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WHO and Netherlands Strategic Dialogue in The Hague, Netherlands 10 April 2024. Credit: WHO

The WHO and the Netherlands convened in The Hague on 10 April 2024, to discuss joint priorities and alignment between the Dutch Global Health Strategy and WHO’s key strategic goals, marking a new milestone in their longstanding partnership.

Rooted in the Netherlands' unwavering commitment to global health, human rights, and universal access to comprehensive health services, the collaboration between the WHO and the Netherlands is instrumental in addressing global health challenges and fostering health and well-being, worldwide and in the country.

Against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts, disasters, and the escalating impact of climate change, and the interconnectedness of the Dutch public health landscape in the Netherlands with global health challenges, this year’s Strategic Dialogue emerged as a critical platform for reflecting on this partnership’s long-term vision.

“In this Strategic Dialogue, throughout all sessions, WHO and the Netherlands showed a commitment to cooperation and to deepening their partnership based on the strong alignment between their respective priorities and objectives”, said Ms Marjolijn Sonnema, Director General for Public Health at the Netherlands’ Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

A key outcome of the Strategic Dialogue was the recognition of the alignment between the Dutch Global Health Strategy and the WHO's forthcoming 14th General Programme of Work, paving the way for synergies in areas such as health system strengthening, pandemic preparedness, climate change and health, anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and mental health support.

"At a time when inequity in health and in access to essential health services and financial protection is increasing, disproportionately impacting the poor and most vulnerable, the Netherlands stands as a global health leader and trusted WHO partner. With shared priorities and commitment to sexual and reproductive rights, gender equity, health systems, security, climate resilience, and mental health, we look forward to strengthening our partnership to enhance the health and well-being of all, globally and in the Netherlands", said Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage, Life Course.

WHO acknowledged the Netherlands' global leadership as a flexible donor, with an agreement around the imperative to ensure WHO's financing is more sustainable, through the inaugural WHO Investment Round. This WHO initiative aims to mobilize predictable, sustainable and flexible resources essential for the WHO to respond swiftly and effectively to global health challenges and improve health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Addressing contemporary challenges such as geopolitical tensions while seizing opportunities for advancing global health objectives were also on the table during the dialogue. Both parties stressed the importance of sustained collaboration to address pressing health issues comprehensively.

Taking stock of the joint achievements since the previous strategic dialogue in 2022

In 2022, the Strategic Dialogue between the Netherlands and WHO called on both partners to enhance synergies between WHO priorities and the new Dutch Global Health Strategy. Implementing this approach, the Netherlands and WHO:

• Expanded their cooperation to new areas of joint interest, e.g., climate change and health;
• Renewed their longstanding cooperation on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in health emergencies and humanitarian settings;
• Improved the flexibility and predictability of the Netherlands’ financial support through renewed General Arrangements with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2022-2025) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (2024–2028) demonstrating the Netherlands’ commitment to WHO’s sustainable financing; 
• Hosted together the 2nd World Local Production Forum in the Netherlands;
• Continued and deepened their technical cooperation through secondments, Junior Professional Officers and the Collaborative Centres.

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The outcomes of the 2024 dialogue will inform future collaboration between the Netherlands and the WHO, so that efforts are aligned, and the optimal use of resources is helps achieve improved health outcomes worldwide. The enduring partnership between the Netherlands and the WHO stands as a cornerstone in the global health landscape, reflecting a shared commitment to advancing health and well-being globally.

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The Netherlands is a key supporter and strategic partner of the WHO.

In 2022- 2023, the Netherlands was one of the top five flexible WHO contributors with nearly US$ 19 million in core voluntary contributions. Overall, the Netherlands contributed more than US$ 106 million to the WHO in 2022 - 2023, of which US$ 93 million, nearly 90%, was voluntary funding.

The Netherlands also supports the WHO's technical expertise through secondments of staff and helps boost young people's careers in public health via the WHO's Junior Professional Officer Programme.

This demonstrates the Netherlands' commitment through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to the WHO’s central role in the global health architecture.

Through this support, the Netherlands contributes to crucial activities in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, water and sanitation, mental health in emergencies, emergency preparedness, tuberculosis, One Health, primary health care, antimicrobial resistance, while facilitating cooperation with top Dutch institutions.

See more information on the partnership between Netherlands and WHO.

In April, ECDC completed a technical visit to Serbia focused on strengthening the country's disease surveillance capabilities.

Significant disruptions were observed in HIV-specific services, particularly for in-clinic and community-based HIV testing, according to the ECDC report "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the HIV response in Europe and Central Asia."

Public health institutes across Europe increasingly recognise the value of examining public health trends and imagining what the future may look like according to different scenarios.

