GENEVA: Hospitals in Gaza are being prevented from functioning properly due to a severe shortage of medical supplies, the World Health Organization warned on Friday, denouncing Israeli restrictions on essential items. Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO&#39;s representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said most of the hospitals and primary healthcare centres in the Gaza Strip were only partially operational, while none of the hospitals were fully functional.&quot;One of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies,&quot; she told a press conference in Geneva. She said part of the problem is Israel blocking the entry of items it argues are &quot;dual use&quot; -- items which could potentially be used for a military purpose. &quot;WHO has internationally recognised lists of essential medicines. That is what we are talking about,&quot; said Van der Weerdt. &quot;Essential medicines, essential supplies are essential. &quot;There should be no bureaucratic processes and access restrictions.&quot; She gave multiple examples of medical equipment being held up, including a prefabricated hospital that has sat &quot;waiting for months&quot; in Jordan. Without laboratory equipment, &quot;we cannot diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks&quot;, she said. &quot;Without oxygen concentrators, let&#39;s just be honest -- there are critically ill patients that die.&quot; A shaky ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas officially came into effect on October 10, 2025. The first phase of the truce saw the release of the last Israeli hostages seized in October 2023 in exchange for some Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But Israeli strikes continue. The Israeli military and Hamas accuse one another of violating the truce. Van de Weerdt said that despite the ceasefire, at least 880 Palestinians had been killed and more than 2,600 wounded since it was declared. The WHO has documented 22 Israeli attacks on healthcare in Gaza this year. She said that more than 43,000 people in Gaza have life-changing injuries from the conflict, 10,000 of them are children. &quot;They require long-term rehabilitation, prosthetics and assistive devices, many of which face delays and restrictions on entry. &quot;What we manage to get in barely scratches the surface of what is needed,&quot; she said. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in November 2025 endorsing the US-backed peace plan, which called for the full resumption of humanitarian aid.

Middle East

Hospitals in Gaza are being prevented from functioning properly due to a severe shortage of medical supplies, the World Health Organization warned, denouncing Israeli restrictions on essential items.

WHO sounds alarm on Gaza medical shortages

GENEVA: World Health Organization member states gather for their annual meeting in Geneva on Monday amid concern over deadly hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks and uncertainty over announced US and Argentinian withdrawals. While the rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has gripped global attention is not officially on the agenda, it is expected to feature prominently in the discussions, as is the fresh Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A diplomatic source, who asked not to be identified, said it would be interesting to see how such outbreaks are used by the WHO &quot;to promote other things&quot;, including &quot;to pressure (the United States and Argentina) not to go&quot;. The meeting of the WHO&#39;s annual decision-making assembly, which runs through Saturday, comes after a difficult year for the organization. It has been weakened by the announced US withdrawal and by funding cuts that have forced it to slash its budget and staff numbers. &quot;We are stable now and moving forward,&quot; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted at the end of April. Diplomats and observers agreed. The situation is &quot;still fragile, but they&#39;ve been successful in mobilizing most of the funds&quot; required for the next two years, Surie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told AFP. And the hantavirus crisis provided &quot;a clear illustration of why the world needs an effective, trusted, impartial, reliably-funded WHO&quot;, she added. UN, Argentina withdrawalsBut significant divisions persist. Continued disagreement between wealthy and developing nations has, for instance, blocked progress on the key missing piece of the WHO&#39;s landmark 2025 pandemic treaty, with negotiations now expected to be extended for another year. It also remains unclear what, if anything, would be decided on the US and Argentine announced withdrawals. US President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, handed the WHO his country&#39;s one-year withdrawal notice, with Argentina soon following suit. The WHO, whose constitution does not include a withdrawal clause, has not confirmed either withdrawal. The United States reserved the right to withdraw when it joined the WHO in 1948 -- on condition of giving one year&#39;s notice and meeting its financial obligations in full for that fiscal year. While the notice period has expired, Washington has still not paid its 2024 or 2025 dues, owing around $260 million. When the WHO&#39;s executive board met in January, Israel submitted a resolution to approve Argentina&#39;s withdrawal -- something countries are expected to discuss during the assembly -- but not a word was said about the US leaving. Diplomats and observers indicated there was broad agreement that it would be better to maintain a grey zone around whether the US was effectively out. &quot;We hope that it will go past quietly on the US,&quot; a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity. Election campaign&nbsp;The assembly will take place as the process towards next year&#39;s election of a new WHO chief heats up. No one has yet declared their candidacy, but announcements are possible this week ahead of the nomination deadline of September 24. A number of sensitive resolutions are also on the table, including on Ukraine, the Palestinian territories, and Iran, which could spark heated debate. Much of this week&#39;s discussions will centre on whether to launch a formal reform process for the so-called &quot;global health architecture&quot; -- a mishmash of organizations that do not always work together and often overlap. &quot;Among the issues to be explored are what is best done at the global and regional levels... and what is a national responsibility?&quot; Helen Clark, co-chair of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and a former New Zealand prime minister, told AFP. Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel told AFP that &quot;this current crisis, with the departure of key players, also allows ... the WHO to re-examine its strategy with its members&quot;. A key focus will be to ensure the process does not see &quot;controversial&quot; issues, such as climate and sexual and reproductive health rights, sacrificed in the context of dwindling international aid funding. &quot;The objective is to ensure better coordination among health actors, so that no activities or populations are left behind,&quot; said a diplomatic source, who asked not to be named. But Thiru Balasubramaniam of the Knowledge Ecology International NGO, told AFP the WHO had already &quot;scaled down some of their activities, including in terms of sexual and reproductive health&quot;.

