Current WHO phase of pandemic alert raised to level 6

Current WHO phase of pandemic alert raised to level 6

Influenza pandemic alert raised to phase 6
11 June 2009 -- On the basis of available evidence and expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. The Director-General of WHO has therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. "The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic," she said at a press conference today.
Read Dr Chan's statement to the press


WHO says H1N1 a pandemic
(00:50) Rough Cut Reuters Video

Jun 11 - Sweden's Ministry of Health says the World Health Organisation has decided to raise the new H1N1 virus threat level to phase six.
The WHO held an emergency meeting of experts to discuss whether or not to declare a global pandemic of H1N1 flu.
There have been 27,737 infections reported in 74 countries to date, including 141 deaths.

Soundbite:
WHO SPOKESMAN GREGORY HARTL

WHO official says world edging towards pandemic

WHO official says world edging towards pandemic

GENEVA (Reuters) - The spread of H1N1 flu in Australia, Britain, Chile, Japan and Spain has nudged the world closer to a pandemic, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.
The newly-discovered strain had caused more infections than seasonal influenza at the start of Chile's flu season, raising concern about how it would spread in the southern hemisphere, according to Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's acting assistant director-general.
The virus has mainly affected people aged below 60 and caused 117 deaths worldwide, including some otherwise healthy people, he said. For now, the WHO's pandemic scale remained at the second-highest level but the threshold may soon be crossed.

"Globally we believe that we are at Phase 5 but we are getting closer to Phase 6," Fukuda told journalists. "The future impact of this infection has yet to unfold."
He added: "It is probably fair to call the situation something like moderate right now. We do have some hesitation to call the situation mild."

The new flu, a mixture of swine, bird, and human viruses, remains most prevalent in North America but has infected nearly 19,000 people in 64 countries, according to the U.N. agency's latest toll, which tends to lag behind national figures but is considered more secure.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-SwineFlu/idUSTRE5514R920090602

Health amid a financial crisis: a complex diagnosis

Health amid a financial crisis: a complex diagnosis

The global financial crisis could have profound implications for the health spending plans of national governments. Unless countries have safety nets in place, the poor and vulnerable will be the first to suffer. Jane Parry and Gary Humphreys report. “In a recession it is important for governments to protect the poor and vulnerable, but most countries have not yet done this,” Evans says, adding that WHO has long been helping countries develop universal health protection mechanisms that are a vital safety net in times of economic turmoil.
The current financial crisis that started with the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in North America and parts of Europe in 2007 has since extended to low- and middle-income countries. Hungary has received emergency financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries are in talks to secure similar IMF packages. But such support could limit governments’ ability to spend on health. And while developing countries are not yet in recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth – economists are concerned about the global downturn. Some fear it could be as bad or even worse than the great depression of the 1930s.

Financial crisis: long-term perspective needed
21 January 2009 -- The health sector needs to take steps to counter the negative consequences of the financial crisis on global health. Countries also need to take a longer term perspective so their health systems are more resilient in the future, said participants in a recent consultation.
Download the consultation report [pdf 87kb]
Listen to our podcast on financial crisis and health

WHO Warns Economic-Motivated Suicide Will Increase in 2009

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the number of suicides could increase as millions of people worldwide grapple with the economic crisis.
“There is a clear evidence that suicide is linked to financial disasters,” Director of the Department of Mental Health for the WHO, Benedetto Saraceno, told Reuters. “I am not talking about the millionaire jumping out of the window but about poor people,” he said.