national tragedy, it has become a regional threat. The conflict threatens to destabilise neighbouring countries and risks fuelling further displacement, disease and insecurity. A week after my mission to Sudan, I was in Chad, which is hosting over 750,000 Sudanese. I met families who had walked for days to cross the border in search of safety. Some said their homes had been burned, crops destroyed and animals stolen. They left, and arrived with nothing. When I asked what they needed most, the awful answer I heard again and again was: 'Food. We are hungry.' We can't say we don't know what's happening. The facts are clear and the stories are harrowing. What is missing is more action. We need sustained, unhindered humanitarian access to reach those in greatest need, adequate funding to supply life-saving aid, and above all, a high-level commitment to ending the war. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Eight countries could run out of HIV treatments due to USAID cuts, WHO says
By Mariam Sunny and Christy Santhosh (Reuters) -The Trump administration's decision to pause U.S. foreign aid has "substantially disrupted" supply of HIV treatments in eight countries, which could soon run out of these life-saving medicines, the World Health Organization said on Monday. The global health agency said that Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months. "The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths. Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis have been impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January. The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States. The United States has a "responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it's done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding," Ghebreyesus said on Monday. Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential health care services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement. As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June. The United States' plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts. The WHO said on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.
Reuters
17-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Eight countries could run out of HIV treatments due to USAID cuts, WHO says
March 17 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's decision to pause U.S. foreign aid has "substantially disrupted" supply of HIV treatments in eight countries, which could soon run out of these life-saving medicines, the World Health Organization said on Monday. The global health agency said that Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months. here. "The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths. Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis have been impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January. The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States. The United States has a "responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it's done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding," Ghebreyesus said on Monday. Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential health care services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement. As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June. The United States' plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts. The WHO said on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
WHO flags funding shortage risk in Afghanistan
(Reuters) -The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that the agency is concerned about funding shortages in Afghanistan which could force closure of 80% of WHO-supported essential health care services. As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down in the country due to funding shortages and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June, WHO said in a statement.