Germany's Health Minister Nina Warken speaks to a journalist after a meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General ahead of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, on May 17, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Europe

Americas

WHO member states meet in Geneva amid global concern over hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, funding strains following announced US and Argentine withdrawals, and renewed debate over reforming the global health system, pandemic preparedness, and coordination among international health actors.

WHO kicks off annual assembly amid hantavirus, Ebola crises

GENEVA: Eight people infected in the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for the Andes virus, the only strain transmitted between humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday. &quot;Eight cases were laboratory-confirmed for Andes virus (ANDV) <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/argentinas-deadly-hantavirus-memories-resurface-after-cruise-ship-outbreak" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">infection</a>, two are probable, and one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/france-locks-down-1700-on-cruise-ship-after-90yearold-dies" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">case</a> remains inconclusive and undergoing further testing,&quot; the UN health agency said in its latest update on the outbreak. Three deaths&nbsp;Three people from the ship have died since it set sail from Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean. Two of the victims had confirmed Andes virus infections, and the third is listed as a &quot;probable&quot; case, according to the WHO. Hantavirus typically spreads from the urine, faeces and saliva of infected rodents. There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the rare disease. All known cases in the current outbreak were people aboard the cruise ship. &#39;Inconclusive&#39; case&nbsp;The case listed as inconclusive is an American passenger repatriated to the United States, who is &quot;currently asymptomatic&quot; and undergoing further testing after one positive and one negative result, the WHO said. It maintained its assessment of the public-health risk from the outbreak at &quot;moderate&quot; for those who were on the ship and &quot;low&quot; for the rest of the world. The origin of the outbreak is still unknown. The WHO says the original infection happened before the cruise, because the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man, started showing symptoms on April 6, while the virus&#39; incubation period is one to six weeks.

Three people from the ship have died since it set sail from Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean.

WHO confirms eight cases of Andes hantavirus in outbreak

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said it regretted the United States&rsquo; notification of withdrawal from the UN health agency, warning that the decision would make both the United States and the world less safe, while firmly rejecting Washington&rsquo;s criticism of the body&rsquo;s independence and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement, released following the US notification, WHO said the United States, a founding member, had made significant contributions to many of the organization&rsquo;s major public health achievements, including the eradication of smallpox and progress against polio, HIV, Ebola, tuberculosis, malaria, and other global health threats.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2015172835489063345&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=7738163e8d0072b0f9ea00fd951e8a8bfb0a274a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;The notification of withdrawal raises issues that will be considered by the WHO Executive Board at its regular meeting starting on Feb. 2 and by the World Health Assembly at its annual meeting in May 2026,&rdquo; the agency said. The organization directly addressed US government statements accusing WHO of having &quot;trashed and tarnished&quot; America and compromising its independence, saying &quot;the reverse is true&quot; and that it has always engaged with Washington in good faith while respecting its sovereignty. Criticism of Covid-19 responseAddressing criticism of its Covid-19 response, including allegations of obstructing information sharing and concealing failures, the WHO said that while no organization or government handled every aspect of the pandemic perfectly, it stood by its actions during an unprecedented global health crisis.&nbsp; WHO said it acted quickly after receiving the first reports of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019, alerting the world and publishing guidance before the first death was reported on Jan. 11, 2020. When the WHO director-general declared Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern on Jan. 30, 2020, there were fewer than 100 reported cases outside China and no reported deaths, the statement said. The agency rejected US claims that it has &quot;pursued a politicized, bureaucratic agenda driven by nations hostile to American interests,&quot; reiterating that it repeatedly urged countries to take immediate action in the pandemic&#39;s early weeks, warning &quot;the window of opportunity is closing&rdquo; and remained impartial and governed by its 194 member states. The organization clarified that it recommended masks, vaccines, and physical distancing but never mandated them, supporting sovereign governments in making their own decisions. WHO highlighted reforms and strengthened systems introduced following multiple reviews of the pandemic response, noting that these measures continue to help protect all countries, including the United States. The organization said it valued the continued engagement of other member states, noting the adoption last year of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, which aims to improve global preparedness and response.&nbsp; It expressed hope that the United States would eventually return to active participation, reaffirming its commitment to the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right for all.

