Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 22 January 2019
:: In an extraordinary joint statement by the Chairs of the main independent, advisory and oversight committees of the GPEI, the Chairs urge everyone involved in polio eradication to ensure polio will finally be assigned to the history books by 2023.
The authors are the chairs of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE), the Independent Monitoring Board, the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Regarding International Spread of Poliovirus and the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis (GCC).
The Endgame Plan through 2018 has brought the world to the brink of being polio-free.  A new Strategic Plan 2019-2023 aims to build on the lessons learned since 2013.  The joint statement urges everyone involved in the effort to find ways to excel in their roles.  If this happens, the statement continues, success will follow.  But otherwise, come 2023, the world will find itself exactly where it is today:  tantalizingly close.  But in an eradication effort, tantalizingly close is not good enough.  The statement therefore issues an impassioned plea to everyone to dedicate themselves to one clear objective:  to reach that very last child with polio vaccine.  The full statement is attached herewith and also available here.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Pakistan – two cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and five WPV1 positive environmental samples;
:: Afghanistan – seven WPV1 positive environmental samples;
:: Nigeria – one case of circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) and eight VDPV2 positive environmental samples.

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Editor’s Note:

WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.
 
WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 26 Jan 2019]
 
Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis
:: Bi‐weekly Situation Report 1 – 17 January 2019
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
:: The number of varicella cases reported this week in 1 358. WHO and the health sector are working incollaboration with Education sector and Risk communication to contain the disease.
:: A total of 2.2 million doses were administered in 2018 through two Penta/Td, bOPV campaigns and two OCV campaigns
 
Varicella UPDATE
:: The number of varicella cases reported this week in 1 358. The number of varicella cases is higher than previous week but this might be due to improvement of varicella reporting in the camps.
:: Varicella has been added to Indicator‐Based Surveillance (IBS) and Event‐Based surveillance (EBS) in EWARS.
:: Ministry of Health (MoH) & IEDCR has requested to health partners to report all varicella cases on a daily basis.
 
 DIPHTHERIA UPDATE
:: Ten new diphtheria case‐patients (one probable and nine suspected) were reported this week. Total case patients reported in EWARS is now 8 372.
:: Of these, 293 case patients have tested positive on PCR, with the last confirmed case reported on 31 December 2018. Of the remaining cases 2 710 were classified as probable and 5 369 as suspected. The total number of deaths remains 44. Last death was reported on 28 June 2018.
:: No death has been reported from the host community.
 
HEALTH OPERATIONS
Routine Immunization
:: From the beginning of February 2018 to date, the following antigen doses were delivered to
children: 40,965 BCG doses; 56,512 pentavalent doses; 58,234 Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) doses; 55,086 PCV doses; 29,039 Measles/Rubella (MR) doses and 19,906 Td doses to pregnant women.
:: Before February, several campaigns were held in Rohingya camps among specific age groups, which covered the target cohort of routine immunization to an extent.
 
 Campaigns in Rohingya Camps
:: A total of 2.2 million doses were administered in 2018 through two Penta/Td, bOPV campaigns and two OCV campaigns…
 
Somalia
:: Somalia developing comprehensive plan to improve health of mothers, children and adolescents
Mogadishu, 24 January 2019 – With support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other United Nations partners, Somalia is currently developing a strategy that will change the rhetoric in the country and ensure Somali mothers and children can access quality health services equitably all across urban, rural areas in the country…
 
 
Yemen
:: Providing urgent health care to millions: WHO and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation work together to reach the most vulnerable

24 January 2019, Sana’a, Yemen — With a generous donation of 2 million euros from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, the World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up efforts to meet health needs in Yemen through the health service delivery mechanism known as the Minimum Service Package. This is the first time since the start of the crisis in Yemen that WHO has partnered with the Agency…
 
 
Democratic Republic of the Congo – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified  [see above]
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identifie

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 26 Jan 2019]
occupied Palestinian territory
:: WHO concerned over health impact of evolving fuel crisis in Gaza
21 January 2019, Gaza –  The World Health Organization is concerned over the potential impact the evolving fuel crisis in Gaza might have on the lives and health of patients whose treatment requires uninterrupted power supply if no immediate solution to address the aggravating shortages is found.
The functionality of Gaza’s 14 public hospitals is increasingly jeopardized by electricity shortages and the rapidly declining UN coordinated fuel reserves required to run emergency generators during prolonged electricity cuts from the main grid…
 
Brazil (in Portugese) – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon  – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified
 
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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies  [to 26 Jan 2019]
Afghanistan
Chad
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Namibia – viral hepatitis
Peru
Philippines – Tyhpoon Mangkhut
Tanzania

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic   – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.

Ethiopia 
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 72 | 7 – 20 January 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
::Scaled-up response urgently required to more than 250,000 IDPs in Western Ethiopia
:: Durable Solutions as nexus opportunity in Somali region: Lessons from SDC
:: New law grants nearly a million refugees to exercise more rights in Ethiopia
:: Nearly 36 million children in Ethiopia are poor and lack access to basic social services: report

Somalia  – No new digest announcements identified
 
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“Other Emergencies”
Indonesia: Central Sulawesi Earthquake – No new digest announcements identified