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WHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah in Gaza, the mistreatment of those sheltering there, and the destruction of its main warehouse.

Following intensified hostilities in Deir al Balah after the latest evacuation order issued by Israeli military, the WHO staff residence was attacked three times today. Staff and their families, including children, were exposed to grave danger and traumatized after airstrikes caused a fire and significant damage. Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint. Two WHO staff and two family members were detained. Three were later released, while one staff member remains in detention. Thirty-two people, including women and children, were collected and evacuated to the WHO office in a high-risk mission, once access became possible. The office itself is close to the evacuation zone and active conflict.

WHO demands continuous protection of its staff and the immediate release of the remaining detained staff member.

The latest evacuation order has affected several WHO premises. As the United Nations’s (UN) lead health agency, WHO’s operational presence in Gaza is now compromised, crippling efforts to sustain a collapsing health system and pushing survival further out of reach for more than two million people. 

Most of WHO’s staff housing is now inaccessible. Last night, due to intensified hostilities, 43 staff and their families were already relocated from several staff residences to the WHO office, under darkness and at significant risk.

WHO’s main warehouse located in Deir al Balah is within the evacuation zone, and was damaged yesterday after an attack caused explosions and fire inside - part of a pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities. It was later looted by desperate crowds.

With the main warehouse nonfunctional and the majority of medical supplies in Gaza depleted, WHO is severely constrained in adequately supporting hospitals, emergency medical teams and health partners, already critically short on medicines, fuel, and equipment. WHO urgently calls on Member States to help ensure a sustained and regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza.

The geographical coordinates of all WHO premises, including offices, warehouses, and staff housing, are shared with the relevant parties. These facilities are the backbone of WHO’s operations in Gaza and must always be protected, regardless of evacuation or displacement orders. Any threat to these premises is a threat to the entire humanitarian health response in Gaza.  

In line with the UN’s decision, WHO will remain in Deir al Balah, deliver and expand its operations.

With 88% of Gaza now under evacuation orders or within Israeli-militarized zones, there is no safe place to go.

WHO is appalled by the dangerous conditions under which humanitarians and health workers are forced to operate. As the security situation and access continue to deteriorate, red lines are repeatedly crossed, and humanitarian operations pushed into an ever-shrinking space to respond. 

WHO calls for the immediate release of the WHO staff member detained today, and the protection of all our staff and its premises. We reiterate our call for the active protection of civilians, health care and its premises and for rapid and unimpeded flow of aid, including food, fuel and health supplies, at scale into and across Gaza. WHO also calls for the unconditional release of hostages. 

Life in Gaza is being relentlessly squeezed, and the chance to prevent loss of lives and reverse immense damage to the health system slips further out of reach each day. A ceasefire is not just necessary, it is overdue. 

WHO has validated Senegal as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Senegal becomes the ninth country in WHO’s African Region to have achieved this feat.

In 2024, 89% of infants globally received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine, and 85% completed all three doses, according to new data released today by WHO and UNICEF. Despite the progress, the latest estimates highlight a concerning trajectory.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released today new guidelines recommending the use of injectable lenacapavir (LEN) twice a year as an additional pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) option for HIV prevention, in a landmark policy action that could help reshape the global HIV response. The guidelines are being issued at the 13th International AIDS Society Conference (IAS 2025) on HIV Science, in Kigali, Rwanda.

The United Nations warns that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.  

Fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza. It powers hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks, ambulances, and every aspect of humanitarian operations. Fuel supplies are needed to move the fleet used for transporting essential goods across the Strip and to operate a network of bakeries producing fresh bread for the affected population. Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people.  

After almost two years of war, people in Gaza are facing extreme hardships, including widespread food insecurity. When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation.  

Without adequate fuel, UN agencies responding to this crisis will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza. This means no health services, no clean water, and no capacity to deliver aid.  

