On 25 February 2022 WHO delivered its first batch of health support to refugees coming from Ukraine, in a camp situated near the Palanca border crossing point. As of 2 March more than 112 000 people from Ukraine had sought refuge in Moldova, with more than 51 000, including 19 450 children, being accommodated in…
WHO Europe / U. Davaasuren War can have a devastating effect on children’s mental and physical health, with potentially life-long consequences. That is why children must be protected from harm during conflict situations and never be targeted. Irina is a child psychologist working in a children’s home in Kherson, southern Ukraine. The home is a…
WHO/Europe recently connected mental health representatives from over half of the WHO European Region’s 53 Member States to ignite action on mental health. A 2-day consultation working towards comprehensive reform of the Region’s mental health systems involved more than 150 attendees from as far afield as the United Kingdom in the west to Kyrgyzstan in…
Adolescent girls are not getting enough physical activity. Adolescent girls are not getting enough physical activity. On World Obesity Day, WHO is focusing on this problem that is growing worldwide and can have serious effects on health and well-being. A new study into the ‘Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity Participation in Adolescent Girls’ brings…
For patients at Novovolynsk Hospital in western Ukraine, the sound of air raid sirens has suddenly become a common reality amid the military offensive in the country. Patients must move from a modern facility above ground to a 1950s-era underground bomb shelter with a rudimentary set-up that can fit up to 300 people.“In one day,…
Statement by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, and Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, Geneva/Copenhagen, 27 February 2022WHO calls for critical medical supplies to safely reach those who need them, and is working with partners to establish safe transit for shipments through Poland.During the crisis in Ukraine, health must remain…
Copenhagen, 24 February 2022Amid the conflict rapidly unfolding in Ukraine, WHO/Europe reiterates its deepest concern for the safety, health and well-being of all civilians impacted by the crisis in the country and possibly beyond.As the United Nations Secretary-General has repeatedly warned, and as WHO/Europe echoes, any further escalation could result in a humanitarian catastrophe in…
Copenhagen, 22 February 2022WHO, along with other United Nations agencies, joins the United Nations Secretary-General in expressing its deepest concern over the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine.The right to health is at the centre of humanitarian response. The WHO Country Office in Ukraine, together with the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine…
Many thousands of lives could be saved each year in the WHO European Region, if Member States introduced more taxes on alcohol. Across the Region, taxes on the sale of alcohol are lower than taxes on tobacco. To enhance the untapped power of health taxes, the WHO Regional Director for Europe’s Advisory Council on Innovation…
As societies, we are failing to protect our children from the aggressive marketing of formula milk that can undermine their health, finds the new WHO–UNICEF global report titled “How marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding”.According to the report, in every part of the world the formula milk industry – powered by…