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WHO's Operational Update on Health Emergencies, published monthly, highlights WHO’s work on preparedness and emergency response, combating health crises across the globe. Stay informed on WHO’s strategic, evidence-based and science-driven support in partnership with countries, to deliver best-in-class rapid response while building resilience to future health threats.
Key figures on WHO’s work in emergencies (as of 15 May 2024)
WHO is currently responding to 41 graded emergencies across the world, including:
8 Grade-3 emergencies
7 protracted Grade-3 emergencies
11 Grade-2 emergencies
11 protracted Grade-2 emergencies
4 Grade-1 emergencies
Graded emergency: An acute public health event or emergency that requires WHO’s moderate response (Grade-2) or major/ maximal response (Grade-3). If a graded emergency persists for more than six months, it may transition to a protracted emergency. WHO continuously updates the graded emergencies figures based on inputs from the Organization’s three-levels.
In 2024, US$ 23.9 million were released by WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to 23 health emergencies. The largest allocations were for the Dengue Global Outbreak, Israel/occupied Palestinian territories hostilities and the Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Response.
The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) has supported 27 deployments in 2024 (of which five started in 2023 and ended in 2024). As of mid-May 2024, the highest number of GOARN deployments were in response to the escalation of violence in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories (eleven), the Greater Horn of Africa Drought and Food Insecurity (five), and the cholera outbreak in Zambia (three).
OpenWHO.org totaled 8.6 million enrolments across 276 online public health courses, with learning available in 72 national and local languages. To date, there have been 305 000 enrolments in 2024.
In 2024, Standby Partners have supported WHO’s response to 7 graded emergencies through the deployment of 16 new deployments of surge personnel to 10 WHO offices. WHO is an active member of the Standby Partner Network and the International Humanitarian Partnership.