Without adequate fuel, Gaza faces a collapse of humanitarian efforts. Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move. Roads and transport will remain blocked, trapping those in need. Telecommunications will shut down, crippling lifesaving coordination and cutting families off from critical information, and from one another.  

Without fuel, bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate. Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets. These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.  

For the first time in 130 days, a small amount of fuel entered Gaza this week. This is a welcome development, but it is a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running. 

The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations. 

The World Health Organization has formally recognized the pivotal role of a number of heads of state and government in securing the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement by the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2025.

At a special event at WHO Headquarters in Geneva on 10 July 2025, plaques were presented to the representatives of two countries whose former and current presidents, His Excellency Sebastián Piñera, former President of Chile, and His Excellency Kais Saied, President of Tunisia, advocated for the Agreement from the outset. Certificates were also awarded to leaders of 25 other countries for their guidance and commitment throughout the negotiation process.

“The adoption by the World Health Assembly of the Pandemic Agreement was a historic moment in global health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But we would not have reached that moment without sustained political advocacy from the highest levels”.

Countries whose current or former presidents or prime ministers were also recognized include Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Pandemic Agreement represents a global commitment to a more robust international health architecture, one that is grounded in equity, cooperation, and shared responsibility.

Political momentum behind the Agreement was galvanized in part by a commentary published in major international outlets in 2021, in which 25 heads of state and international organizations called for a pandemic treaty.

Work has now begun to take forward key elements of the Pandemic Agreement, in particular on pathogen access and benefit sharing. This work is being led by an intergovernmental working group (the “IGWG on the WHO Pandemic Agreement”), which met for the first time this week. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Burundi as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the eighth country in WHO’s African Region to reach this important milestone. Trachoma is also the first neglected tropical disease (NTD) to be eliminated in the country.

With the arrival of the summer and increases in sea surface temperatures, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is highlighting the seasonal risk posed by Vibrio bacteria.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in a transformative era for traditional medicine, one where centuries-old healing systems are enhanced by cutting-edge technologies to deliver more safe, personalized, effective, and accessible care.

At the AI for Good Global Summit, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released a new technical brief, Mapping the application of artificial intelligence in traditional medicine. Launched under the Global Initiative on AI for Health, this brief offers a roadmap harnessing this potential responsibly while safeguarding cultural heritage and data sovereignty.

A new era for traditional medicine

Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) is practiced in 170 countries and is used by billions of people. The TCIM practices are increasingly popular globally, driven by a growing interest in holistic health approaches that emphasize prevention, health promotion and rehabilitation.

The new brief showcases experiences in many countries using AI to unlock new frontiers in personalized care, drug discovery, and biodiversity conservation. It includes examples such as how AI-powered diagnostics are being used in Ayurgenomics; machine learning models identifying medicinal plants in countries including Ghana and South Africa; and the use of AI to analyze traditional medicine compounds to treat blood disorders in the Republic of Korea.

“Our Global Initiative on AI for Health aims to help all countries benefit from AI solutions and ensure that they are safe, effective, and ethical,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “This partnership of ITU, WHO and WIPO brings together the essential expertise.”

Data-driven innovation with ethical roots

The brief emphasizes the importance of good-quality, inclusive data and participatory design to ensure AI systems reflect the diversity and complexity of traditional medicine. AI applications can support strengthening the evidence and research base for TCIM, for example through the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in India and the Virtual Health Library in the Americas, which use AI to preserve Indigenous knowledge, promote collaboration and prevent biopiracy. Biopiracy is a term for unauthorized extraction of biological resources and/or associated traditional knowledge from developing countries or the patenting of spurious inventions based on such knowledge or resources without compensation.

“Intellectual property is an important tool to accelerate the integration of AI into traditional medicine,” said WIPO Assistant Director- General, Edward Kwakwa. “Our work at WIPO, including the recently adopted WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, supports stakeholders manage IP to deliver on policy priorities including for Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.”

