Amal Allam wrote Thursday, February 1, 2024 01:39 AM
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said in a statement that the World Health Organization still faces severe challenges in supporting the health system and health workers in Gaza, and as of today, there are more than 100,000 Gazans either dead, injured or missing. They were presumed dead, and the World Health Organization had great difficulty even reaching hospitals in southern Gaza.
Intense fighting has been reported near hospitals in Khan Yunis, severely hampering the access of patients, health workers and supplies to health facilities.
During a United Nations mission last Monday, the World Health Organization delivered medical supplies to the Nasser Medical Complex, and other missions to deliver fuel and food were rejected. Despite the challenges, the Nasser Hospital continues to provide health services, but also at a reduced capacity, and the hospital operates with one ambulance. Donkey carts are used to transport patients.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization added: “Yesterday we made another attempt to deliver food to Nasser, but due to the delay about 500 meters from the checkpoint, the food was taken from the trucks by the crowds, who are also in desperate need of food,” adding: “Our teams on the ground have reported increasing food shortages for medical staff and patients, as only one meal is provided per day,” stressing that the risk of famine is high and increasing every day as hostilities continue and humanitarian access is restricted.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization stressed: “Every person our teams speak to is asking for food and water. The decisions taken by various countries to stop funding to UNRWA, which is the largest supplier of humanitarian aid in this crisis, will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza.”
He said: “No other entity has the capacity to provide the scale and scope of assistance that the 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need, and we demand that these announcements be reconsidered. We continue to call for safe access for humanitarian workers and supplies, and we continue to demand the release of the hostages.” We continue to call for the protection of healthcare, and not to attack or militarize it. We continue to call for a ceasefire.”
He added: “The Executive Council of the World Health Organization met last week to discuss many aspects of the organization’s work, and among other issues, the Council reviewed the WHO’s global strategic plan for the next four years, and approved the first investment round for the World Health Organization, which we will hold later in the year.” This year, it aims to generate more predictable, flexible and sustainable funding for the work of the World Health Organization.
He continued: “Member States also discussed the World Health Organization’s work in health emergencies, including pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and expressed their strong support for the Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations, and stressed the urgency of concluding negotiations in a timely manner for the World Health Assembly.” In May of this year, it is crucial that member states adhere to this deadline.”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization confirmed: “Yesterday, a group of more than 40 global health leaders published an open letter calling on world leaders to show leadership, urgency and commitment to conclude an agreement on the pandemic that goes beyond business as usual. I echo this call, one of the main purposes of the agreement is to improve access.” “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization established COVAX and the Coronavirus Technology Access Pool, or C-TAP, to facilitate the exchange of intellectual property, knowledge and innovations.”
He added: “COVAX was closed at the end of last year, and today we are pleased to announce that C-TAP will become the Health Technology Access Pool, HTAP, with a broader mission to expand access to life-saving tools for coronavirus and other priority diseases. We are also pleased to announce that the organization The World Health and Medicines Patent Pool has agreed a licensing agreement with SD Biosensor to acquire the rights, know-how and materials necessary to manufacture its rapid diagnostic technology.”
Last week, the Executive Board also discussed WHO’s work in the field of noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer.
One of the most important measures that countries can take to prevent these diseases is to eliminate the things that cause them, including tobacco and trans fats.
Industrially produced trans fats are used in many food products. It has no known health benefits, but it carries significant health risks.
He added that 5 years ago, the World Health Organization launched a campaign to remove industrially produced trans fats from the global food supply.
So far, 53 countries have implemented best practice policies, including bans or restrictions on trans fats, and three more are on the way. However, introducing policy is one thing. Implementing it is another thing.
So, last year, WHO launched a process to identify countries that go beyond simply introducing policies to monitoring and enforcing them.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization confirmed: “On Monday, we verified the health of the first five countries that lead the world in implementing their policies on eliminating trans fats: Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.”
2024-01-31 23:39:00
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