Statement by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe20 May 2022To date, at least eight countries in the WHO European Region – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – have reported cases of monkeypox in recent days. Outside of countries where monkeypox is known to be endemic,…
Luigi Ciesco came from a small village in southern Italy, growing up in real poverty, before meeting his wife-to-be Vincenza, and emigrating to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. A husband for 57 years, a father of 4 and a grandfather of 8, Luigi worked for the National Health Service in England. Twenty years ago…
Over the last week, monkeypox cases have been reported in the WHO European Region in several countries. Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that usually occurs in forested parts of central and west Africa, where the animal reservoir lives. Monkeypox is transmitted during close contact between individuals (via infected skin lesions, exhaled droplets or body…
“My dad was the definition of a gentleman. He was so gentle and loving, kind and compassionate.”Safiah Ngah’s father, Dr Zahari Ngah, was a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who moved from Malaysia to the United Kingdom in the 1970s to work in the National Health Service.“In his spare time, he would treat refugees and asylum…
Ben Ogden, a 24-year-old personal trainer and content creator, is trying to get people to talk about their mental health. He is doing it in a rather unconventional way: by standing in crowded train stations across the United Kingdom holding cardboard signs that read, for example, “If you’re struggling with your mental health, Lets Talk”.…
The first-ever meeting of the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition, a new network of organizations and individuals aiming to transform mental health systems across the WHO European Region, gathered to discuss ways to support the mental health of people in Ukraine.The meeting, held on 4–5 May, kicked off with an hour-long briefing led by WHO experts…
Johan von Schreeb is Professor of Global Disaster Medicine in the Department of Global Public Health at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and leads the Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters, a WHO collaborating centre that runs courses in global disaster medicine. Most recently, he has been rolling out mass casualty training in…
As climate change is projected to significantly increase people’s exposure to heatwaves, and European weather services are expecting summers to be warmer and drier, WHO/Europe calls on countries to take measures to avoid adverse health impacts.In the past 50 years, almost 150 000 people in the WHO European Region lost their lives due to extreme…
Statement by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for EuropeKyiv, 17 May 2022Good evening, Ukraine.I’d like to begin by expressing my immense appreciation and admiration for the health workers of this country, who have shown tremendous bravery and dedication since the war began. You have done the impossible: you stand firm and save…
“My father was my supporter, my friend and my role model. I remember when I was at university, I was having a bit of a hard time and my dad – as he always did – came to comfort and reassure me. This was emblematic of the relationship we had as father and son.”Lobby Akinnola…