Guarding data sovereignty, empowering communities

The new document calls for urgent action to uphold Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) and ensure that AI development is guided by free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) principles. It showcases community-led data governance models from Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and urges governments to adopt legislation that empowers Indigenous Peoples to control and benefit from their data.

“AI must not become a new frontier for exploitation,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems. “We must ensure that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not only protected but are active partners in shaping the future of AI in traditional medicine.”

A global call to action

With the global TCIM market projected to reach nearly US$600 billion in 2025, the application of AI could further accelerate the growth and impact of TCIM and holistic health care. Current utilization and potential of AI highlight many opportunities, but there are many areas of knowledge gaps and risks.

There is a need to develop holistic frameworks tailored to TCIM in areas such as regulation, knowledge sharing, capacity building, data governance and the promotion of equity, to ensure the safe, ethical and evidence-based integration of frontier technologies such as AI into the TCIM landscape.

The new technical brief calls on all stakeholders to:

• Invest in inclusive AI ecosystems that respect cultural diversity and IDSov;
• Develop national policies and legal frameworks that explicitly address AI in traditional medicine;
• Build capacity and digital literacy among traditional medicine practitioners and communities;
• Establish global standards for data quality, interoperability, and ethical AI use; and
• Safeguard traditional knowledge through AI-powered digital repositories and benefit-sharing models.

By aligning the power of AI with the wisdom of traditional medicine, a new paradigm of care can emerge; one that honors the past, empowers the present, and shapes a healthier, more equitable future for all.

 

WHO Member States have held their first meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, formalizing next steps on implementing key provisions of the historic legal instrument to make the world safer from future pandemics.

Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes of Brazil, co-chair of the IGWG Bureau guiding the negotiations, said the first meeting, that ran from 9-10 July, was a critical moment in the global effort to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. It followed the World Health Assembly’s landmark adoption on 20 May 2025 of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

“Through the WHO Pandemic Agreement, countries recognized that global collaboration and action, based on equity, are essential for protecting people from future pandemics,” Ambassador Tovar said. “Now, through the IGWG, countries are breathing life into the Agreement by establishing the way forward to implement the Agreement’s life-saving provisions.”  

The Assembly established the IGWG to, as a priority, draft and negotiate an annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS). This PABS system is intended to enable safe, transparent and accountable access and benefit-sharing for PABS materials and sequence information. The outcome of the IGWG’s work on the PABS annex will be submitted to the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly in 2026 for its consideration.

In addition to negotiating the PABS annex, the IGWG has been established to discuss procedural and other matters to prepare for the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Pandemic Agreement and develop a proposal for the terms of reference for the Coordinating Financial Mechanism.

Fellow IGWG Bureau co-chair Mr Matthew Harpur, of the United Kingdom, said he was encouraged by the strong collaboration shown by WHO Member States to take the WHO Pandemic Agreement forward.

“Global collaboration is the foundation of an effective response to global threats,” said Mr Harpur. “I am encouraged by the commitment shown by WHO Member States during the first IGWG to work together to protect their citizens, and those of all other countries.”

The first meeting of the IGWG adopted the body’s method of work, timeline of activities leading up to next year’s World Health Assembly, and mode of engagement with relevant stakeholders, and elected co-chairs and vice chairs to lead the IGWG process. The IGWG also decided to identify experts to provide inputs on the PABS annex and possibly hold an informal briefing before the second meeting of the IGWG, which will be held on 15-19 September 2025.

Concurring with the advice unanimously expressed by the Committee during the meeting, the WHO Director-General determined that the upsurge of mpox 2024 continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and, accordingly, on 9 June 2025, issued temporary recommendations to States Parties.

Diphtheria remains a public health concern in Europe, prompting ECDC to recommend targeted measures to protect vulnerable populations.

The Mediterranean and Black Sea Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (MediPIET) Alumni Network – MediAN – held a two-day event at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.

