WHO | Week Ahead for media | 8 April 2022

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Friday 04.08.22 | Issue 151

WHO / Noor Images / Olga Kravets

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) updates

Ukraine emergency updates

For the latest news from WHO on COVID-19, Ukraine emergency and other breaking health stories, read WHO's news updates.

Monday, 11 April

Eleventh meeting of the COVID-19 IHR
Emergency Committee

The 11th meeting of the Emergency Committee for COVID-19, convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005), will be held on 11 April, 2022.

Following their meeting, the Emergency Committee will issue a statement with recommendations to the World Health Organization and the Member States.

The full statement, once issued, will be shared with the media.

The IHR Emergency Committee for COVID-19 held its first meeting on 22-23 January 2020. On 30 January 2020, following its second meeting, the Director-General accepted the Committee’s advice and declared that the outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The Emergency Committee’s recommendations were issued as IHR Temporary Recommendations.

The Committee continues to meet on a regular basis – every 3 months.

The list of members of the Emergency Committee and its previous statements are available here: https://www.who.int/groups/covid-19-ihr-emergency-committee

Outcomes of the regular meeting of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization

Virtual Press Conference at 16.00 CEST

Subject: Recommendations and conclusions of the meeting of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization

Background:

At its regular meeting held from 4 to 7 April 2022, SAGE reviewed vaccine policy issues including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination on immunization services, infection and vaccination-induced immunity, use of the Hepatitis A vaccine, Typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs), changes to the HPV vaccination schedule, and the polio eradication programme.

Join the virtual press conference by Zoom:

Join by phone:

Further information: https://www.whoint/immunization/policy/sage/en/

Tuesday, 12 April

International Strategic Dialogue on NCDs and the SDGs

Every year, there are more deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) than any other disease group. Insufficient global action on NCDs, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, are creating the very real possibility that Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets 3.4 (on premature deaths from NCDs) and 3.8 (on achieving universal health coverage) will not be met.

Given this, the Governments of Ghana and Norway, together with the World Health Organization, are hosting the first-ever International Strategic Dialogue on NCDs and the SDGs, and taking the next decisive step towards comprehensive action on NCDs.

The Dialogue will raise the priority accorded to the prevention and control of NCDs within the national SDG response in low- and middle-income countries. During the launch, an International NCD Compact will be launched to mobilize efforts for more rapid progress.

For further information about the event

To join via Zoom (with interpretation from English into Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish): https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n-1HbtIORCeg5xDy5zkXDQ (registration required)

To watch livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZFC4VqoDg

Global launch of WHO QualityRights e-training

WHO’s QualityRights initiative aims to improve the quality of care in mental health and related services and to promote the rights of people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

The associated QualityRights e-training, available in 11 languages, covers: taking care of one’s own mental health; supporting friends, family and colleagues with their mental health; tackling stigma, discrimination, abuse and coercion in mental health services; and taking action in support of transformation of mental health services towards a person-centred, rights-based recovery approach.

This global launch of the training, with the participation of WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Cynthia Germanotta, WHO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health; ministers of health; and people with lived experience, is expected to create significant momentum for an accelerated roll-out to thousands more people in many more countries. Already, nearly 30 000 people have completed the training. The goal is that 5 million people will have completed the training by the end of 2024.

For more information and to register for the event

Thursday, 14 April

World Chagas Disease Day

In 2022 we are shining a spotlight on Chagas disease, the suffering it causes and are calling for equitable access to health care and services for everyone affected by the disease. The theme for 2022 is finding and reporting every case to defeat chagas disease. In many countries, there are low detection rates (<10%, frequently <1%) and frequent barriers to access adequate healthcare. There are approximately 6-7 million people infected with Chagas disease worldwide, with 10,000 deaths, every year. It is often termed as a “silent and silenced disease” as the infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptom. Chagas disease is prevalent among poor populations of continental Latin America but is increasingly being detected in other countries and continents.

More information on the campaign is available here.

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