WHO’s work in all regions remains critical in the ongoing fight against COVID-19
As COVID-19 surges around the world, WHO continues its efforts to tackle the ongoing pandemic. Beyond the frontpage headlines, WHO with its partners' and donors' support, keeps working to help countries prevent, test for and treat the virus.
Increasing confidence in vaccines and boosting the fight against COVID-19 in Africa
Following work to combat vaccine hesitancy among frontline health workers in Uganda's Hoima
district, WHO and the Ministry of Health helped significantly increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake with a mix of interventions. A campaign that included the distribution of informational materials helped debunk misinformation and rumours as well as demonstrate the benefits of vaccination. Through activities which also included publicly vaccinating influential health care workers and officials such as the WHO Representative to Uganda, the teams have improved vaccination rates to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. WHO and the Ministry are rolling out similar measures to further priority groups in the region.
Coordinating vaccine delivery to conflict-affected countries and providing guidance for religious gatherings in the Eastern Mediterranean region
The first batch of doses of COVID-19 was recently delivered to Damascus, Syria through the COVAX
Facility. Th e vaccines will be allocated to frontline health workers, including in northeast Syria. Simultaneously, a separate batch of doses of vaccines for high-risk populations in northwest Syria was shipped through WHO and UNICEF.
Also in the region, ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, encouraged safe COVID-19 precautions during fasting and gatherings.
In Comoros, WHO delivered a batch of medical equipment worth over US$ 500 000 to help strengthen the country's COVID-19 response. The equipment will improve laboratories testing capacity and protect health workers.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa has also been active on a number of fronts to strengthen the region's research, innovation and evidence gathering, Pillar 11 of WHO's response to COVID-19. The office has coordinated nearly 100 related studies in 36 Member States and has provided technical, financial and material support.
WHO recently procured and delivered 50 lifesaving oxygen concentrators and their accessories to the Department of Health in the Philippines. The supplies will help improve preparedness in manage a potential surge of cases in areas where cases of COVID-19 are expected to increase in the coming weeks.
The WHO Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore and the Wikimedia Community User Group in Malaysia have launched the first ever article-writing competition seeking to increase awareness and coverage of multiple health topics in the Malay language on Wikipedia. The competition will help provide accurate information related to COVID-19, vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis, cardiovascular and other noncommunicable diseases, and nutrition. Also in Malaysia, WHO and the Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur, in partnership with the Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health and the University of North Carolina, have launched a project to mobilize youth and young adults to contribute to health policies to build a better post-pandemic world.
In Mongolia, Australia recently provided a grant to assist the government and WHO to increase COVID-19 testing capacity. The funding will strengthen and expand PCR testing and diagnosis in Ulaanbaatar and key regional centres.
In May 2021, WHO and its partners are launching the Thai version of the special edition of popular comic magazineKai Hua Ror (Laughter for Sale) designed to show how families can protect themselves from COVID-19.
In addition to COVID-related hygiene, the cartoons also take on sensitive topics in simple and easy-to-understand terms demonstrating how to reduce stigma around coronavirus infection, providing knowledge on vaccines and more.