On 25 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded its participation in a 36-hour nuclear emergency exercise organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The exercise was part of the IAEA’s Level 3 Convention Exercise (ConvEx-3), the highest and most complex level of its emergency exercises. These large-scale exercises are conducted every three to five years to test emergency preparedness and response capacities and identify areas in need of improvement. The last ConvEx-3 exercise took place in 2021 in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

The exercise involved more than 75 countries and 10 international organizations and was based on a simulated accident at a nuclear power plant in Romania, resulting in the release of significant amounts of radioactive material. Participating countries and organizations exchanged information in real time, assessed evolving risks, coordinated communications, and decided on appropriate protective actions, including the medical response.

As part of the simulation, WHO set up an Incident Management Support Team composed of experts from country, regional and headquarters offices. The WHO teams liaised with national authorities to monitor the public health impact, developed public health messages on protective actions, and provided guidance on mental health support for affected communities and emergency responders.

New elements this year included the close coordination of protective measures by neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, the deployment of international assistance missions and the additional challenge of cybersecurity threats. An expanded social media simulator was used to test crisis communication strategies.

By simulating high-risk cross-border nuclear emergencies, these exercises test existing structures and technical readiness, help build trust and strengthen a coordinated global response. WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen radiation protection of the public, patients and workers worldwide includes providing Member States with evidence-based guidance, tools and technical advice on public health issues related to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

Following the exercise, the IAEA will compile and publish a detailed review of best practices and areas for improvement. WHO will review the lessons learned and adjust processes accordingly.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) today has launched a major new initiative urging countries to raise real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 through health taxes in a move designed to curb chronic diseases and generate critical public revenue. The “3 by 35” Initiative comes at a time when health systems are under enormous strain from rising noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), shrinking development aid and growing public debt.

The consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks are fueling the NCD epidemic. NCDs, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, account for over 75% of all deaths worldwide. A recent report shows that a one-time 50% price increase on these products could prevent 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years.

“Health taxes are one of the most efficient tools we have,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Control, WHO. “They cut the consumption of harmful products and create revenue governments can reinvest in health care, education, and social protection. It’s time to act.”

The Initiative has an ambitious but achievable goal of raising US$1 trillion over the next 10 years. Between 2012 and 2022, nearly 140 countries raised tobacco taxes, which resulted in an increase of real prices by over 50% on average, showing that large-scale change is possible.

From Colombia to South Africa, governments that have introduced health taxes have seen reduced consumption and increased revenue. Yet many countries continue to provide tax incentives to unhealthy industries, including tobacco. Moreover, long-term investment agreements with industry that restrict tobacco tax increases can further undermine national health goals. WHO encourages governments to review and avoid such exemptions to support effective tobacco control and protect public health.

Strong collaboration is at the heart of the “3 by 35” Initiative’s success. Led by WHO, the Initiative brings together a powerful group of global partners to help countries put health taxes into action. These organizations offer a mix of technical know-how, policy advice, and real-world experience. By working together, they aim to raise awareness about the benefits of health taxes and support efforts at the national level.

Many countries have expressed interest in transitioning toward more self-reliant, domestically funded health systems and are turning to WHO for guidance.

The “3 by 35” Initiative introduces key action areas to help countries, pairing proven health policies with best practices on implementation. These include direct support for country-led reforms with the following goals in mind:

1. Cutting harmful consumption by reducing affordability;

   Increase or introduce excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks to raise prices and reduce consumption, cutting future health costs and preventable deaths.

2. Raising revenue to fund health and development;

Mobilize domestic public resources to fund essential health and development programmes, including universal health coverage.

3. Building broad political support across ministries, civil society, and academia;

Strengthen multisectoral alliances by engaging ministries of finance and health, parliamentarians, civil society, and researchers to design and implement effective policies.

WHO is calling on countries, civil society, and development partners to support the “3 by 35” Initiative and commit to smarter, fairer taxation that protects health and accelerates progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.