According to WHO's 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing. The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer.

A WHO-led multi-agency mission accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza on 5 April to conduct a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction and identify needs to guide future efforts to restore the facility. The highly complex mission was conducted in close partnership with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), and in collaboration with the acting Hospital Director.

Prior to the mission, WHO’s efforts to reach the hospital to medically evacuate patients and staff and conduct an assessment were denied, delayed or impeded 6 times between 25 March and 1 April.

Like the majority of the north, Al-Shifa Hospital ­– once the largest and most important referral hospital in Gaza – is now an empty shell after the latest siege. No patients remain at the facility. Most of the buildings are extensively damaged or destroyed and the majority of equipment is unusable or reduced to ashes. The WHO team said that the scale of devastation has left the facility completely non-functional, further reducing access to life-saving health care in Gaza. Restoring even minimal functionality in the short term seems implausible and will require substantial efforts to assess and clear the grounds for unexploded ordnance to ensure safety and accessibility for partners to bring in equipment and supplies.

The hospital’s emergency department, surgical, and maternity ward buildings are extensively damaged due to explosives and fire. The western wall of the emergency department and northern wall of the neonatal intensive care department (NICU) have been torn down. At least 115 beds in what once was the emergency department have been burnt and 14 incubators in the NICU destroyed, among other assets. An in-depth assessment by a team of engineers is needed to determine if these buildings are safe for future use.

The hospital's oxygen plant has been destroyed, leaving Kamal Adwan Hospital as the only source of medical oxygen production in the north. Further comprehensive assessment is essential to evaluate the functionality of vital equipment such as CT scanners, ventilators, sterilization devices, and surgical equipment, including surgical tools and anaesthesia devices. The current situation has left north Gaza without CT scanning capabilities and significantly diminished laboratory capacity, severely compromising effective diagnosis, which will increase avoidable deaths. 

Numerous shallow graves have been dug just outside the emergency department, and the administrative and surgical buildings. In the same area, many dead bodies were partially buried with their limbs visible. During the visit, WHO staff witnessed at least 5 bodies lying partially covered on the ground, exposed to the heat. The team reported a pungent smell of decomposing bodies engulfing the hospital compound. Safeguarding dignity, even in death, is an indispensable act of humanity.

According to the acting Hospital Director, patients were held in abysmal conditions during the siege. They endured severe lack of food, water, health care, hygiene and sanitation, and were forced to relocate between buildings at gun point. At least 20 patients have reportedly died due to the lack of access to care and limited movement authorized for health personnel.

Despite deconfliction, yesterday’s mission faced significant delays at the military checkpoint en route to Al-Shifa Hospital. On the same day, another WHO-led mission bound for Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza – to deliver medical supplies, fuel, deploy emergency medical teams, and support referral of critical patients – encountered unnecessary delays, including the detention of a supply truck driver who was part of the convoy. He was detained for over an hour at a separate location, out of view of the mission team. Eventually this mission was aborted due to safety concerns as the delays left insufficient time for safe completion and return before nightfall.

Between mid-October and end March, over half of all WHO missions have been denied, delayed, impeded or postponed. As health needs soar, the lack of a functional deconfliction system is a major obstacle in delivering humanitarian aid – including medical supplies, fuel, food and water to hospitals – anywhere close to the scale needed. 

Six months – half a year – into the war, the destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex has broken the backbone of the already ailing health system. Prior to the latest siege, WHO and partners had supported the revival of basic services at Al-Shifa Hospital, and Nasser Medical Complex was regularly supplied to continue serving as the main hospital in south Gaza. These efforts are now lost.

As WHO marks World Health Day tomorrow, under the theme “My health, my right”, this basic right is utterly out of reach for the civilians of Gaza. Access to health care in Gaza has become totally inadequate, and the ability of WHO and partners to help is constantly disrupted and impeded.

Of the 36 main hospitals that used to serve over 2 million Gazans, only 10 remain somewhat functional, with severe limitations on the types of services they can deliver. The proposed military incursion into Rafah can only result in further diminution of access to health care and would have unimaginable health consequences.  The systematic dismantling of health care must end.

WHO repeats its calls for the protection of patients, health and humanitarian workers, health infrastructure, and civilians. Hospitals must not be militarized, misused, or attacked. WHO demands an effective, transparent and workable deconfliction mechanism, and safety guarantees, ensuring that the movement of aid within Gaza, including through checkpoints, is safe, predictable and expedited. WHO calls for additional land crossings to allow access into and across Gaza more safely and directly.

As famine looms, disease outbreaks spread, and traumatic injuries increase, WHO calls for unimpeded access of humanitarian aid into and across the Gaza Strip, and a lasting ceasefire.