Statement by WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan
19 August 2015

On this 12th World Humanitarian Day, 19 August, WHO is drawing the world’s attention to the contributions and sacrifices of health workers who respond to humanitarian crises.

More than a decade since the first World Humanitarian Day, the demands on emergency responders are unprecedented, with 82.5 million people in 37 countries needing humanitarian assistance. The costs, too, are unprecedented, reaching an estimated US$20 billion.

Today, 3 September 2015, WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission in the human population. Forty-two days have passed since the second negative test on 22 July 2015 of the last laboratory-confirmed case. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.