WHO is launching its 2023 well being emergency attraction at the moment for US$ 2.54 billion to offer help to hundreds of thousands of individuals around the globe dealing with well being emergencies. The variety of folks in want of humanitarian aid has elevated by nearly 1 / 4 in comparison with 2022, to a file 339 million.

Currently, WHO is responding to an unprecedented variety of intersecting well being emergencies: local weather change-related disasters akin to flooding in Pakistan and meals insecurity throughout the Sahel and within the higher Horn of Africa; the warfare in Ukraine; and the well being influence of battle in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and northern Ethiopia – all of those emergencies overlapping with the well being system disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of measles, cholera, and different killers.

“This unprecedented convergence of crises demands an unprecedented response,” mentioned Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “More folks than ever earlier than face the upcoming threat of illness and hunger and need assistance now. The world can not look away and hope these crises resolve themselves. I urge donors to be beneficiant and assist WHO to avoid wasting lives, forestall the unfold of illness inside and throughout borders, and help communities as they rebuild.”

WHO is currently responding to 54 health crises around the world, 11 of which are classified as Grade 3, WHO’s highest level of emergency, requiring a response at all three levels of the organization. As it is often the case, the most vulnerable are the worst hit.

In 2022, WHO provided medicines, other supplies, training for doctors and other health workers, vaccines, enhanced disease surveillance, mobile clinics, mental health support, maternal health consultations and much more. WHO delivers cost-effective, high-impact responses that protect health, lives and livelihoods. Every US$ 1 invested in WHO generates at least US$ 35 in return on investment*.

WHO responds to health emergencies in close collaboration with Member States, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and other partners in the communities and across countries and regions.

The appeal will be launched at an event from WHO’s Headquarters in Geneva, hosted by WHO’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. It will be webcast from this web page, and on WHO’s YouTube channel, Twitter, LinkedIn.

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Note to editors:

WHO is responding to Grade 3 health emergencies in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the greater Horn of Africa, Northern Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, and Yemen. The COVID-19 pandemic and mpox (monkeypox) outbreaks are also Grade 3 emergencies. See extra about well being emergencies.

*A Healthy Return. Investment case for a sustainably financed WHO, May 2022.