FILE: WHO Director-General Dr Tedros at the ACANU Press Conference, Geneva, Switzerland, 11 December 2025 (WHO photo library)

The world health body defended its pandemic response, saying it shared information rapidly and transparently, never recommended mandates, and remains impartial, while regretting that the United States’ withdrawal makes both the US and the world less safe.

WHO regrets US notification of withdrawal, rejects accusations over COVID-19 response

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Pakistan&rsquo;s progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with the agency&rsquo;s representative in Islamabad calling for continued partner and donor support to help the country further strengthen its health system.&nbsp;In a report released on World Health Day, WHO Representative to Pakistan Dr. Dapeng Luo highlighted the government&rsquo;s commitment to expanding quality health services, noting that Pakistan has made &ldquo;notable milestones&rdquo; in improving national health indicators.&nbsp;Last week, WHO hosted a dialogue under the theme &ldquo;Health: It&rsquo;s on the Government,&rdquo; bringing together senior officials including the Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath.&nbsp;Representatives from the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the Benazir Income Support Program, the Sehat Sahulat Program (SSP), and other national institutions also participated.&nbsp;According to the report, Pakistan&rsquo;s UHC Index has risen significantly, moving from 40 in 2015 to 52.7 in 2022.&nbsp;Dr. Luo praised the government&rsquo;s efforts, saying the achievements reflect &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening its health system and ensuring better care for its people.&rdquo;&nbsp;He encouraged continued collaboration with partners to help the country reach its 2030 UHC target, emphasizing the importance of sustained investment and coordinated action.&nbsp;The dialogue also showcased major national achievements, including the successful expansion of the Sehat Sahulat Program, which now provides health coverage to 190 million people.&nbsp;Launched in 2016 to support families below the poverty line, SSP was expanded between 2020 and 2021 to move Pakistan closer to universal health coverage, the report noted.&nbsp;Participants reaffirmed their commitment to advancing UHC as a national priority, highlighting the importance of accessible, equitable, reliable, and high-quality services for all citizens.&nbsp;National guidelines launchedThe report further detailed the launch of comprehensive national guidelines and training program designed to strengthen reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health across the country.&nbsp;&ldquo;In Pakistan, around 4 million pregnant women and newborns receive health care services from the public and private sectors each year,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Dr. Luo underscored the importance of continued progress in this area, stating: &ldquo;Improving the lives of these mothers and newborns is essential to ensuring good health for all. No real sustainable development can be achieved without healthy mothers and newborns.&rdquo;&nbsp;The report also noted that International Universal Health Coverage Day aims to promote the need for strong and resilient health systems that &ldquo;work for everyone, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have.&rdquo;

Health

WHO praised Pakistan’s progress on Universal Health Coverage, noting major improvements, expanded health services, and rising UHC indicators, while urging stronger partner support to meet 2030 targets and sustain nationwide healthcare reforms

Articles tagged with "WHO"

WHO sounds alarm on Gaza medical shortages

WHO kicks off annual assembly amid hantavirus, Ebola crises

WHO confirms eight cases of Andes hantavirus in outbreak

WHO regrets US notification of withdrawal, rejects accusations over COVID-19 response

WHO praises Pakistan’s progress, calls for stronger partner support

WHO sounds alarm on Gaza medical shortages