WHO Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment, Highlights Healthy Women, Boosts Telemedicine During Pandemic Thanks To Donors

COVAX vaccine shipments are starting to reach countries in need, WHO celebrated International Women‘s Day, and telemedicine shows promise for chronic disease during COVID-19. This week, we highlight ongoing activities in countries around the world with the support of WHO through vital funding from its many donors:

COVAX and WHO push for equitable access to vaccines and begin vaccine deployment in countries

Published by PAHO / WHO on March 1, 2021.

WHO regional and country offices have started reporting on historic COVID-19 vaccine distribution facilitated by COVAX, WHO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ( Gavi) and UNICEF.

Ghana recently became the first country to receive vaccine doses shipped from the COVAX facility. Other WHO country offices sharing information about their vaccine deployment include Ivory Coast, Angola,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, the gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone,
Uganda, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala,
Honduras, Maldives, Indonesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal,
Peru, Serbiaand Sri Lanka. Many more countries will follow soon.

While the activities of the COVAX facility represent an important milestone, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said that the volume of doses dispensed by COVAX is still relatively low. WHO and our COVAX continue to help all countries end the pandemic. They are meeting with governments and industry to find ways to increase vaccine production to ensure that no country is left behind.

WHO strengthens cold chain system and laboratories in Maldives for COVID-19 vaccine deployment and beyond

Posted by the WHO Maldives country office on February 25, 2021. A nurse checks COVID-19 vaccines in a freezer.

As COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the world, developing countries face challenges in accessing vaccines, but also in building and maintaining cold chain facilities to store and deliver certain types of new vaccines. .

To help overcome this challenge in the Maldives, WHO recently handed over the cold chain and laboratory supplies to the Ministry of Health to strengthen the island nation’s response to the pandemic and support a more resilient health system. ‘to come up.

The donation will help build a modern cold chain system for COVID-19 and other vaccines, strengthen the quality of care, and maintain the quality of testing for COVID-19, measles, rubella and influenza . Cold chain equipment will support vaccine management over the next 10 years, according to WHO experts. The country spends 10% of its GDP on health – the highest allocation in the WHO South-East Asia region. In addition, comprehensive government funded health insurance is available to every Maldivian, contributing to their progress towards universal health coverage and equity for all.

Women of Albania, Chad, India and Niger at the forefront: “We will continue to fight until this virus is defeated”

On International Women’s Day, March 8, WHO / Europe recognized the enormous contribution made by women health workers to the COVID-19 response. As Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said in a recent statement: “The face of this frontline health worker we so often talk about is primarily that of a woman.”

One of these frontline health workers is Ms Hëna Dumi, head of the nursing sector of an Albanian hospital designated COVID-19.

Regardless of her grueling workload, stress and anxiety, Ms. Dumi is not ready to give up. For her, the hardships she faced during the pandemic are pale compared to the joy she feels when a life is saved. This gives him the strength to fight until the virus is defeated. “We have to get there. We have to do our best and make extra efforts to get life back to normal, ”she stresses.

Learn more about Mme Dumi (Article published on March 9 by the WHO / EURO).

More stories celebrating women and health from WHO in regions and countries

WHO boosts digital health in Georgia amid COVID-19 pandemic

As COVID-19 pandemic struck in Georgia, hospitals filled up and outpatients struggled to get timely expert advice
.

Dr Mrelashvili, originally from Georgia, decided to return to his home country to try to resolve the issue and replicate some of the telecommuting solutions that he had seen working successfully in the United States.

He created virtual clinics that can accommodate as many patients as needed without absorbing hours

the time of doctors. The initiative, called Project Atlas, connects a senior physician, volunteer medical specialists, two young physicians, medical students and patients in a series of cloud-based virtual discussion forums.

This is just one example of WHO’s European Work Program 2020-2025 being implemented as part of one of its flagship initiatives, Empowerment through Digital Health.

Article published by WHO / EURO on February 24, 2021.

WHO helps India go digital to maintain essential health services during COVID-19

Posted by WHO India on February 23, 2021.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, millions of people with hypertension and other illnesses have not been able to access treatment.

One solution came in the form of an innovative intervention by the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI), which is a multi-partner initiative of the Indian Government’s Department of Health and Family Welfare, ICMR, the Office of WHO countries for India, and Saving Lives.

As part of this initiative, a team of cardiovascular health workers from IHCI and senior treatment supervisors from WHO-India are supporting 13 state governments using digital applications such as ‘Simple’. Through the app, WHO and its partners in India have increased the use of telemedicine so that patients and health workers can perform consultations and obtain prescriptions by phone, video or SMS.

European Union partners with WHO to help eight Southeast Asian countries eradicate COVID-19

Posted by WHO WPRO on March 15, 2021.

The project in the Philippines is funded under a € 20.5 million program between the EU and WHO covering eight priority countries in South East Asia: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. The partnership aims to protect people’s health and access to health services, especially among the most vulnerable by strengthening health systems. Another goal is to increase coordination and synergies between WHO and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in emergency response and preparedness.

The new EU-WHO partnership in Indonesia supports the national response to COVID-19 and strengthens the health system. The EU is providing € 2.66 million to WHO in Indonesia, to help the Ministry of Health eliminate community transmission and maintain essential health services to reduce preventable disease and death.

In the Philippines, the EU has provided 2.3 million euros to protect Filipinos from COVID-19. The funding is aimed at strengthening surveillance, risk assessment and contact tracing activities, improving the functions of national laboratories, improving case management, infection, prevention and control, using approaches communication and community engagement, to implement specific public health measures for travel and points of entry. and step up preparation for COVID-19 vaccines.

***

Learn more about the WHO response to COVID-19 worldwide.

Without the support of donors and partners, WHO would not be able to reach these needy countries and help them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO thank you all governments, organizations and individuals contribute to the response to COVID-19 around the world, and in particular to those who have provided fully flexible contributions, to ensure a global fight against the disease.

Member States and observers:

Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Commission, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Guinea, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritania, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Viet Nam, Yemen.

Other partners:

African Development Bank Group, African Reinsurance Foundation, Asian Development Bank, Alwaleed Philanthropies, Ancash, Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica (BCIE), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CAF- Development Bank of America Latin, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Clinton Health Access Initiative, COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, East African Community ,, Fond d’Assistance Economique et Sociale (FAES), Fondo Mixto, Fundación Yamuni Tabush, Gavi Alliance, Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, International Organization for Migration (OIM) Islamic Development Bank, King Baudouin Foundation, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief Saudi Arabia), National Philanthropic Trust, Novartis, OPEC Fund for international development (OFID), Pandemic Tech, Shell Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Sandoz AG, Sony, Southern African Development Community, Stand ard Chartered Bank, Supply Chain Fund, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Tetra Pak Expor t FZE, UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU), United Nations United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Affairs Humanitarian Aid (UNOCHA), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Vital Strategies, World Bank, World Food Program.

Learn more about donors and partners contributing to the COVID-19 response

You can donate today