The current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is believed to have begun in Guinea in December 2013. This outbreak now involves community transmission in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and recently an ill traveller from Liberia infected a small number of people in Nigeria with whom he had direct contact.
On 8 August 2014, WHO declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in accordance with the International Health…
17 November 2015
Climate change is the defining issue for the 21st century.
According to WHO estimates, climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths every year - from shifting patterns of disease, from extreme weather events, such as heat-waves and floods, and from the degradation of air quality, food and water supplies, and sanitation.
The upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-21) in Paris offers the world an important opportunity to not only reach a strong…
18 September 2014 -- Dr Margaret Chan welcomed the White House announcement of a major ramp-up in support for containing the Ebola outbreak in parts of west Africa. In the hardest-hit countries, the outbreak threatens to push governments to the brink of state failure. She announced a joint WHO/UN initiative to address the crisis, which has unprecedented humanitarian, political, economic, and security dimensions. As she noted, health, medical, and clinical issues remain the heart and soul of…
28 August 2014 -- WHO today issues a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in west Africa. The roadmap aims to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6-9 months while rapidly managing the consequences of any further international spread. It also recognises the need to address, in parallel, the outbreak’s broader socioeconomic impact.
Read the statement
Read the Ebola response roadmap
WHO welcomes the report from the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel and thanks the hard-working members for their rapid review, analysis and recommendations.
The panel members divided their review and recommendations into 3 areas: the International Health Regulations, WHO’s health emergency response capacity and WHO’s role and cooperation with the wider health and humanitarian systems.
The International Health Regulations
In August 2015, the WHO Director-General will convene a Review Committee…
The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) [IHR (2005)] regarding the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD, or “Ebola”) outbreak in West Africa was held by teleconference on Wednesday, 6 August 2014 from 13:00 to 17:30 and on Thursday, 7 August 2014 from 13:00 to 18:30 Geneva time (CET).
Read the statement
Statement on travel and transport in relation to Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak
WHO calls on countries to protect health from climate change
WHO Director-General addresses UN Security Council on Ebola
WHO issues roadmap to scale up international response to the Ebola outbreak in west Africa
WHO response to the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel report
WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee Regarding the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa