GENEVA: The Ebola outbreak is spreading into new areas of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and is bigger in scale than hitherto detected, the World Health Organization warned Friday. Much more needs to be done to contain the virus, the WHO said, with isolation bed capacity far below the anticipated need, based on how it is spreading. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, there have been 676 confirmed Ebola cases, including 136 deaths in the DRC, according to the latest figures from the WHO. There are a further 119 suspected cases, while 32 patients have recovered. No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus responsible for the current outbreak, which is centred on Ituri province, with cases also detected in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. &quot;The outbreak continues to expand both in terms of case numbers but also in terms of geographic spread,&quot; said Olivier le Polain, the WHO&#39;s head of epidemiology and analytics for response. Contact tracingSpeaking from Beni in North Kivu, he said that cases were being identified in new health zones within the three affected provinces on an almost daily basis. &quot;That reflects really the scale of this outbreak: a scale that is much bigger than what is being detected, and the high mobility of the population,&quot; he told reporters in Geneva. Le Polain said that while in recent weeks, cases in new areas could be traced back to travel from hotspots, now &quot;we also see local community spread in new areas&quot;. &quot;There are still many blind spots in some areas that are high risk,&quot; he added. Le Polain said contact tracing remained below ideal levels, with just over 70 percent of contacts being appropriately traced. &quot;That&#39;s a huge improvement from where we were about a week or two ago, but it&#39;s still too low to ensure appropriate control,&quot; he said. &quot;Surveillance can scale up, but if you don&#39;t have any space to put your patients safely, it becomes very difficult,&quot; he added. He said that &quot;compared to where the epidemiology is heading&quot;, the current capacity of 250 isolation beds across the affected provinces would not be enough and needed scaling up &quot;quite rapidly&quot;. Expected impact on childrenThe UN children&#39;s agency UNICEF warned of a likely rise in cases amongst children via household transmission in the coming weeks. After returning from Ituri&#39;s capital Bunia, Douglas Noble, UNICEF&#39;s global incident manager for Ebola, said that in the province, more than half of children aged under five are chronically malnourished. &quot;The point is: these are already very vulnerable children,&quot; he told reporters. &quot;As the outbreak evolves we must be prepared for increasing household transmission, which means we may see more children affected in the days ahead,&quot; based on previous Ebola crises. &quot;We are expecting it, and we are taking steps in our interventions... to respond to that,&quot; he told reporters. The outbreak has also spread across the border into Uganda, which has recorded 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths. The African Union&#39;s health agency said Thursday that the situation in Uganda was &quot;under control&quot;. The WHO classifies the Ebola risk as very high within the DRC; high for Uganda; high for countries sharing land borders with the DRC and Uganda; and low elsewhere.

Natural Disaster

The WHO warns the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo is spreading faster and wider than previously detected, with cases rising sharply, healthcare capacity under strain and new areas reporting community transmission.

Ebola spreading into new areas in northeast DR Congo: WHO

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called for collective efforts to strengthen food safety standards and ensure access to safe and nutritious food, marking World Food Safety Day 2026. In separate messages, the two leaders stressed the importance of food safety for public health, food security and sustainable development. President Zardari urged all stakeholders to promote safe food practices and ensure compliance with food safety standards across the food chain. He said safe food protects public health, strengthens consumer confidence, supports livelihoods and contributes to economic growth. The president emphasized the need for science-based food safety measures, stronger inspection systems, improved laboratory capacity and greater investment in food safety infrastructure and awareness programs. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan remains committed to ensuring access to safe and nutritious food free from disease and contamination risks. Referring to this year&#39;s theme, &ldquo;From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food Everywhere,&rdquo; the prime minister highlighted the importance of preventing and managing foodborne diseases. He cited a World Health Organization report showing that around 866 million people fall ill annually due to contaminated food, while nearly 1.5 million lose their lives from foodborne diseases worldwide. The prime minister said Pakistan was pursuing a comprehensive strategy to strengthen food security and agricultural productivity through research, technology, improved seeds, modern farm machinery, better storage facilities and stronger market systems. According to the prime minister, unsafe food also contributes to reduced productivity, rising healthcare costs, economic losses and disruptions to tourism and trade. Sharif said Pakistan&#39;s agriculture sector, despite being supported by fertile land and significant agricultural potential, faces challenges including climate change, water scarcity, population growth, changing consumption patterns and inadequate research. He said the Ministry of National Food Security and Research was implementing a range of measures based on agricultural research and technology to strengthen food security, increase productivity and mitigate the effects of climate change.&nbsp; These measures include the provision of quality seeds, improved access to agricultural inputs, greater use of farm machinery, stronger value chains, enhanced storage facilities and improved market systems. Both the president and the prime minister called for cooperation among governments, research institutions, the private sector, civil society and citizens to build a safer, healthier and more resilient food system in Pakistan.

A farmer harvesting wheat in Pasni, Balochistan, under the sun.

Health

President Zardari urges all stakeholders to promote safe food practices and ensure compliance with food safety standards across the food chain; PM says the government is implementing a range of measures based on agricultural research and technology to strengthen food security, increase productivity and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Pakistan president, PM call for stronger food safety measures

WASHINGTON: The US CDC on Friday urged strong public health interventions against the current Ebola outbreak, citing their models that show it could otherwise rival the scale of the 2014 West Africa outbreak. That eruption of the virus resulted in more than 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths. &quot;That scale is possible,&quot; said Jason Asher, director of CDC&#39;s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, during a press briefing. The US projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were part of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report documents published Friday. The worst outcomes could be avoided if &quot;a larger proportion of patients were identified, isolated, and treated,&quot; the agency said in its reports. But &quot;the public health response to control this outbreak will likely need to be of similar magnitude to the response for the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak.&quot; Asher emphasized the models were &quot;not a forecast&quot; but &quot;a planning tool.&quot; &quot;They&#39;re designed to support action, not to generate alarm.&quot; They are based on four possible intervention scenarios ranging from poor (20 percent) to extremely high (95 percent) levels of isolation and treatment. If isolation levels are what the CDC would consider poor, with no other interventions there is a 65 percent chance cases will top 20,000 within three months, according to the agency. Satish Pillai, the CDC manager for the Ebola response, said &quot;the total individuals that are infected and requiring isolation remains unclear.&quot; But he said the situation on the ground would indicate levels of isolation are currently on the lower end. Also on Friday the World Health Organization and the African Union&#39;s public health agency said $518 million was needed across the next six months to combat the deadly Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo and its neighbors. The outbreak was declared on May 15 in northeastern DR Congo, but the rare Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus is believed to have spread for some time beforehand. According to the WHO&#39;s latest figures, there are 381 confirmed cases in the DRC, including 64 deaths. The outbreak has hit three provinces, with the epicenter in Ituri, which the Africa CDC says accounts for 90 percent of confirmed cases and 76 percent of confirmed deaths. Across the northeastern border in Uganda, there have been 16 confirmed cases, including one death. Seven Ebola patients in the DRC and two in Uganda have recovered.

Americas

Africa

The US CDC warns the current Ebola outbreak could approach the scale of the 2014 West Africa crisis without stronger interventions, urging expanded case identification, isolation and treatment efforts in the DR Congo and neighboring countries.

US warns Ebola outbreak on scale of largest 'is possible'

KINSHASA, DR Congo: The UN health chief said Thursday the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has claimed over 200 lives can be stopped, as he arrived to oversee the fight against the highly infectious disease. World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus&#39;s plane landed in the capital Kinsasha on Thursday evening. He is set on Friday to travel to Ituri province in the northeastern DRC, the epidemic&#39;s epicentre. &quot;That thing can be stopped,&quot; Tedros said, adding that the WHO did not support travel bans to combat the outbreak because they &quot;don&#39;t help much&quot;. &quot;Together, we will overcome this outbreak,&quot; he said earlier, vowing to do &quot;everything in my power to help you.&quot; The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared on May 15, out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases, according to its latest figures up to May 24. The true spread of the outbreak, thought to have circulated under the radar for some time, is likely much wider, the WHO has warned. This is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in the vast central African country of more than 100 million people. Complicating efforts to battle it is the fact that its epicentre lies in the east, a mineral-rich region that has been scarred by violence from various armed groups for more than three decades. In the latest spasm of violence, the Rwanda-backed M23 has since 2021 seized swathes of territory, with fighting stepping up over the last year and a half. Tedros has urged warring factions to stop the fighting. &quot;Conflict and displacement make everything harder,&quot; he said. &quot;I am making a direct appeal to all warring parties in this region: please, declare a ceasefire. &quot;No cause, no conflict, no grievance is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease.&quot; Vaccine in the worksNo vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the current outbreak. But the head of African Union&#39;s health agency said on Thursday that one should be ready by the end of the year. &quot;What we can tell you for sure, by the end of this year, 2026, Africa CDC will make sure that we have a vaccine and medicine against Bundibugyo,&quot; Jean Kaseya, head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters in an online briefing. &quot;Our leaders are ready to invest. We are investing at technical level, at a strategic level, to make sure that (the vaccine) will happen,&quot; he added. The WHO said it had received 4.6 tonnes of aid at the airport in Bunia, capital of the epicentre Ituri province, while UNICEF, the UN children&#39;s agency, said it was sending 100 tonnes of aid to the country. Measures abroadNeighbouring Uganda, which has recorded one death confirmed to be from Ebola and six additional cases, announced it was shutting its border with the DRC with immediate effect. The United States said it would not allow anyone afflicted with the virus to enter the country. The administration of US President Donald Trump is working to open a treatment facility for afflicted US citizens in Kenya, instead of facilitating their return for treatment on American soil, as has been done in previous Ebola outbreaks. A Kenya rights group filed a court petition on Thursday, seeking to halve operations at any such facility, while health officials have warned that such a centre could put another burden on Kenya&#39;s stretched health system. The WHO said Thursday its advisory groups had recommended clinical trials for vaccines and treatments that could be useful against the Bundibugyo strain. The WHO said it would work closely with the DR Congo and Uganda to facilitate research evaluation of these products. Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in the DRC claimed nearly 2,300 lives out of 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.&emsp;

The UN health chief says that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has claimed over 200 lives, can be stopped, as he arrives to oversee the fight against the highly infectious disease.

WHO chief says Ebola 'can be stopped' as he lands in DR Congo

KAMPALA, Uganda: Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is complicating efforts to rein in a deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization chief warned Wednesday, while Uganda announced it was shutting its border. The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases. Its chief fears insecurity in the eastern DRC, which has been plagued for three decades by conflict involving a litany of armed groups, is making it extremely difficult to contain the outbreak. &quot;Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response,&quot; the UN agency&#39;s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. No vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the DRC&#39;s 17th recorded outbreak of the disease. State services in rural Ituri province, where it was first detected, have been largely absent for decades. In Rwampara, one of the epicentres of the outbreak, AFP saw a symptomatic woman being brought to hospital on a motorbike, squeezed between her sister and the driver. A health worker recorded a high fever and bleeding from her nose, a common symptom of Ebola, which causes a haemorrhagic fever. He rushed to spray chlorine on the bike and driver, who wore a surgical mask but little else to protect him against a virus that spreads through bodily fluids. With no ambulances available, &quot;people make do with motorbikes&quot;, the health worker, Dieudonne Sezabo, told AFP. The hospital has set up a temporary isolation centre but is still awaiting crucial equipment deliveries. Uganda shuts borderNeighbouring Uganda, which has recorded one death confirmed to be from Ebola and six additional cases, announced it was shutting its border with the DRC with immediate effect. It also said it was imposing a 21-day quarantine on anyone arriving from the DRC, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and district surveillance teams. The WHO said the case fatality rate was under 25 percent -- much lower than in other recent outbreaks. But experts suspect the virus was circulating under the radar for some time and the true extent of the health crisis has yet to be seen. The WHO chief lamented that clashes were &quot;driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors&quot;. &quot;Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible,&quot; Tedros warned. &quot;We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,&quot; Tedros said, urging &quot;all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to contain this outbreak&quot;. The United States plans to open a quarantine centre in Kenya, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, primarily intended for Americans who need to leave the DRC quickly and quarantine. Kenya said it had screened some 55,000 people crossing the border from Uganda and had yet to confirm an Ebola case.

Response team members are helped to wear protective suits before burying a person suspected of having died from Ebola in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 25, 2026. (AFP)

The World Health Organization chief warns that conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is complicating efforts to rein in a deadly Ebola outbreak, while Uganda shuts its border.

WHO warns of 'catastrophic collision' of Ebola and war in DR Congo

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

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

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;

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"